PERSONAL INJURY
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Injuries Due to Slips / Falls - Description

Injuries incurred on other's property may be the legal responsibility of the owners or occupiers of the property. Depending on the rules and principles in the jurisdiction where the injury occurred, liability for damages including lost wages and medical bills, as well as pain and suffering may be recovered. A competent Personal Injury lawyer knows the Premises Liability Laws and will able to determine if damages due to an injury caused by a slip or fall may be sought. Common causes of slips and falls include ice and snow, spilled liquid, uneven stairs and broken steps. Slips and falls are usually complex. There are several legal issues and complications that need to be addressed. Personal Injury attorneys with premises liability experience are best qualified to advise you on your rights and the possibility to obtain positive outcomes in slip and fall cases.

Liability Principles No matter how a person ended up on your property, you may be liable for an injury. It doesn't matter if you invited someone onto your property (an invitee), someone comes onto your property with your permission for their own purposes (a licensee) or someone comes on without any permission (a trespasser). Owners are required to warn others of possible dangers, even trespassers, if it may be proven that you knew someone is likely to trespass on your property.

Premises Liability Laws in some states focus on the visitor's status on the property. Licensees need to be warned of hidden dangerous areas, and the owner may not necessarily need to have these areas fixed. Trespassers may recover damages if they may prove the owner knew others would enter his or her property without permission. Even though proper warning signs need not to be placed in the case of trespassers, it is still wise to do so in case children wander onto your property. Children that are injured on your property are more likely to recover damages, even if they are trespassers. This fact increases the property owners duty to warn in the case of children.

The condition of the property and activities of the owners, visitors and licensees are given consideration in some states. Reasonable care must be given to any visitor or licensees, but not to trespassers. Owners must continually inspect property and repair or place warnings on any dangerous conditions. The injured party must show neglect to the standard of reasonable upkeep by the owner to prove a premises liability case and prove the owner had knowledge of the danger. The injured party must also show that they took reasonable care for their own safety. It is very difficult to prove owners knew of dangers and that injured parties took reasonable care to avoid the danger.