Slip and Fall Accidents
"Slip and Fall" is a term used for an accident in which a person slips or trips and falls on someone else's property as a result of a dangerous condition and is injured. A Slip and Fall lawyer handles accidents under a broader category of personal injury cases known as premises liability cases.
Dangerous Property Conditions
A dangerous condition is a property defect that presents an unreasonable risk to a person on that property. A dangerous condition must be one that the injured person could not have anticipated encountering on the premises.
A slip and fall lawyer may have seen dangerous property conditions that result in slip and fall injury claims, include changes in flooring, torn carpeting, broken pavement, wet floors, improper safety exits and unsafe stairs, elevators or escalators. A North Carolina slip and fall attorney can explain that property owners have a duty to provide a safe environment for people they invite onto their property. They must warn visitors of possible hazards. If the property owner fails to do so and a person is injured as a result, they may be liable for the injured person's medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages, necessitating a consultation with a slip and fall accident lawyer.
Slip and fall lawyers understand that slip and fall cases can be complicated by the doctrine of contributory negligence and by the sometimes multiple parties who may be liable. Because of their complicated nature, you should consult a slip and fall lawyer who can evaluate your individual case. A lawyer experienced in such cases with knowledge of the laws and issues surrounding premises liability can be of enormous advantage in securing the compensation you may be entitled to.
Premises Liability
To win a slip and fall personal injury case, one must be prove that the owner of the premises involved either caused the dangerous condition that led to the accident, knew of the danger of accident and did nothing to rectify the situation, or that the condition existed for such a long length of time that the property owner should have discovered the condition and corrected it prior to the accident.
To be held liable, it must have been foreseeable that the negligence of the property owner would create the danger in question. For example, if a container of liquid falls to the ground and spills in a grocery store, and twenty-four hours later the store has not cleaned up the spill and someone slips in the liquid and is injured, one could argue that it was foreseeable that failing to clean up the spill would result in someone slipping and falling in the spilled liquid.
