A Discussion About Proving
A Slip and Fall Claim

Proving a slip and fall claim requires a thorough understanding of what caused the fall and knowledge of the applicable law. Here, we will discuss the law on slip and fall claims.

Your personal injury attorney will conduct a comprehensive investigation concerning the circumstances of your fall, research the applicable law, and determine whether you have a viable claim.

The following is a summary of the law on slip and fall claims:

Owners: You must prove who owned or controlled the property at the time of the slip and fall.

Duty: A landowner or person in control of property must act as a reasonable person in maintaining his property in a reasonably safe condition in view of all the circumstances such as:

• the likelihood of injury to others;
• the potential seriousness of injury;
• the burden or cost of avoiding the risk.

Defect: You must prove that there was a defect on the premises and that the defect was the proximate cause of your fall.

Negligence: Proving that there was a defect on the premises is not enough. A landowner is not an insurer. In order to prove your slip and fall claim, you must also show that the landowner knew or should have known of the defect, had a chance to remedy the defect and failed to do so.

Violation of Statute: A violation of a statue, code, or ordinance may be evidence of negligence (i.e. the violation of a building code).

Damages: You must evidence that you suffered injury or harm and that the owner’s negligence was a proximate cause of your injury or harm.

Warning: The landowner has a duty to warn of dangers not likely to be known by a lawful visitor and of which the landowner knew or should have known. However, the landowner is not obliged to warn lawful visitors of open and obvious dangers.

Trespassers: Generally, there is no duty owned to trespassers except to refrain from wanton and willful misconduct. However, the standard of reasonable care does apply to foreseeable child trespassers.

Different Causes: It may be important to know some of the different causes of slip and fall injuries in order to determine the applicable law and whether notifying the owner of the slip and fall is required.