Slip and fall lawsuits are commonly looked down upon by the public. “Oh they were just being clumsy or they should have better paid attention to where they were walking.” What most people do not understand is an uncontrolled fall without padding can be debilitating and even life threatening. Think of it like a skateboarder who’s board slips out from under him. With enough force, their head could be the first thing that strikes the ground. The concept is the same for a slip and fall victims.
Slip and Fall Case Scenario
Let’s say a grocery store stocker accidentally breaks a container of vegetable oil and it leaks all over the aisle. They notice the spill be decide to finish stocking the shelves before cleaning it up. They finish stocking but forget to go back to clean up the spill and goes home for the night. When the store opens in the morning an elderly woman slips in the vegetable oil and breaks her hip. An accident report is filled out and she is taken to the hospital via ambulance. This would be potentially be grounds for a slip and fall lawsuit.
Dangerous Condition – A circumstance that shows an unwarranted danger to individuals on the property that a reasonable person wouldn’t have predicted
Your attorney will need to provide evidence that the accident happened because of a dangerous condition on the property AND the owner had prior knowledge of the risk. It will need to be proven that the dangerous condition was created by the owner and they were aware of the problem but did not attempt to correct it in a timely manner. If the property owner was not aware of the condition, enough time had passed to where they should have become aware of the issue.
Collecting the Necessary Documentation
Your attorney will gather your medical reports, the incident report, take photos of your visible injuries, and seek testimonials from witnesses. All of which will be used to create a demand package to cover your medical expenses. If the accident happened in a public place it is vital to report it right away. Do not quietly limp home and then attempt to contact an attorney. We need as much documentation as possible and the property owner will need to alert their insurance company.
Slip and fall lawsuits depend on the previous actions of the property owner. If they were actively trying to fix the problem it would be difficult to prove negligence in court.
For example: Let’s say the manager was made aware of the vegetable oil spill and they took steps to block off the aisle to be cleaned/set up wet floor signs. The elderly woman sees this yet still stepped into the blocked off area then she would be most likely found liable.
On the other hand if the manager was made aware of the oil on the floor but did not place the danger as a priority and chose to clean it up later they would most likely be found liable.
It boils down to the question: “Was there anything the property owner could have done to make the area safer?”
