Maybe you’ve seen the old gag of someone slipping and falling on a banana peel. It’s funny when it happens to a character on TV, but not so much if it happens to you.
Slip-and-fall accidents can be deceptively dangerous. What looks like a simple tumble can cause internal bleeding, broken bones, and even a serious brain injury. Whether you’ve fallen at a grocery store or wiped out on someone’s driveway, a slip-and-fall accident attorney can help you seek compensation.
Here’s what to know about premises liability and how it affects your slip-and-fall claim.
According to premises liability law, property owners have a duty to remove or mitigate hazards so guests don’t have an accident. For instance, an owner who is having construction work done on their hotel must keep guests away from the work area. Likewise, grocery store owners must promptly clean up spills before a customer falls.
If you’ve had an accident because of a dangerous condition on someone else’s property, you may be able to seek compensation for your damages.
Slip-and-fall accidents can happen anywhere, and nearly anything can cause them. This includes:
Where do slip-and-fall accidents happen? Grocery stores are common sites of such accidents. Food ends up on the floor from time to time at an average supermarket. For instance, a customer might drop a case of water, but employees don’t notice. Along comes another customer, and in seconds, they wipe out on a near-invisible puddle.
Other common sites of slip-and-fall accidents include:
So, you’ve fallen on someone else’s property and wonder whether the owner owes you a settlement. If that owner broke premises liability laws, the answer is likely yes.
To recover compensation, your slip-and-fall accident attorney must prove the following conditions:
Your ability to seek compensation further depends on whether the law considers you an invitee, a licensee, or a trespasser. Property owners owe invitees and licensees a high duty of care.
If you were trespassing on a property, the owner doesn’t owe you a duty of care. However, that doesn’t mean the owner can deliberately harm you.
The trespassing law doesn’t apply to children, however, if the property owner knew or should have known that minors might trespass on the site.
For example, let’s say that someone owns a pool, which the law considers an “attractive nuisance” because it appeals to children. The owner should have known that children could try to enter the pool but failed to put up proper fencing.
As a result, a child enters the pool area without permission, then slips, and falls. The child’s parents could seek damages because of the owner’s negligence.
If you’ve fallen on someone else’s property, you’re likely holding a pile of medical bills and wondering how you’ll afford them. The good news is that you may be able to recover compensation for a property owner’s negligence.
Let The Law Offices of Kevin J. Roach, LLC, handle your slip-and-fall claim. We have over 20 years of experience fighting aggressively for clients like you.
To schedule a free consultation with a Missouri slip-and-fall accident attorney, call us at (636) 519-0085.
