Premises Liability Cases Are Not Always Cut and Dry
While auto accidents make up a huge portion of today’s personal injury law cases, slip and fall accidents are also very common and can leave you injured seriously. Also called premises liability, slip and fall cases generally involve accidents that occur on someone else’s property and can occur in the workplace, in public areas, at a business, and even at the residence of other people in the state. While they can leave you seriously injured and struggling to recover physically as well as financially, slip and fall accidents are also among the most difficult to argue for in the courts. As such, having a skilled personal injury lawyer on your side is important if you hope to be able to seek the compensation that you are owed.
The Difficulty Of Proving Fault The key reason that having our legal team on your side during a slip and fall accident case is that proving fault can be very difficult to do in these situations. In an auto accident, proving negligence or fault is often straightforward and involves showing that the other party was drunk, speeding, texting, or otherwise acting negligently.
In premises liability cases, this is trickier. A property owner must be shown to have known about a potentially unsafe condition and that they chose to ignore it completely, failing to fix it or to warn others about it.
For example, if a stairwell has a slippery area or an unsafe step, the property owner must be aware of it and fail to post a warning about the issue or repair it in order to be held liable. Similarly, a spill or a piece of debris that creates a walking hazard on its own isn’t enough to warrant a legal case. Instead, it must be shown that the property owner or manger knew that the problem existed. If they’re not aware of a spill, it’s more difficult to show that they owe you compensation.
Showing That You’re Owed Compensation Our legal team will work to show that you are owed compensation in several ways. With slip and fall cases it can be more involved, and resources or steps that may need to be utilized include:
- Reviewing past complaints about the property owner
- Reviewing past injuries on the property
- Statements from witnesses and even employees on duty that day
- Any surveillance footage from nearby cameras
- Safety related documentation from the property
Just because it can be more difficult to seek compensation doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try. Our legal team is ready to help fight for your rights and make sure that you receive the financial restitution that you deserve. Contact us today for your initial consultation and to learn more about what we can do for you.