Slip, Trip & Fall Accidents

Premises “slip and fall” accidents result from the failure of a premises owner, manager and or lessor to keep the floors and interior and/or exterior stairways, grounds sidewalks and/or pathways safe. Under premises liability law, property owners and their employees and agents must ensure their premises are safe for all persons who might be present. If, for any reason, a hazard exists at a premises a visible warning must be posted. If inadequate property maintenance or failure to warn of dangerous conditions leads to a slip and fall injury, the victim may seek damages against the premises owner, employees and/or agents.

Common slip and fall accidents are caused by a broken stair, a foreign substance on the floor or an icy condition. They can occur at a commercial premises (i.e. a store, gas station etc.), City buildings, apartment buildings or at private homes. As long as the premises owner, manager and or lessor had notice of the condition that caused the slip and fall prior to the accident, they will be held responsible for the resulting injury. The notice can be actual (they actually knew the defective condition that caused the fall existed before the fall) and/or it can be constructive (the defective condition existed for such a length of time before the fall that they should have known it was there).