Proving Negligence and Liability in Slip and Fall Accidents
Slipping and falling can result in several serious injuries, some serious enough to cause you to miss work or result in expensive medical bills. If you’ve developed a permanent disability due to this accident, your expenses could be even greater.
No matter how serious your accident, you may want to consider filing for compensation—especially if someone else is to blame for your accident. One of the first steps to getting compensation is proving negligence in slip and fall accidents. Many parties can be held responsible for an accident. We’ll review each of them in more detail below.
When is the Business/Property Owner Held Liable?
A simple slip and fall in a business setting does not automatically mean that you’re entitled to compensation. True accidents do happen and are a regular part of life. Proving negligence in a slip and fall accident requires proof that the owner had a level of care to provide you and that this level of care was breached due to his/her actions or inactions. Every property owner is required to keep his or her property in good repair to avoid accidents taking place. To show that the owner was negligent, you’ll need to prove one of the following:
- The owner was aware of a defect in the property and failed to repair it.
- The property owner should have known about the defect as any reasonable person would have known and repaired the problem. The key factor here is that you have to show that anyone could have found the defect and that the property owner had enough time to resolve the problem.
- The owner or employee of the property caused the problem.
If the owner is found to be in violation of any of these scenarios, they would be held liable.
How to Prove the Owner Acted Unreasonably
To help you determine whether the owner or employee of the property acted unreasonably, ask yourself the following questions:
- How long has the issue been there?
- What type of cleaning does the owner engage in?
- Why was the object on the floor? (This is particularly important in cases where the injury occurred due to tripping.)
- Could a warning sign have prevented the accident?
- Was there adequate lighting?
If the answers to these questions show that the owner or employee is at fault, you may have enough reason to file a slip and fall accident claim.
Were You Careless in the Slip and Fall Accident?
The final question you need to ask in regards to who is responsible for a slip and fall accident is if you acted carelessly. Here, you’ll need to use comparative negligence to determine your level of reasonableness in going and acting the way you did before the fall. The questions below can help you determine if you were responsible for the accident:
- Did you have a legitimate reason for being wherever the danger was?
- Would another person have walked more carefully around the area or noticed the danger and avoided it?
- Did you see any warning signs nearby?
- Were you distracted or paying enough attention while walking?
- Were you running, jumping, or messing around in a way that would have made a fall more likely?
Proving that you were careful isn’t required when seeking compensation for slip and fall injuries. However, you will be asked by your insurance agent.
Get Compensation for Your Slip and Fall Injuries
Proving negligence in a slip and fall claim is not an easy task or something you should attempt to do alone. At Ipson Law Firm, we have a talented team of professional lawyers who will carefully investigate your claim so you can stay focused on the road to recovery. Contact us today to get started on your personal injury claim and get one step closer to getting the compensation you deserve.
Michael is an attorney who started Ipson Law because of his passion for personal injury law. He graduated with a Juris Doctorate degree from McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, CA. Learn more about Michael on our about us page, and contact Ipson Law to find out how we can help you.
