People can lose their balance and fall for all kinds of reasons. Some individuals have medical issues, like vertigo, that make it all but impossible for them to consistently maintain their sense of balance. Other people may encounter unexpected obstacles that make them trip or slip.
Some slips and trips are truly accidents, while others are the results of negligence on the part of another party. Businesses that make their facilities open to the public should do their best to keep those spaces reasonably safe and accessible, but they don’t always succeed. Some companies make operational decisions that effectively increase the risk to patrons.
When someone falls at a business and believes that their harm was caused by unsafe facilities, can they hold the business accountable for their slip-and-fall injuries?
Premises liability claims often require proof of negligence
The term for the legal and financial responsibility one party may have for the injuries of another on private property is premises liability. When someone gets hurt at a business, they might file a premises liability lawsuit against the company. Both businesses and individual property owners tend to carry special insurance that
Typically, an injured business patron pursuing compensation with a premises liability lawsuit needs to establish that the business was negligent. Negligence occurs in a situation where one party has a duty of care to another and fails to fulfill that duty.
Making a store or office space accessible to members of the public creates that duty of care. People should be able to trust companies and property owners to maintain safe facilities. Failing to engage in conduct that others typically recognize as necessary for safety is the second element of negligence. Failing to clean after a spill or repair a leaking refrigeration unit could be examples of negligence that could justify a slip-and-fall claim if someone gets hurt at the store.
Those with broken bones, brain injuries and other medical consequences from a slip-and-fall at a business may need to review the situation carefully with a skilled legal team to see if they have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. Discussing the situation that led to someone’s injury in depth in this way could help someone establish whether they are in an actionable position or not.