A serious fall can leave you dealing with injuries, medical treatment and time away from work while questions remain about why the dangerous condition was there in the first place. A St. Louis slip and fall accident lawyer at Roach Law can investigate what happened, determine whether a property owner or another party may be legally responsible, and help you pursue compensation available under Missouri law.
Free consultation. No fee unless we recover compensation for you.
A slip and fall can happen in seconds, but working out why it happened and who may be responsible can take a much closer look.
A wet floor, broken stair, uneven walking surface or poorly maintained property may point to a dangerous condition, but that alone doesn’t establish a claim. Missouri premises liability cases can depend on who controlled the property, what they knew or should have known about the hazard, whether reasonable steps were taken to address it, and whether that condition caused the injury.
Roach Law represents people injured in serious accidents throughout Missouri. If you’ve been hurt in a fall on someone else’s property, we can investigate the circumstances, preserve available evidence and help you understand whether you may have a claim.
Talk to Roach Law About a Slip and Fall Claim
Meet the Attorney Behind Roach Law
Kevin Roach has practiced law since 2000 and founded Roach Law to represent people injured because of someone else’s negligence.
Slip and fall cases can be more complicated than they first appear. It isn’t enough to show that you fell on someone else’s property. The evidence may need to establish what made the property dangerous, who knew or should have known about the condition, what opportunity there was to address it, and how the fall caused your injuries.
- 20+ Years Handling Serious Missouri Injury Claims
- Hundreds of Millions Recovered for Clients
- Free Consultations
- No Fee Unless We Recover Compensation for You
Results From Slip and Fall Cases We’ve Handled
$50,000 Settlement Hotel Slip and Fall
Roach Law secured a $50,000 settlement for a client who fell on a wet tile floor at a hotel where required anti-slip mats were not present.
Our client landed on their knee, suffering fractures and displacement of the patella. They also sustained injuries to the hips, elbow and shoulders that required physical therapy and pain-management treatment. The knee injury resulted in limited mobility.
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case depends on its individual facts and circumstances. experienced St. Louis slip and fall lawyer. Our lawyers are always around to discuss your case, so contact us today to get started.
How Can a St. Louis Slip and Fall Lawyer Help?
A slip and fall claim often turns on evidence that can change or disappear quickly.
A property owner may repair a broken step. A spill may be cleaned. Surveillance footage may be overwritten. Employees and witnesses may become harder to locate.
When Roach Law investigates a slip and fall claim, we may:
- Investigate the property and circumstances surrounding the fall
- Look for photographs, video footage and surveillance recordings
- Identify witnesses
- Determine who owned, occupied, controlled or maintained the property
- Review available incident reports and maintenance or inspection records
- Investigate how long a dangerous condition may have existed
- Examine whether the responsible party knew or should have known about the hazard
- Document your injuries, medical treatment and financial losses
- Deal with insurers and challenge allegations that you caused your own fall
- Build the evidence needed to negotiate a settlement or pursue the case further when necessary
The question isn’t simply whether you fell. The question is why you fell, what the responsible party knew or should have known, and whether reasonable steps could have prevented it.
What Do You Have to Prove in a Missouri Slip and Fall Case?
Slip and fall cases generally fall under an area of law known as premises liability.
For a business-invitee claim, one of the central questions is whether the property owner or occupier had actual or constructive knowledge of a dangerous condition. Missouri courts consider whether a business had actual or constructive knowledge of a dangerous condition and whether reasonable steps were taken to address the risk.
Depending on the circumstances, a claim may involve establishing that:
- A dangerous or defective condition existed on the property
- The responsible party knew, or through reasonable care should have known, about the condition
- The condition created an unreasonable risk of harm
- Reasonable steps were not taken to correct the hazard or provide an adequate warning
- The dangerous condition caused your fall
- You suffered injuries and losses as a result
Exactly what must be proven can depend on why you were on the property and the circumstances of the accident. Missouri premises liability law can treat different categories of visitors differently, so the facts matter.
What Does “Knew or Should Have Known” Mean in a Slip and Fall Case?
This is often one of the central questions in a Missouri slip and fall claim.
Actual knowledge can exist when the property owner or its employees were aware of the dangerous condition. In some circumstances, knowledge held by an employee or agent can be attributed to the property owner.
Constructive knowledge refers to circumstances where the property owner did not necessarily have actual knowledge of the hazard, but, through the exercise of ordinary care, should have known about it.
Missouri courts recognize both actual and constructive knowledge when considering premises liability claims. The evidence may include how the condition arose, how long it existed, employee activity, inspection and maintenance practices, surveillance footage and other circumstances surrounding the hazard.
What Should You Do After a Slip and Fall in St. Louis?
What you do after a serious fall can affect both your health and the evidence available later.
