Florida Slip and Fall Guide

Florida Slip and Fall Guide

Were you or a loved one seriously hurt from a trip and fall? The Florida Slip and Fall Guide was created by our experienced team of Tampa personal injury lawyers to help residents obtain the maximum compensation available for their claim.

Florida Slip and Fall GuideHave you suffered a slip and fall in Florida and were seriously injured? We are very sorry to hear that. We know that these accidents can result in painful injuries and you deserve to be rightfully and fully compensated. Contact our Tampa slip and fall attorneys today for a free consultation.

Download Our FREE Slip and Fall Guide

We are here to provide you with caring support during this difficult time. You don’t need to be hassled by the insurance companies when they try to pressure you into giving a statement that will make it seem like it was your fault that you fell and hurt yourself when their insured did not get rid of a hazard that caused your injury. We are here to protect your rights for compensation. Call us today to learn more.

Proving Fault for Slip and Fall

Often people are under on the assumption that just because they fell in a store, or at a business, the store is automatically responsible for their fall and for their injuries. That is not true. After a slip and fall in a grocery store, the managers of the store will claim they had no knowledge of the hazard on the floor and that’s something that needs to be promptly investigated.

Proving Fault for Slip and Fall

In order to have a bodily injury claim from a slip and fall incident in Florida, you must prove some carelessness or negligence on the part of the business.  To have a good slip and fall claim, our Tampa slip and fall attorneys must prove there was a dangerous condition in the building that the property owner was aware of prior to the incident, or that the property owner should have been aware of.  Once you seek medical attention for your slip and fall injuries, it is very important to promptly contact and retain our experienced personal injury lawyers.

Often after a fall it’s important to contact the store in order to get a copy of any surveillance video or any video that may show that you’ve fallen. That’s why it’s extremely important to contact our Tampa slip and fall attorneys promptly so that any evidences is not spoiled, and the claim or that request can go out very promptly. Often the store’s surveillance tapes are taped over or are not kept for a very long period of time, so you should promptly contact us so that we can send out a spoliation letter and get that store’s surveillance tape which may be very important in proving fault for your claim.

Steps to Get Compensation

The first thing to understand is that you’re basically looking to be compensated through the negligent individual’s insurance. They will very likely have liability insurance either under a general liability policy if it’s a store or under a homeowner’s or renter’s policy if it’s a residential place where the fall occurred. The key thing to remember is that there are basically two types of damages. These are what we call economic damages, like medical bills, and any wage loss you have that’s both in the past and the future. There are also non-economic damages, which are things like pain and suffering, mental anguish, inconvenience of running back and forth to the doctor, disability or impairment, or loss of the ability to enjoy life’s pleasures.

Steps to Get Compensation

If you are involved in a slip and fall accident, there are several things that you need to do that are very important. The first thing you should do is ascertain on what you slipped and fell. What was the substance that you fell on?

You want to take photographs of the scene of the accident if possible, and that can be done on your cellphone. You want to find out if there are any witnesses, and if there are, you want to get their names, addresses, and phone numbers. You want to give notice to the store or the property on which you fell. If there is a report that’s done, you want to get a copy of the report. Lastly and probably most importantly, you want to contact an attorney early on because they may need to get an expert involved to look at the information property.

Commercial businesses and buildings may have Medical Payments Coverage which provides benefits that will pay for your treatment. These benefits pay up to a certain time and money limit, regardless of whether you can prove responsibility of the owner or employees of the business.

Frequently Asked Questions | Florida Slip and Fall Guides

What Do I Need to Know About My Case?

The first thing to understand is that you’re basically looking to be compensated through the negligent individual’s insurance. They will very likely have liability insurance either under a general liability policy if it’s a store or under a homeowner’s or renter’s policy if it’s a residential place where the fall occurred. The key thing to remember is that there are basically two types of damages. These are what we call economic damages, like medical bills, any wage loss you have, and that’s both in the past and the future. There’s also non-economic damages, which are things like pain and suffering, mental anguish, inconvenience of running back and forth to the doctor, disability or impairment, or loss of the ability to enjoy life’s pleasures.

