Over one million injuries each year in the United States are a direct result of a slip and fall, and, in fact, falls are consistently one of the leading causes of injury. Personal injury attorneys often use the term “slip and fall” in cases where a person slips or trips—usually as the result of a spill or other issue—generally on someone else’s property. When the fall and subsequent injuries were a result of negligence or failure to maintain property as required, the property owner can be held legally responsible. If you’ve been the victim of a slip and fall, and are still dealing with the medical and financial aftermath, it is crucial that you seek legal representation. Such cases can be complex, and require an experienced attorney who will work aggressively to prove your case and get you a settlement you not only need, but deserve.
Why So Many Falls?
There are so many falls with injuries in our nation in part because most of us do not fully understand the complexities of same-surface slip and fall accidents, assuming people fall because they are awkward or careless, or because they stepped on an object in their path. In truth, people fall for many reasons including the interaction between the walking surface and a person’s shoes as well as the surrounding environment with all its many distractions.
What Causes Slip and Fall Accidents?
There are a wide variety of typical causes for slip and fall accidents. There could be torn or frayed carpeting in a public area which the owner has neglected to repair, or changes in the height of flooring which can give the walker an unwelcome surprise and cause them to end up on the ground, possibly with serious injuries. Poor lighting, narrow or steep stairs and a wet or sticky floor can all cause slips, and stairway injuries can be quite serious. Public sidewalks may be broken or cracked to the point they cause falls, or hidden hazards such as a pothole in the ground can catch a person totally unaware, leading to injuries such as broken bones. Inclement weather, especially rain, ice and snow are also responsible for a number of slip and falls each year.
What are Your Rights Regarding a Slip and Fall?
When you are walking in a public place you have the absolute right to be warned of any hazards which could cause you to slip and take a tumble. If there are warning signs of hazards ahead and you proceed anyway, you must assume at least a portion of the risk. However, if a known hazard has been ignored or knowingly disguised, it can be assumed that an accident will likely occur. Poor lighting often disguises defects in walking surfaces or flat-out hazardous conditions, therefore changes in your “normal” walking environment must be made clearly visible to all pedestrians to safeguard their health. Walking surfaces should be properly illuminated with the necessary amount of contrast to enable walkers to see what lies ahead.
Determining Liability
The bottom line in determining whether someone else was legally responsible for your injuries following a slip and fall is whether or not the property owner exercised due care to avoid such accidents, and whether your own actions or careless behavior significantly contributed to your fall. Your lawyer can advise regarding whether a dangerous condition did in fact exist, and whether the owner or possessor of the property could have been reasonably expected to be aware of the that condition. It must have also been reasonably foreseeable that negligence or failure to take action on the part of the owner would likely create such a dangerous condition.
Time will be a critical factor in this determination; if a customer spilled a soda on the floor of a fast food restaurant, and three seconds later you walked into the mess and found yourself on the ground, then the owner could not be reasonably expected to have removed the hazard before your arrival. If, on the other hand, the soda was spilled two hours ago, and it still has not been cleaned up, your case just became much stronger in proving negligence. It is incredibly important that you have photos of the scene of the slip and fall as well as witness statements to corroborate your own account of your fall.
An experienced Mississippi slip and fall attorney can ensure your rights are protected during this time. Call us today for a free consultation.