Don’t let it slip your mind: slip-and-fall accidents keep doctors very busy in our country. Falls account for over 8 million hospital emergency room trips every year and surpass all other reasons for ER visits (over 21%). Slips and falls, meanwhile, account for more than 1 million visits (12%).
These statistics alone probably makes you want to crawl into a hole, put a blanket over your head, and never leave your house.
But that’s hardly going to make your life easier and safer, as there are plenty of ways to slip and fall at home (think about your bathroom floor, which you step on several times throughout the day).
What is a slip-and-fall accident case?
In legalese, “slip and fall” refers to a personal injury case, in which an individual is injured as a result of a slip or trip on someone else’s property. Basically, if you slip on your bathroom floor, your chances of getting compensation are slim to none.
In general, slip and fall lawsuits go hand in hand with a premises liability suit, which entitles you to hold the property owner accountable for your injuries and damages caused by a slip or fall.
But here’s where it gets tricky: you can’t simply sue property owners every time you carelessly forget to notice the “Caution! Wet floor!” sign.
In fact, you can only obtain compensation for a slip and fall accident if you prove that the property owner or someone else is legally responsible for your injuries and damages and that slipping or tripping would not have happened if the responsible party wasn’t negligent or violated safety rules:
- The owner or someone else created the conditions that caused a slip-and-fall accident
- The owner was aware of the condition but failed to fix it due to negligence
- The condition has existed for such an unreasonably long time that the owner should have learned about the condition to fix it
Consult a slip and fall accident attorney at the Law Offices of Howard Kornberg, the only law firm in Los Angeles that won’t allow negligent property owners to slip away from responsibility.
Call our Los Angeles offices at 310-997-0904 or fill out this contact form to get a free initial consultation and find out if your injuries were caused by someone else’s negligence or are merely a result of your own carelessness.
What are the most common slip and fall accidents?
- Wet floor (it’s the responsibility of a property owner to have liquid spills, rain, snow, ice, or other factors causing wet floor, cleaned up to prevent slips and falls): Also, the property owner or the property staffers must set up the “Wet Floor” signs to warn visitors/customers.
- Snow and ice: Property owners are responsible for removing snow and ice that builds up on sidewalks, steps, parking lots (and every inch of territory they own within their property).
- Damaged floors and floor coverings: Anything that is torn, broken, loose, or otherwise damaged may cause slips and falls
- Fallen merchandise and other objects and equipment become obstacles and create a tripping hazard
- Improperly maintained elevators and escalators (malfunctioning, stopping or starting abruptly, etc.)
- Slippery flooring materials (stone, ceramic tile, glass, and other smooth materials) and overly-polished floors and walkways. Design defects are also the responsibility of the property owner and architects
- Inadequate lighting that makes it difficult to see steps, obstacles, ice, the “wet floor” signs, damaged floors, etc
- Landscape hazards (loose sand, pebble-sized gravel) that may cause a slip-and-fall accident.
- Damaged sidewalks, ditches, potholes, and pavements patches
This is a non-exhaustive list of the most common slip and fall accidents causes. Consult our slip and fall accident attorney to know if your particular circumstances amount to a slip-and-fall claim.
There are time limits, in which you may file a slip-and-fall claim, which means you shouldn’t waste any time. Seek the legal advice of our Los Angeles attorney today by calling at 310-997-0904 or completing this contact form for a free case evaluation.
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