Slip and fall accidents are the most common type of premises liability claim. Premises liability refers to the responsibility of a property owner to take the care necessary to maintain safe conditions. For example, if you went to a grocery store, slipped on a wet floor and suffered an injury, you may be able to file a slip and fall claim to recover damages. However, you would have to prove that the property owner was negligent, and should have known that the wet area would lead to someone’s injury.
Slip and fall claims are easy to identify because they always involve a plaintiff who has lost his or her footing and fallen, leading to some type of injury. And the most common circumstances that can lead to a slip and fall injury include:
To win a slip and fall claim, you have to prove that a property owner violated one of the following two standards:
In personal injury claims, such as a slip and fall accidents, negligence is always held up against the standard of what a reasonable person would have done under the same circumstances. Therefore, to prove negligence in a slip and fall claim that was caused by a wet floor, you would have to show that the property owner did not place a sign warning people that the floor was wet, nor did the property owner instruct someone to dry the floor to prevent an accident.
There’s another important factor, and that is that you must also prove that you didn’t contribute to the slip and fall accident. This is known in most states as ‘comparative fault,’ and it refers to any actions you took that contributed to the accident. In some states, a plaintiff who bears some responsibility for a slip and fall accident would not be able to collect any damages.
If you need an experienced lawyer to help with a slip and fall claim, the Washington DC slip and fall lawyers at the Law Offices of Duane O. King have the skills and experience necessary to help those who have been injured due to a slip and fall accident. Please contact us online or call 202-331-1963 today for a free legal consultation.