Get Medical Attention
Some injuries are immediately obvious. Others including head, neck and soft-tissue injuries may become clearer after the initial shock of the accident.
Getting appropriate medical care also creates documentation of your injuries and treatment.
Report the Fall
If you fall at a store, restaurant, hotel, apartment complex or other managed property, report what happened to the appropriate person and ask that the incident be documented.
Keep a copy of any report you’re given.
Photograph the Hazard
If you can safely do so, photograph or record:
- The condition that caused you to fall
- The surrounding area
- Warning signs — or the absence of them
- Lighting
- Stairs, flooring or walking surfaces
- Your clothing and shoes
- Visible injuries
A dangerous condition can be repaired or removed soon after an accident.
Identify Witnesses
If anyone saw the fall or the condition that caused it, get their contact information.
Keep Relevant Evidence
Don’t immediately throw away the shoes or clothing you were wearing. Keep medical records, bills, receipts and records showing missed work or other financial losses.
Be Careful With Insurance Statements
An insurer may ask for a recorded statement or detailed account of what happened. You don’t have to guess about facts you don’t remember or minimize injuries that are still being assessed.
What Causes Slip and Fall Accidents?
There isn’t one typical slip and fall.
Dangerous property conditions can include:
- Wet or slippery floors
- Spills that have not been cleaned
- Uneven flooring or pavement
- Potholes
- Broken or damaged stairs
- Missing or damaged handrails
- Loose rugs or carpeting
- Debris or obstacles in walkways
- Loose cables or wires
- Poor lighting
- Unsafe entrances or exits
- Ice or other slippery outdoor surfaces
- Defective walking surfaces
The hazard itself is only part of the investigation. How it developed, who was responsible for the area, whether anyone knew about it and what was done about it can be just as important.
Where Do Slip and Fall Accidents Happen?
A serious fall can happen on many different types of property, including:
- Grocery stores and supermarkets
- Restaurants and bars
- Retail stores and shopping centers
- Hotels
- Apartment buildings and rental properties
- Parking lots and garages
- Office buildings
- Hospitals and medical facilities
- Entertainment and sports venues
- Schools and universities
- Sidewalks and other walking areas
Potential responsibility depends on more than the name on the building. Ownership, occupation, control, maintenance responsibilities and contractual relationships can all become relevant.
Who Can Be Responsible for a Slip and Fall?
Depending on the circumstances, potentially responsible parties could include:
- Property owners
- Businesses occupying the property
- Landlords
- Property management companies
- Maintenance companies
- Contractors
- Other parties responsible for creating or addressing the dangerous condition
Determining responsibility can require looking beyond where the accident occurred to establish who actually controlled or was responsible for the area where you fell.
What Injuries Can a Slip and Fall Cause?
Calling something a “slip and fall” can make the accident sound minor. The injuries aren’t always minor.
Falls can result in:
- Broken bones
- Wrist and arm fractures
- Hip injuries and fractures
- Knee and shoulder injuries
- Head injuries
- Concussions
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Neck and back injuries
- Spinal injuries
- Soft-tissue injuries
- Nerve damage
- Internal injuries
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Catastrophic injuries
For someone who suffers a serious injury, the consequences may extend well beyond the first emergency-room visit.
St. Louis Catastrophic Injury Lawyer
What We’ve Learned From Handling Serious Injury Claims
One of the most important things we’ve learned is that the full impact of an injury isn’t always visible immediately after an accident.
Someone may initially expect to recover quickly and then discover that pain continues, additional treatment is needed or returning to work is harder than expected.
That’s why a claim shouldn’t be reduced to a stack of medical bills.
We look at how the injury has affected the person behind the claim: their treatment, work, mobility, independence and what medical providers say about the future.
What Compensation May Be Available After a Slip and Fall?
If another party is legally responsible for your injuries, compensation may include losses such as:
- Past medical expenses
- Reasonably anticipated future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Loss of future earning capacity
- Rehabilitation and physical therapy
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Loss of normal life or diminished quality of life
- Other losses supported by the facts of the case
The value of a claim depends on the evidence. There is no standard Missouri slip and fall settlement amount.
Factors such as the severity of the injuries, medical treatment, recovery, effect on employment, future limitations, available insurance and disputed fault can all influence a claim.
What Is the Average Slip and Fall Settlement?
What if the Property Owner Says the Fall Was Your Fault?
This is a common issue in premises liability claims.
A property owner or insurer may argue that you:
- Should have seen the hazard
- Were distracted
- Were moving too quickly
- Ignored a warning
- Were wearing inappropriate footwear
- Otherwise contributed to the accident
Missouri applies pure comparative fault to negligence claims. This means a person’s own share of fault can proportionally reduce an award of damages rather than automatically preventing recovery.
