Slip and fall accidents fall under premises liability claims. These types of claims are based on the responsibility of the landowner to keep it properly maintained. The legal doctrine of negligence guides premises liability personal injury cases. When a claim is based on the principle of negligence, the key to winning is demonstrating the property owner owed a duty of care to you, understood or should have known a dangerous condition existed on their property, and failed to fix the problem. As a claimant, you bear the burden of proving this. Since some of these elements are challenging to prove, many slip-and-fall injury victims reach out to Morgan and Morgan for help.
Demonstrating liability can be tough to achieve, but it's crucial to gaining compensation. Our slip and fall lawyers can work on your behalf to identify who controlled the property where the fall took place, show that the other party had a legal obligation to look out for your welfare, and failed in their duty. The negligent aspect is often the most difficult.
For example, you must show that the property owner either knew or should have known the hazardous condition existed and didn't address it, which in turn led to your injury. This can be achieved through a variety of means. For instance, if you were injured near the self-serve drink fountain at a fast-food restaurant, the property owner should have reasonably known that spills were likely to occur in that area and should have had mats down or warning signs.
It's crucial to reach out to one of our slip-and-fall lawyers as quickly as possible after an accident, so the property owner doesn't have time to fix the situation and make it seem like it never existed. Likewise, if you can, take pictures of the area where the accident occurred, paying particular attention to any spill, debris, or obstacle that caused you to fall. Get contact information from witnesses as well. Most importantly, seek medical care right away after a slip and fall accident. You may be more seriously injured than you realize, and medical records are pivotal to gaining compensation.
In some cases, proving negligence is much easier, especially if the landowner violated a building code, such as a commercial property with broken or missing handrails, insufficient lighting, or rotting steps.