Millions of people die annually in the United States. It is unfortunate but understandable when those deaths are due to old age or disease. However, when someone dies due to a preventable accident, family members rightfully get angry.
Slips, trips, and falls are one type of accident that is usually preventable. Too often, these types of accidents happen because another party is negligent. And when that results in the death of one of your loved ones, you deserve compensation for the loss you have experienced.
Slip and fall lawyers at Morgan & Morgan can help you get compensation for deaths from slips, trips, and falls. If someone you love has died this way, contact us to schedule a free case evaluation.
When Deaths From Slips, Trips, and Falls Are Wrongful Deaths
Accidents are a fact of life. People die for no reason other than bad luck every day. When somebody trips over their own feet, or they are distracted by a cat walking by, it is nobody’s fault. But not every accident is a case of chance.
Many accidents occur because a third party is negligent. That party had a responsibility to create a safe space or provide a warning of danger, and they failed to do so. When somebody dies in those circumstances, family members of the deceased have a wrongful death case against the negligent party.
It is impossible to describe every situation where someone else is responsible for the death of a loved one. However, there are common situations that lead to deaths from slips, trips, and falls.
Poor Lighting
Imagine you are walking to the second floor of a parking garage. You enter the stairwell, and the lights are burned out. Even if you had a flashlight, there is a good chance you would trip while walking up or down the stairs.
If that trip results in death, this is a case of wrongful death. The owner of that parking garage is required to create a safe environment for people who are rightfully in the building. If a light is out, or even if the lighting is inadequate, that location is unsafe.
Wet Floors
You have probably seen sizable yellow floor signs that warn of a slipping danger while someone is mopping a floor. These signs aren’t placed just for goodwill. They protect the business or property owner from liability if you slip and fall on the wet floor.
Property owners are required to keep the floors dry so they don’t create a slipping danger. And if they willingly make the floors wet (while cleaning them, for example), they are required to provide highly visible warnings to anyone walking in the area. Failure to do so creates liability.
Similarly, if it is raining or snowing out, property owners are required to keep the entryway to their buildings dry. Because people will bring water in with them when they walk into the building, those floors need to be regularly dried.
Once again, if the owners don’t make sure this is done, and someone dies, the owners are responsible for that wrongful death.
Disrepair
When floors or stairs are in disrepair, there is a danger that somebody will trip and fall. For example, if a stairwell has a broken railing, a person might fall because they rightfully expect the railing to support them while using the stairs, but it doesn’t.
As a rule of thumb, property owners should repair any portion of the property that could threaten visitors. And if repair work must be delayed, that portion of the property should be made unavailable for use while it presents a danger.
While property owners can’t always know when portions of the property have fallen into disrepair, they should be proactively inspecting their property and repairing things before they fail. If they always wait until things have broken to act, they are likely being negligent.
Lack of Warning Signs
Sometimes portions of a property are dangerous, not because they are in disrepair, but because the design of the property is dangerous. This is unfortunate but unavoidable at times. That doesn’t relieve the property owner of responsibility, though.
If, for example, a property has a steep flight of stairs that could lead to falls, the owner has the responsibility to warn anyone using those stairs. Similar signs should be placed near any other locations that a reasonable person would recognize as dangerous.