The Most Common Defenses to Slip and Fall Cases
Slip and falls often occur due to unmaintained surfaces or things in unexpected places. Victims often slip-on wet floors or trip over items because the owners haven’t addressed the dangerous situation (even when they realized it). For example, someone might spill a soda in a store aisle. It sits there for hours and no employee cleans it. A customer may inadvertently walk through the pool of liquid, slip, and be seriously injured. People can slip, fall, and be seriously injured in many other situations. If the business owner knows (or should reasonably know) that a dangerous condition exists on their property, they should at least warn visitors of the risks. When they don’t, people get hurt. At Suarez & Montero, our goal is to pursue maximum compensation for those victims and to hold property owners fully accountable for their negligence. You will quickly learn after suffering an injury from a slip and fall that it can be difficult to obtain compensation for your injury. One of the main points of concern in a slip and fall case is getting a property owner to admit fault. Below you will find some of the most common defenses that property owners and insurance companies use when defending a slip and fall case.
Open and Obvious Doctrine: In Florida, the law says that when you are on another person’s property, you have a duty to avoid any dangers that are open and obvious to you. This is referred to as the open and obvious doctrine. The open the open an obvious doctrine is a legal defense that allows the defendant in a premises liability case 2 be excused from liability or responsibility if they can show that you were injured from an open and obvious hazardous condition on their property.
Contributory Negligence: One of the first defenses that are commonly used in premises liability cases is the defense of contributory negligence. Essentially, an insurance company or a property owner will claim that you are responsible for your injury because you were also negligent. If a property owner can show that you were negligent in causing your fault, they can reduce their potential liability or responsibility for your injury. In Florida, we have a comparative negligence system. This means that even if you were negligent for your injury or responsible for your injury in some way, you can still recover damages from the property owner as long as you can show they were negligent. For example, if you are hurt from a slip and fall at the supermarket and a court finds that you were 50% to blame for the accident, then your recovery will be reduced by that same 50%.
The Property Owner Didn’t Know of the Dangerous Condition: Another common defense raised by property owners is that they were not aware of the dangerous condition that caused your fall. However, depending on the type of property at issue, Florida law provides various standards that must be met by all property owners pertaining to maintenance and inspection. This means that even if the property owner was not aware of the dangerous condition that caused your accident, they may still be held responsible for your injury. Moreover, if you can show that the property owner failed to regularly clean and maintain his or her property for instance, then it is irrelevant whether the property owner knew or didn’t know of the dangerous condition that caused your fall.
Let Our Miami accident Attorney Help! Schedule a Free Consultation Today! After a slip and fall accident, you may be worried that you will be unable to find a responsible party to pay for your injury. If you or someone you love were injured in a slip and fall accident of any kind, our top-rated slip and fall lawyers can help. Having experienced slip and fall lawyers fighting for you can mean the difference between winning top dollar for your claim and receiving no compensation at all. Our attorneys are ready to provide proven legal representation and stand ready to protect your rights. We are available 24/7 to give you a free, no risk case consultation!
We serve clients throughout Florida including those in the following areas:
Miami-Dade: Aventura, Coral Gables, Doral, Fontainebleau, Hialeah, Homestead, Kendall, Miami, Miami Beach, Miami Lakes, North Miami, Tamiami, and Westchester.
Broward: Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, and Weston; and Palm Beach County including Boca Raton, Lake Worth, and West Palm Beach.
