A slip and fall accident has three essential components. They are as follows:

  • liability
  • damages
  • insurance

Let’s take a closer look at each:

Liability

what qualifies as a slip and fall accident

The injured party must prove the landowner or the party controlling the property had knowledge of a premises defect. Plus this defect was the reason for an injury causing slipped, tripped, or fall. For the property owner (or controller) to have knowledge, someone must give them notice of the defect. In these situations, there are two types of notice:

  • Actual Notice – This is when a customer, employee, or other party gave notice to the property owner of the issue first hand.
  • Constructive Notice – This means that the property owner should have had sufficient notice to mitigate the issue. For example, if a spill in a grocery store is left unattended a long amount of time, even though employees are walking by, it could be considered constructive notice.

Proving liability rest on the shoulders of the plaintiff. Liability is one of the most important issues in a slip and fall case – without it, damages are very difficult to recover.

Damages

As with any personal injury case, there need to be damages present. For a slip and fall case, it’s important that injuries stem from the fall, and they can be demonstrated. It is not uncommon for a person to incur serious injuries to the head, and upper and lower extremities. Brain injuries, fractures to wrist and ankles, torn ligaments to knees and shoulders are typical.

This is the reason it is so important to visit a medical professional when you fall or trip. A medical professional should evaluate your injuries so that their extent can be recorded.

Insurance

Compensation from a slip, trip and fall accident is usually through the insurance of the landowner where the incident took place and/or the property management company’s insurance that maintains the property. These are generally the types of insurance available:

  • Commercial Policy – If the injury took place at a grocery store, mall, parking lot.
  • Residential Policy – If it happened at someone private home.
  • Governmental Policy – If the fall happened on government property like city hall, sidewalks, roadway, parks.

To discuss the circumstances of your slip and fall injuries, reach out to Michael Beliz online or call 562-452-3772 for a fast and free consultation.