Falls account for more than 8 million hospital emergency department visits, which represent 21.3% cause of death. More than 1 million visits involve slips and falls. As per the Consumer Product Safety Commission, floors and materials on floors directly contribute to more than 2 million fall injuries every year. Falls are the cause of 50% of all accidental deaths in the home and most occur at ground level and not from an elevation. Many slip, trip, and fall accidents happen in stores or businesses. If this happens to you, how do you find out if you can sue? And who is liable for your auto accident? A store or business can be held liable for your injury from a slip, trip or fall accident if:
- There was negligence on the store or business’ part
- The negligence caused your accident
Simply falling or slipping on someone’s store does not mean that they are negligent. An unsafe condition should have been there. Also, to prove that the defendant was negligent, you should have proof that the store or business knew about the unsafe condition, or that it should have reasonably known about it.
Who can be Sued?
When it comes to store liability cases, there is one very important question – who can you sue? In most cases, it depends on the nature of the negligence. If the owner of the store also owns the property, then the only potential defendant would generally be the store owner. However, keep in mind that a lot of store owners lease their property, which means that you may also have a claim against the property owner/landlord.
Important Issues to Keep in Mind
You must remember that to win a slip and fall case, there must be negligence. The most crucial issues that impact negligence in a slippery floor case generally include the following:
- Was the floor of the store unreasonably slippery?
- What was the reason for the slippery floor?
- If the floor was slippery due to a foreign substance, how long had the substance been there before you slipped?
- Was there any warning about the floor’s slippery condition?
- Did you have any idea that the floor was slippery before slipping?
- Did the landlord or owner of the store know about the floor being unreasonably slippery? Or should they have known?
Since it is the store owner or landlord’s duty to keep you reasonably safe, you can file a personal injury claim or lawsuit against them and get compensation for the injuries you sustained due to the slip or fall. If you or a loved one suffered an injury in a slip, trip or fall due to a store owner’s negligence, you should immediately contact one of the many qualified personal injury attorneys at the RMFW Law Firm at 212-344-1000. You can schedule a meeting to discuss the facts and find out if you have a viable case. We have been around the block before. RMFW Law Firm knows these cases well. We will be able to point you in the right direction and we will lead the way if you have a case that is notable. You pay us nothing up front and since RMFW Law Firm only takes a percentage of the final settlement or verdict, you never really pay us all. We are paid nothing unless we win/settle this case for you. Call us today!
