Slip and Fall - Trip and Fall Accidents
"Slip and fall" is a term for personal injury cases which arise when injury is caused when a person slips or trips and falls as a result of a dangerous condition on someone else's property. Slip and fall accidents occur inside or outside a building, and can occur on commercial, residential, or public property.
Every owner of a building is responsible for keeping it safe so that persons who come onto or into the property will not be exposed to a dangerous condition that could cause a serious injury. Obvious examples are the store that leaves a wet floor after mopping, but fails to put out warning cones, causing a customer to slip and fall, or a building that has broken steps leading to the entrance, and due to the broken or rotted step, a person trips and falls suffering a serious injury.
 
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Any number of different conditions can result in the creation of a tripping hazard. Consider these: torn carpets, rotted steps, defectively built decks or balconies that collapse, and others. Elevators that malfunction also cause injuries to many people. It is the property owner who is responsible for making sure that there are no dangerous conditions, and the building owner will be held liable where it can be proved that the dangerous condition was either known to them and they did nothing to correct the problem, or they should have known about the problem due to the obvious nature of it, or because it was the property owner or its agents that were responsible for creating the dangerous condition.
Property owners must also insure that the building's structure is in compliance with applicable building codes. For example, handrails typically must be installed at a certain general height. A person who faills on a stairway that lacked appropriate handrails, where the lack of the handrails caused the injuries, could have a valid claim against the building owner for violating building codes.
This pair of medical illustrations were created for the trial of a case where a woman broke her hip in a fall at a grocery store. The professionally created medical images were made to be an accurate demonstration of the fractures suffered by our client, and the manner in which the surgery was done to repair the severe fractures, including the hardware and screws that were used. These images were used during the testimony of the surgeon to help the jury fully understand the serious nature of the injury and the required surgery. Illustration by Gale Heilman of Legal Graphics.
Slip and fall accidents center on the question of a property owner's duty to maintain the property in a safe condition. To prove negligence, the injury party must prove that the property owner knew or should have known about the hazard and failed to repair it. Negligence can be also be proved by proving a violation of a statute.
At Blackman Legal Group we know the details and effort necessary to successfully recover what you are entitled to. If you or a loved one has been injured in a slip and fall accident, call Blackman Legal Group now at 1-800-444-5602 or CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONNAIRE FOR A FREE CASE EVALUATION. Don’t delay! You may have a valid claim and be entitled to compensation for your injuries, but a lawsuit must be filed before the statute of limitations expires.