A slip and fall, and or trip and fall case is pretty much self explanatory. The case arises from a person slipping and/or tripping and falling, and sustaining injuries as a result.
However, there are special circumstances involved in these types of cases which would give rise to you actually being able to pursue a legal case for damages against a person or entity.
THE NECESSITY OF A DANGEROUS CONDITION
The Slip and Fall, and/or Trip and Fall, must be the result of a dangerous condition either on Public or Private Property.
Obviously most human beings slip and/or trip and fall many times in their lives. The law will not allow you to recover each and every time you slip and/or trip and fall.
The law will allow you to recover damages for injuries that result due to a dangerous condition on public and/or private property, and that the owners or persons responsible for the property knew or should have known about.
WHAT IS A DANGEROUS CONDITION?There are literally an infinite number of dangerous conditions that could result in your slipping and/or tripping and falling. Some examples of dangerous conditions we have dealt with are:
• Dangerously slippery surface
• Water or other wet substance on floor
• Cracks in a sidewalk or walkway
• Poorly maintained stairs or hand rails
• Holes in grass, sidewalk, street, or walkway
• Uneven stairs or surface
• Food and or other objects left on the floor
• Debris left on the floor
• Negligently placed parking stops in parking lots
• Unmarked steps
• Ice on walkway or in parking lot, etc.
THE NECESSITY OF NOTICE TO THE OWNER OR PERSON CONTROLLING THE PROPERTY WHERE THE DANGEROUS CONDITION EXISTS The owner or person controlling the property where you suffer a slip and/or trip and fall must either know about the dangerous condition, or should have known about the dangerous condition through reasonable inspections, before you can legally recover against them in these types of cases.
This part of a slip and/or trip and fall case is the most difficult to prove, which is why many lawyers do not take or handle these types of cases.
The testimony of an expert witness is required in many of these types of cases to prove that a dangerous condition existed and that the owner or controller of the property either knew or should have known about the condition.
I handle these types of cases. If you have suffered a slip and/trip and fall injury in California you may call me for a free consultation at 818-584-8831 ext.1 or go to my slip and fall website by clicking here for more information.
If you have suffered a slip and/trip and fall injury outside of California I highly recommend that you consult with a lawyer in your area.
By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq. , Copyright 2006
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What happens when it is impossible for the dangerous condition to be detected by the land owner?
There is only liability to the owner under premises liability law if they knew or should have known about a dangerous condition but failed to correct it.
Norm
So there is a broken drain pipe at my apartment complex that the landlord knows about and has known about for a while. The other day though the drain pipe iced over and covered the stairs in ice as well. The landlord did not know about the ice until after I slipped on it. Would I have a case?
In California this would be a great premises liability case that I would take so long as there are damages. (injuries)
Norm
Slip and fall cases can get tricky, as each situation is unique in regard to their status(owner, renter, etc.) and what the applicable homeowners insurance contract states.
If everything goes right though, these types of cases can be worth trying, no doubt.