For example, if damages were assessed at $100,000 and the injured person was found 30% at fault, the award would be reduced by 30% to $70,000.
An allegation of fault is not the same thing as proof. The evidence surrounding the condition and the fall still matters.
What Happens When Roach Law Handles a Slip and Fall Claim?
1. We Start With What Happened
We want to understand where you fell, what you remember seeing, who was present and what happened immediately afterward.
2. We Investigate the Property
Depending on the case, that can mean identifying ownership and control, looking for surveillance footage, photographs, witnesses, incident reports, inspection records and other evidence.
3. We Document the Injury
We review medical treatment and how the injury has affected your work and everyday life.
4. We Identify Potentially Responsible Parties and Insurance
The property owner is not necessarily the only relevant party. We investigate who controlled or maintained the area and what insurance coverage may apply.
5. We Build the Claim
Once the evidence and medical picture are sufficiently developed, we can assess the losses supported by the case and present the claim to the appropriate insurer or responsible party.
6. We Deal With the Response
If liability or damages are disputed, we evaluate the evidence, respond to those arguments and discuss the available options with you.
How Long Do You Have to File a Slip and Fall Lawsuit in Missouri?
Missouri generally provides five years for an action involving injury to a person, which can apply to many slip and fall personal injury lawsuits.
However, you should not assume that five years applies in every situation. Different deadlines or procedural requirements can apply depending on the defendant and circumstances.
There is also a practical reason not to wait.
Evidence doesn’t wait for the statute of limitations.
Surveillance footage may be overwritten. A hazardous condition may be repaired. Witnesses may become harder to find. Records can become more difficult to obtain.
Getting advice early can help identify the deadline that applies to your circumstances and the evidence that should be preserved.
Missouri’s five-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims
No. The fact that an accident happened on someone’s property does not automatically make the owner liable. A premises liability claim depends on factors such as the dangerous condition, the duty owed under the circumstances, what the responsible party knew or should have known, whether reasonable steps were taken and whether the condition caused the injury.
A warning sign can be relevant, but its presence does not automatically decide the case. The location, visibility and adequacy of the warning — along with the nature of the hazard and surrounding circumstances — may all need to be considered.
That can become an important issue. Missouri premises liability law considers what the injured person knew or reasonably could have discovered, but comparative fault may also be relevant depending on the circumstances. The fact that an insurer calls a hazard “obvious” does not by itself determine the outcome.
That doesn’t necessarily end the claim. Missouri courts have recognized that constructive knowledge does not always require proof that a dangerous condition existed for one specific minimum amount of time. Other evidence surrounding the condition and the property owner’s operations may matter.
Businesses can owe duties to customers who enter their premises. A claim may turn on whether a dangerous condition existed and whether the business knew or, through reasonable care, should have known about it. Evidence such as surveillance footage, employee testimony, inspection procedures and incident reports can become important.
Potentially. Missouri follows pure comparative fault. If you are found partly responsible, your compensation may be reduced according to your percentage of fault rather than automatically eliminated.
There is no reliable “average” that determines an individual case. The value depends on factors including liability, injury severity, medical treatment, lost income, future limitations, available insurance and the strength of the evidence.
Roach Law handles personal injury cases on a contingency-fee basis. There is no upfront attorney’s fee, and you do not pay an attorney’s fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Learn More About Slip and Fall Claims
What Is the Average Slip and Fall Settlement?
St. Louis Catastrophic Injury Lawyer
Injured in a Slip and Fall in St. Louis? Let’s Work Out What Happened.
A serious fall can leave you trying to recover while an insurance company is already asking questions about how the accident happened.
You don’t have to work through those questions alone.
Roach Law can investigate the property, assess the evidence, explain the Missouri law that may apply and help you understand your options.
Talk to a St. Louis slip and fall accident lawyer today. Your initial consultation is free, and there is no attorney’s fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Visit Our Personal Injury Law Office in St. Louis, MO
Roach Law Car Accident Lawyers
1010 Market St Suite 1605, St. Louis, MO 63101
(636) 519-0085
Highly Rated Medical Centers In St. Louis
- Barnes-Jewish Hospital – One Barnes-Jewish Hospital Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63110
- Mercy Hospital St. Louis – 615 S New Ballas Rd, St. Louis, MO 63141
- Missouri Baptist Medical Center – 3015 N Ballas Rd, St. Louis, MO 63131
- St. Luke’s Hospital – 232 S Woods Mill Rd, Chesterfield, MO 63017
*Disclaimer – we do not endorse these companies or profit from having them listed on our website.
St. Louis Slip and Fall Accidents Related Blog Posts
What Our St. Louis Clients Have to Say About Us
Read more of our here