What you Need to Know About Your Slip and Fall Accident

A slip and fall accident causing injury is a common type of personal injury used to describe an accident that occurs on someone else’s property. Slip and fall lawsuits fall under “premises liability”; their purpose is to hold the property owner legally responsible for damages caused by the accident. Slip and fall accidents may occur for many reasons including poorly maintained roads, sidewalks or flooring; poor lighting, slippery conditions, narrow stairs, cluttered walkways or even an unexpected change in flooring.

Premises liability law is complicated and varies from state to state; hiring a qualified personal injury lawyer is the best way to recover damages for your injury.

How does a personal injury lawyer prove fault in a slip and fall accident?

A personal injury lawyer understands state laws on slip and fall accidents and how to determine whether the property owner acted negligently in caring for the safety of their property. The attorney will evaluate the specifics of your case and whether you acted carelessly in not seeing or avoiding the situation that caused your fall. For example, did you ignore a hazard sign that indicated a wet or slippery floor?

Commercial property

Generally, these are the protocol used to prove fault in a commercial property slip and fall case:

• The cause of the accident was a “dangerous condition”
• The property owner/possessor knew about the “dangerous condition”*
• The “dangerous condition” must have presented an unreasonable risk to the person on the property
• The condition must have been one that a reasonable person visiting the property would not have expected under the circumstances
• The victim must have avoided obvious or marked dangers
• There must be a foreseeable connection between the owner’s negligence and the danger present on his or her property

*To prove that a property owner/possessor, store or other business owner/employee knew of a dangerous condition the personal injury lawyer will show one or more of the following behaviors:

• The owner knew about the condition and acted negligently by failing to remove or repair the issue
• The owner created the dangerous condition
• The dangerous condition existed for a long period of time and the owner should have found it and corrected it before the slip and fall accident happened

Note: If the court deems that the safety measures put in place by the owner were reasonable then the injury may be ruled an accident caused by the victim’s own carelessness.

Residential property

A landlord may be held liable to tenants or third parties for slip and fall injuries on their rental properties. The following factors must be present to prove fault in a residential property slip and fall case:

• The landlord had control of the condition that caused the slip and fall but failed to fix it
• The cost/effort to fix the condition was not unreasonably expensive or difficult
• There was a foreseeable connection between the landlord failing to fix the problem and a slip and fall injury

Government property

A slip and fall injury on government property is handled slightly differently depending on the city, state or governmental entity that owns the property. In some cases governments are exempt from slip and fall lawsuits. Consult a personal injury attorney about whether you have a case.

Whether your slip and fall accident happened on residential, commercial or government property discussing your injury with an experienced injury lawyer is your best course of action. Case evaluations are typically free and you will pay nothing up front if the attorney takes your case; fees are paid out of the settlement.

The Seattle personal injury attorneys at Morrow Kidman Tinker Macey-Cushman, PLLC have years of experience representing families harmed by medical malpractice. We seek justice for patients who have been harmed by preventable medical errors including birth injuries, hospital-acquired infections and wrongful death in Seattle and across Washington State. There are no fees or expenses to file a personal injury case as we only receive payment if we recover damages on your behalf. Do not delay; personal injury claims come with a Statute of Limitations, which means they must be filed within a certain time frame of the injury.

Call us now at (206) 752-4366 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with one of our compassionate, experienced attorneys.