Slip and Fall Accidents
When people fall in public places, the usual first reaction is that of embarrassment. They are shaken-up and try to get up as soon as possible. If you have ever tripped over a curb in public, the first thing you do is look at what caused you to fall and then look to see who saw you trip. The owner/operator of the premises where you fell is counting on this embarrassment. They hope you spring to your feet, shake it off, say you are okay, and try to leave without determining what the dangerous condition was that caused you to fall.
A "slip and fall" is a type of personal injury lawsuit filed by a plaintiff who has been injured by a fall on the defendant's property. Slip and falls seem like simple accidents, but they can be very dangerous. Millions of people are injured each year in falling accidents where a person trips or slips on a foreign object or substance on the floor, an impediment in the walking surface, or an unexpected elevation change or hole in the walking surface.
The property owner has a responsibility to keep property safe. Each person has a duty to watch where they are going, as well as realize that there are things that fall or spill onto walking surfaces, but a store or property owner has a duty to either correct or warn of the unsafe condition. The particular steps a storeowner or operator must reasonably take will depend upon the nature of the unsafe condition, its location in the store, and how many people might be expected to encounter the condition. The store's employees may not have discovered the condition, but that could be because they were not reasonably inspecting for dangerous conditions. Other customers or store employees may have noticed the condition but not communicated it to anyone else. If the employees know that spills happen frequently in a particular area or that spills in a certain spot are harder to see, they should make more frequent checks in those areas. There are many different factors that can affect a storeowner or operator's duty to inspect the premises. Do not assume that you have no case just because the owner or operator claims he or she did not know of a dangerous condition. Stores have a duty to keep their floors reasonably safe for customers, and employees should routinely inspect areas the public might access, to discover any potentially dangerous conditions.
Slip and Fall Hazards
Slip and fall accidents can occur anywhere a surface is slippery, loose, uneven or otherwise poorly maintained. A slip and fall can occur anywhere, including: private property, shopping malls, parking lots or ramps, public walkways, sidewalks, stadiums, hotels or motels, supermarkets, warehouse stores, etc. Some common examples are as follow:
- Floors. A common example of a slip and fall is the grocery store patron who slips on a spilled liquid or a piece of food laying on the floor and falls causing injury to themself; or the hotel guest who slips in the shower sustaining injury in the process. Other examples of conduct for which a property owner may be held responsible if a slip and fall accident results are:
- Failing to provide adequate warnings such as signs announcing that the floor is being cleaning and wet or damp;
- Failing to provide adequate barriers to close off an area where there is a wet or damp floor;
- Using excessive amount of wax or polish;
- Applying wax or polish unevenly;
- Treating a part of a floor and leaving a part untreated so that they change in condition causes a slip and fall;
- Applying a floor treatment to a sloping or inclining part of the floor;
- Failing to use a floor treatment with "non-skid" ingredients, when such treatment is required;
- And, a property owner's neglect in properly maintaining carpeted floors, rugs and mats can also create liability if a slip and fall accident occurs. Examples may include torn, worn, broken or bulging areas of the carpet; rugs or mats with curled edges, work spots or holes with edges sticking up; and, items caught in the carpet material that stick up and catch on footware.
- Stairs. A
property owner will be liable for a slip and fall accident occurring on stairs,
when the property owner knew of the dangerous condition, or the condition
existed for sufficient time that the owner should have known about it. If the
owner knew or should have known about a stairway condition, liability may arise
when: one or more steps are worn and rounded, causing people to slip when they
step on them; stairs are too narrow; debris, such as trash, pieces of paper,
dirt, gum, etc., is present on the stairs; the stairs have been waxed or
polished, and the stair materials lack a nonskid surface; a handrail is missing
or broken, or inadequate lighting exists.
- Escalators and Elevators. Slip and fall accidents can occur on escalators and elevators when there are unexpected, sudden movements or "jerks" in the machinery, or when articles of clothing, footwear, fingers, hands, or feet are caught in various parts of an escalator or elevator. If not properly maintained, an elevator may not "level" with the destination floor causing passengers to trip and fall as they exit. Property owners are responsible for maintaining their escalators and elevators so that they operate safely.
- Inadequate Outdoor Lighting. Inadequate or poor lighting may also lead to pedestrian accidents involving falls in parking lots, trips over sidewalks or curbing, falls on a step or stairs from a parking lot to a store, and trips and falls due to holes, cracks, and uneven surfaces. A property owner may be liable if he or she knew, or should have known, of the poor lighting and failed to remedy the dangerous situation in a reasonable amount of time.
- Parking Lots. A parking lot owner is responsible for maintaining the parking lot in a manner such that it is reasonably safe for people using it. This includes filling and patching cracks and pot-holes. Additionally, differences in height from one section of the lot to another should be gradual rather than abrupt to prevent tripping injuries.
- Sidewalks. A property owner may be
responsible for injuries resulting from a fall on a cracked or uneven sidewalk
or other dangerous conditions located on his or her property.
Next, you should document your fall, the cause of your fall, and your injuries by taking photographs, if possible. An accident report should be completed at the time of the incident to document what happened, who witnessed both the accident and the conditions that caused the fall, along with any other relevant information, such as lighting. If a report is not completed at the business location or if the fall occurred at private location or was not observed by others, make sure to compile a record of what happened yourself. Include information such as a description of the circumstances, who was present, the comments made by those who saw or helped after the fall, and, if possible, take photos of the area. Photographic evidence of the dangerous condition or foreign substance can be a tremendous benefit, but oftentimes this is difficult to do as the store or premises owner or manager will instruct the employees to immediately clean the foreign substance.
You should also obtain the names, address and phone numbers of any persons who may have witnessed the fall and observed the foreign substance or dangerous condition. The best witnesses are people not related to the injured customer. It is also helpful to obtain the name, address and phone numbers of all employees who saw the slip and fall or who rendered assistance. Oftentimes, lower-level employees change jobs or locations and may be difficult to find after the fall occurs.
If slip and fall injuries have been sustained, medical care should be sought as soon as possible. Many people will wait to see if their pain and discomfort subsides and not seek immediate medical care. If you are in pain, get it treated and documented by a medical professional.
Finally, do not rely on the store or premises manager when he tells you that the store will cover and pay for any medical treatment you may require. The insurance company for the premises is the ultimate decision maker on whether or not to cover your medical expenses. More often than not, the insurance company for the premises will deny that they are responsible for your fall and thus not responsible for your medical expenses. Therefore, if you seek medical attention, you will most likely need to provide the physician with your own personal health insurance information, if you have it.
Contact the Kane Law Firm, P.A.
Slip and fall injuries can cause some of the most devastating and incapacitating injuries possible. However, slip and fall accidents can also be some of the most difficult cases to successfully present in the State of Florida. This is because the injured person must prove that the negligence of the premises owner caused or contributed to the slip and fall injuries. Under Florida law, the premises owner is not an absolute insurer of the safety of its guests. A premises owner is only responsible for a guest's injuries if there is negligence on the part of the premises owner or operator. This is often difficult because, in general, people injured in slip and fall accidents rarely document the cause of the fall with photographs, witness names and phone numbers.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a slip and fall accident, please call the Central Florida Automobile Accident Attorneys at the Kane Law Firm, P.A. in Orlando, Florida at (407) 898-9130, submit a contact form on our website, or email us at Info@KaneInjury.com.
We offer a free initial consultation, and if we agree to take your case, we will work on a contingency basis. This means we will get paid for our services only if there is a monetary award or recovery of funds.