Liability is a key factor in slip and fall accident claims as it is in all personal injury cases. It is your duty to prove that someone else’s negligence led to the slip and fall accident if you are looking for an insurance settlement or have filed a personal injury lawsuit in court.
In a slip and fall insurance claim or lawsuit, the parties that the victim claims to be responsible for the accident will probably make an argument that the carelessness of the claimant contributed fully or partially to the accident. The injured person has to defend the argument by providing supportive evidence.
Theories Of Liability In The Case Of Slip And Fall Accidents
For the other party to be held responsible for the injuries suffered in a slip and fall accident, the victim of the accident will have to prove one among the following:
- A property owner should have identified a dangerous condition and repaired or removed it but did not do that. The important question that will be raised here is whether a reasonable person would have recognized the danger and whether the defendant had enough opportunity to correct the situation before the occurrence of the accident.
- A property owner caused the dangerous condition that led to the slip and fall accident, for example by leaving a hazardous obstacle on the way where people walked and any reasonable person could predict that the condition would lead someone tripping and falling.
Proving Negligence
For a property owner to be held responsible for a slip and fall accident, the injured person has to prove that the owner of the property failed to act as a reasonable person would have acted in similar circumstances. To assess whether the defendant took a reasonable action or not, the plaintiffs have to consider some factors including:
- Did the dangerous condition exist long enough for a reasonable property owner to take corrective action?
- Did the property owner maintain a policy of conducting routine checks on his/her property to identify potential dangers?
- Can the property owner justify the creation of the potential hazard in any way?
- Was there any way to reduce the adverse impact of the hazardous condition like denying access to the location, placing a warning sign and more?
- Did limited visibility play a role in the slip and fall accident?
If you are injured in a slip and fall accident, consult with a slip and fall lawyer to learn all the legal sides of the accident claim and get the compensation you deserve.