A slip and fall is a type of personal injury case that arises from the victim slipping and falling on another person’s property. It is based on a claim that the owner of the property was negligent in failing to correct the dangerous condition that caused the slip and fall.
Not all slip and falls can be the basis for a personal injury lawsuit. Falling is a normal part of everyday life. From time to time, all of us trip and hurt ourselves without any fault on the part of the property owner. Therefore, the most critical aspect of a slip and fall case is to prove that the property owner was negligent and is thus responsible for the victim’s injuries.
Property owners have a general duty to keep their property safe. To hold the property owner responsible, one of the following three conditions must apply to the incident:
- The owner of the property, or one of their employees if applicable, caused the worn or torn spot, the spill or the dangerous surface that resulted in the slip and fall.
- The property owner knew about the dangerous condition but didn’t do anything about it.
- The owner of the property should have known about the dangerous condition because a reasonable person tending to a piece of property would have detected the problem and taken steps to correct it.
This third situation is the most common basis for a slip and fall personal injury claim. A dangerous condition is one that poses an unreasonable risk of injury. Dangerous conditions can be permanent, such as a crack in the sidewalk, or temporary, such as an icy sidewalk.
Types of dangerous conditions include:
- Potholes
- Poor lighting
- Spilled liquids
- Cracked sidewalks
- Broken stairs
- Snow or ice on the ground’s surface
- Torn carpeting
- Changes in flooring>
- Lack of handrails
Have you been injured in a slip and fall accident? Then you need to contact the Texas personal injury attorneys of Fears | Nachawati for free legal advice. Just email us at info@fnlawfirm.com or call us on our toll-free number at 1.866.705.7584 for a free consultation.