Fall Accidents and the Liability of Property Owners

In a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), slip and fall accident is the leading cause of injuries and deaths among young children in the US. According to the organization, 3,420 out of 100,000 children sustain nonfatal injuries caused by falls while more than 12,000 die every year because of these unintentional accidents.

Legal Ramifications

Since most cases of slip, trip, and fall accidents are caused by negligent individuals, victims can file a personal injury lawsuit against anyone who has been reckless and careless with his or her actions.

To recover personal injury claims, the injured victims should prove certain things such as:

The defendant created the dangerous condition.
The defendant was fully aware of the dangerous condition but did not do anything to correct it.
The condition should be obvious or existed for such a length of time that any reasonable person could have known it.

Commercial Property Owners

Stores, restaurants, malls, buildings, and other business establishments are legally bound to provide safety to its customers or to other people by making sure that the premises are free from any hazard.

According to lawyers, slip and fall victims can easily prove the owners’ negligence by showing that the latter have violated a law. For example, there is a statute that requires building and establishment owners to install handrails and other similar features. If a person has slipped because the building lacks handrails on the stairs, it is clear that the premise owner has violated the building code.

In personal injury claims which involve commercial property, the injured victims may sometimes file a case against more than one entity. For instance, a landlord rents space to a business establishment where a customer has been injured. In some situations, the landlord and the tenant can be named as defendants.

Government Property

When a person has encountered a slip and fall accident inside a local, state, or federal building, filing for a personal injury claim may be harder since government entities have “immunity” from lawsuits and liabilities which means that it cannot be easily sued without its permission.