Slip and Fall Claim Tips
Looking to File a Claim Against a Store Where You Were Injured? Here Is What You Need to Know
There are many factors that can cause patrons on a commercial property to become injured. Water on a floor due to inclement weather or leaking pipes can cause an individual to slip and fall. Boxes and packages that were placed in unstable positions can tumble onto nearby people. An exposed nail in a floor or a wall can scratch passersby. Flammable substances that are improperly stored can easily combust. It behooves businesses to ensure that their properties are safe and well-maintained, but when accidents occur, the injured party has the right to take legal action with a slip and fall claim.
Those who sustain injuries in commercial establishments may face difficulty in proving that their injuries resulted from carelessness, negligence, or a dangerous condition on the property. For that reason, it is crucial for patrons to know their rights. After consulting with our Personal injury lawyers in Tampa FL, you should consider the following factors as you file your slip and fall claim.
Top 5 Slip and Fall Claim Tips
1. Not Preparing for Uncommon Conditions Is One Way to Hold a Business Liable.
Refusal to accommodate atypical circumstances, such as harsh weather, is one common way that leads to customers’ injuries. To illustrate, in the event of rainwater or similar conditions, employees should take all necessary means in order to safeguard their patrons, such as by providing mats. If you are injured by slipping on water tracked into a store, you may file a claim against the store.
2. You Must Demonstrate That the Business Is Actually at Fault.
In order to have a bodily injury claim, you have to prove either negligence on the part of the business or a dangerous condition in the building of which the business owner had been aware. If, for example, you fell because of a wet floor in a store, it would be crucial to prove that the store and its employees had seen or been informed about the liquid on the floor.
3. Fault and Negligence Can Be Inferred by Proving the Business’s Failure to Respond to Notice.
There are two types of notice by which a store can be held liable: actual notice and constructive notice. For actual notice to apply, the employees must have known that the substance was on the floor and was not adequately removed, if it was cleaned up at all. Constructive notice, on the other hand, would be relevant if the employees were simply unaware of the liquid on the floor, in which case the store would nevertheless remain responsible.
4. The Business May Try to Destroy Evidence, so Time Is of the Essence.
After a fall, the managers of the store may claim that they had no knowledge of the wet floor, and this must be promptly investigated. It is imperative to immediately contact the store to get a copy of any surveillance video that may show your fall. Our Personal injury lawyers in Tampa FL will submit a spoliation letter to prevent the store from taping over or otherwise destroying the surveillance tape, thereby preserving the evidence for your claim.
5. You May Not Need to Verify the Source of the Condition That Led to Your Injury.
Reports of individuals sustaining injuries from falling merchandise are becoming increasingly common. Stores can store excess product in areas over shoppers’ heads. Sometimes this material will shift and fall, hurting anyone walking below. If you slipped and fell due to a leaky cooler, the store, its employees, or another patron were directly responsible for the dangerous condition by which you are injured. In that type of slip and fall claim, it is not as important to prove the source of the dangerous condition.
Accidents happen, but when the injured person is not at fault, he or she may seek damages from the responsible party. Businesses who allow unsafe conditions to develop on their properties may try to cover their tracks when a patron is injured, making it imperative for the injured party to contact one of our Personal injury lawyers in Tampa FL as soon as possible. If you have sustained a slip and fall injury due to a hazard on a commercial property, get in touch with our attorneys immediately in order to make sure that the business is held legally responsible for your injury.
