Slip and Fall Accident Attorney
Slip and Fall Accident Attorney Overview
Slip and fall accidents and trip and fall accidents happen more often than you might think. These types of accidents frequently occur in everyday commercial establishments like office buildings, hotels, restaurants, malls and grocery stores. Falls are not only embarrassing but can cause serious injuries that may not arise until days if not weeks after the incident. Despite that reality, hiring a knowledgeable slip and fall accident attorney right after the incidident is critical to preserving your claim.
In Florida, falling on another’s property is not enough to give rise to a slip and fall injury claim. There are very specific laws and thresholds to be aware of if you have been injured in such an accident.
Burden of Proof - Identify a Duty
The landowner must owe a legal duty to be liable. Florida Statute 768.0755 provides the overall framework for individuals to recover if they have been injured: the property owner must have had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition that caused the injury and failed to correct the danger despite that knowledge. The property owner’s duty is known as the “duty of reasonable care.” In short, they must reasonably inspect their land for hidden or unknown dangers before invitees are exposed to them. Landowners also owe a corresponding duty to warn invitees of the same hidden and unknown dangers. As you might expect, Florida law provides several ways to prove a landowner had notice of dangers on their property.
Duty - Status of the Injured Party
Each case rests on whether the injured person was lawfully on the property at the time of the injury. The duty owed to the injured party depends on that party’s status while on the property. For instance, landowners owe trespassers a much lesser duty than to “invitees.” Invitees are individuals invited to enter or remain on the land because it is held open to the public. Or, they are directly or indirectly invited for a specific purpose connected with the landowner’s business. A person going to a mall to shop, or visiting a movie theater or night club for an entertainment experience, are some real-world examples. Invitees are owed the highest legal duty and protection under Florida law whereas trespassers receive the least.
Florida separates visitors into three different categories depending solely on why they are on the property:
Invitees:
An invitee enters another’s property in order to transact business in some way. They are expressly or implicitly invited on the property by the landowner. A typical situation would include a shopper visiting a store to buy a product or going to an office for a business meeting with a financial planner, for example. Invitees are owed the highest duty of care by a landowner which includes regularly inspecting the property for dangerous conditions, warning of those conditions, and fixing those conditions.
Licensees:
A licensee is someone who enters another’s property for their own benefit and without express invitation of the landowner. But, they have an implied invitation under the circumstances. For example, someone who runs into a restaurant only to use the bathroom would be a licensee since they are not a paying customer. Social guests also fall under this classification. Licensees are owed the second highest duty of care. Essentially, landowners cannot intentionally expose licensees to known dangers. They are also responsible for any willful misconduct or gross negligence.
Trespassers:
Trespassers enter someone else’s property purely for their own purpose and convenience. They have no express or implied invitation from the landowner. If a child were to jump the fence of his neighbor’s house to get an overthrown ball he would be trespassing. A person walking a public beach after dark when the beach is closed would also qualify. Trespassers are owed the least duty of care. A landowner simply has to avoid causing trespassers willful or wanton injury from open and obvious hazards.
Establish a Breach of Duty
The question of liability comes down to (1) whether the danger existed long enough for the property owner to discover it, and (2) was it the type of danger that the owner should have had standard procedures in place to discover? In addition, a dangerous condition that regularly occurs is considered foreseeable for that reason alone. A good example would be the front entrance to a hotel which continually becomes slippery when wet whenever it rains. Other common but preventable dangers include unattended spills on the floor of a business, or a wooden step that collapses under normal and expected weight.
Causation
Causation simply refers to a legal connection between the landowner’s breach of duty and the accident victim’s injuries. Even if there are other reasons for the accident, the landowner will be liable if they contributed to the incident in some way.
comparative fault implications on Causation
Anyone injured in a fall accident should be aware of the concept of comparative negligence and comparative fault, codified in Florida Statute 768.81. Comparative fault means the injured person can share in the blame for the accident. This happens when they reasonably should have been aware of the danger or could have reasonably avoided it. Fortunately, this doctrine only reduces the amount an injured party’s compensation by their corresponding amount of fault. It does not entirely eliminate the right to recover altogether. It’s important to remember that open and obvious conditions may not qualify as dangers and depending on the circumstances, these can entirely preclude a successful fall injury claim.
Slip and Fall Damages
Damages are physical injuries, lost wages, and non-economic losses like mental anguish and pain and suffering from an accident. Even with liability, there is no injury case without corresponding damages. Damages are classified into the following areas:
- Economic: Past medical bills from various ailments including broken bones, brain trauma, torn ligaments and similar types of injuries. It also includes future medical expenses, lost wages in the past and future, loss of ability to earn income, and property damage.
- Non-Economic: Pain and suffering, mental anguish, mental health disorders, loss of capacity for enjoyment of life, and decreases in ability to perform everyday living activities.
- Punitive: Monetary damages designed to punish the negligent party for conduct that is considered grossly negligent, reckless, or intentional.
Summary
Slip and fall cases are very fact intensive and circumstantial. The most important evidence is often lost if it is not gathered immediately. This is why it is imperative to take pictures and video of the location where the fall happened in addition to the hazard which caused it as soon as possible. Obtaining witness information is also highly advisable. Contacting an attorney immediately will help to preserve records and documents that will be necessary to prove the case later. Be sure to seek medical attention and document your injuries.
The team at Santana Injury Law can get to work today on your claim and get you the most compensation for your injuries. Call now for a free consultation with an experienced slip and fall accident attorney.
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