Personal injury attorney, Hunt Bonneau, has helped many clients seek compensation after a slip and fall accident. But many people who have fall victims to similar events do not know who is responsible for their accidental injuries. It is usually assumed that the owner of the property is responsible, but what makes that so? Well, in today’s article, we will discuss just that.
In order for the owner of the property to be considered liable for your injuries sustained from a slip or trip and fall, one of the following must be true:
- The owner or employee of the premises must have caused the spill, worn or torn, spot, other dangerous condition or item to be underfoot.
- The owner or employee of the premises must have known of the dangerous condition but did nothing to amend the condition.
- The owner or employee of the premises had a reasonable amount of time to have known about and taken care of the dangerous condition.
In order to determine the property owner’s “reasonableness,” the law concentrates on whether there have been regular thorough and timely efforts to keep the property safe and clean. Here are some of the questions we can ask to determine that fact:
- Has the danger been on the property long enough that the owner should have known about it?
- Does the property owner have a regular maintenance schedule and procedure for examining and cleaning or repairing the property? If so, what evidence exists of this regular maintenance?
- If you were injured by an object on the floor or ground, was there a legitimate reason for the object to be there?
- If there was good reason for the object to be there but that reason no longer exists, could the object have been made safer without great inconvenience or expense to the property owner?
- Could a barrier or warning have been created to avoid an accident?
- Did poor lighting contribute to the accident?
Your own carelessness can reflect in the amount of the damages you receive as well. Were your actions reasonably safe at the time of the accident?
To get help answering these questions or for representation in personal injury matters, call the Bonneau Law Firm today at (972) 325-1100 to speak with an experienced slip and fall attorney.