Slip & Falls
“Slip and fall injury” or “trip and fall injury” is the generic term for an injury that occurs when someone slips, trips or falls as a result of a dangerous or hazardous condition on someone else’s property. Slip and fall injuries can result from such problems as water, rain, ice, snow, grease or other slippery substance on a walking surface, as well as abrupt changes in flooring, poor lighting, or a hidden hazard, such as a gap or a hard-to-see hole in the ground. Slip and fall accidents are considered a personal injury. If you are on someone else’s property and you injure yourself as a result of a dangerous condition on the property, the land owner or business proprietor may be liable for your injuries. Common examples of slip & fall accidents include:
Trip-and-fall accidents, where there is a foreign object in the walking path – like a stack of books in a walkway that is normally clear
Stump-and-fall accidents, where there is an impediment in the walking surface – like a power cord that runs between two cubicles that wasn’t there previously
Step-and-fall accidents, where there is an unexpected failure or hole in the walking surface, such as a missing manhole cover or utility cover in the sidewalk, and
Slip-and-fall accidents, in which the interface of the shoe and the floor fails – you slip and fall on someone’s wet or greasy floor and there are no warning signs posted anywhere.
Both the property owner and the injured person may be held to varying degrees of responsibility for an injury. The property owner has a responsibility to keep property safe. Each person has a duty to watch where they are going, as well as realize that there are things that fall or spill onto walking surfaces. However, there is no way a person can anticipate all hazards. There are many cases where the residential or commercial property owner, or local, city, state or federal government entity is 100% at fault.
If you are injured in a slip and fall accident, contact the Stanley C. Franklin Law Firm right away to learn your legal rights and options. Time limitations may apply, so contact us as quickly as possible.