What Steps Should I Take?

Slip and fall accidents are one of the more difficult claims that an attorney can prosecute. The reason is that in effect you are saying that there was a dangerous condition that would or should’ve been obvious to the landowner that should’ve been corrected. Unfortunately, the comeback to that point of view is if the defect or the problem was so obvious and so visible, why didn’t the person that was injured see it and avoid it?

If you are involved in a slip and fall accident, there’s several things that you need to do that are very important. The first thing you should do is ascertain on what you slipped and fell. Was it water? Was it coffee? What was the substance that you fell on? You want to discern on what you slipped and fell.

If you’re involved in a slip and fall accident, you want to first, if possible, take photographs of the scene of the accident, and that can be done on your cellphone. You want to find out if there are any witnesses, and if there are, you want to get their names, addresses, and phone numbers. You want to give notice to the store or the property on which you fell. If there is a report that’s done, you want to get a copy of the report. Lastly and probably most importantly, you want to contact an attorney early on because he may need to get an expert involved to look at the information property.

Is the Store Automatically Responsible for My Slip and Fall?

Can I Make a Claim for a Slip and Fall Due to Rain Water at a Store

Oftentimes people are under the misperception that just because you fell in a store or at a business that the store or business is responsible for your fall, and that is not true.  You have to prove some carelessness or negligence on the part of the business or some dangerous condition in the building that the business owner was aware of priors. That’s why it’s very important to promptly contact and retain an attorney familiar with premises liability law.

Can I Make a Claim for a Slip and Fall Due to Rain Water at a Store?

In Florida, we have afternoon rains which can be tracked in to a grocery store by patrons walking into the store or by bringing carts into the store that have been out in the rain.  This is something that the store and its employees are aware of and they should take all necessary means in order to safeguard their patrons.

I Slipped at Store Because of a Leaky Cooler, Do I have a Claim?

The employees have created the dangerous condition upon which you are injured. In those type of cases it is not as important to prove where the dangerous condition came from, because the store or its employees actually caused the dangerous condition.

Can I File Suit if I Slipped on a Wet Floor at a Store?

One of the things that’s very important is to prove that the store and its employees had noticed the water or whatever substance is on the floor. Actual notice would mean that they knew that it was there and hadn’t yet cleaned it up or had done an inadequate job.

Slip and Fall on an Unsafe Sidewalk

If there’s a dangerous condition that’s not open and obvious, you may have a claim against the municipality or the county. Those two entities are governmental entities, so they’re considered sovereigns, which means that there are limitations on your recoverable damages, $200,000 per individual, $300,000 for you and your spouse, and there are certain requirements that you have to give notice to the governmental entity before filing suit.

How Can I Obtain the Store’s Surveillance Tapes?

How Can I Obtain the Store’s Surveillance TapesOftentimes after a fall it’s important to contact the store in order to get a copy of any surveillance video or any video that may show that you’ve fallen. That’s why it’s extremely important to contact the lawyer promptly so that that evidences is not spoiled. Oftentimes the store’s surveillance tapes are taped over or that the tapes are not kept for a very long period of time so you should promptly contact an attorney so that he can send out a spoliation letter and get that store’s surveillance tape which will be very important in pursuing your claim.

Can the Store Deny Liability for My Slip and Fall Injury?

After a slip and fall in a grocery store, the managers of the store will claim they had no knowledge of the substance being on the floor and that’s something that needs to be promptly investigated. We will request store surveillance video and we’ll be able to see how long the hazard remained.  At that point we can start pursuing your claim for a slip and fall.

Who Pays for My Medical Bills?

Commercial businesses and buildings may have Medical Payments Coverage which provides benefits that will pay for your treatment. These benefits pay up to a certain time and money limit, regardless of whether you can prove responsibility of the owner or employees of the business.

Protect Your Rights and Hire an Attorney

Our Tampa Slip and Fall Attorneys perform an extensive investigation to preserve evidence and provide the expert witnesses necessary to win your case.  Our firm is ready to take on the insurance companies and fully litigate your interests if we are not able to resolve your personal injury.

Download Our FREE Slip and Fall Guide