Slip and Fall Injuries

While a slip and fall accident can sound innocent, thousands of people are injured each year from slip and fall, sometimes seriously or even fatally. These accidents include slipping or tripping on a dangerous floor, a flight of stairs or a rough patch of land. After you've experienced a slip and fall accident, what happens next?
First, you will need to determine who is responsible for your accident. While most people would like the owner of the property to be at fault, in order to sue, one of the following must be true of your fall:
The owner or employee of the premise must have had knowledge of the problem spot and done nothing to fix it within a reasonable period of time, or the spill, torn or worn area or hazardous spot was actually caused by the owner or an employee.
To prove liability, judges and juries will often base the owner's responsibility on common sense. Did the owner take reasonable measures to ensure the property was safe? Many times a court will look at the past behavior of the owner or employee. Did they typically maintain their property and have safety procedures to avoid these accidents? Was there a logical reason for an object to be in your pathway?
Another factor in your case will be your own carelessness in the accident. The court considers this "comparative negligence" and your actions will be evaluated just as the property's actions. If you think you may have a case, try to remember where you were going, and the manner in which you did before the accident. An insurance adjuster will want to ask you some questions along the lines of: did you have a legitimate reason for being near the dangerous area? Would a reasonably careful person have noticed the dangerous spot and avoided it? Were there any warnings or caution signs that could have deterred your path?
Your chances of winning a slip and fall case on a commercial property are much better than a residential one because commercial properties open to the public have much stricter requirements on safety and risk-reducing procedures. For this reason, most establishments carry insurance that protects them from slip and fall accidents and you will most likely be able to settle out of court. If you've been involved in a slip and fall accident and think you may have a case please contact an experienced Rio Grand Valley personal injury lawyer.