Slip and Fall Accident Lawyers

• Torn carpeting
• Abrupt changes in flooring
• Poor lighting
• Narrow stairs or a
• Wet floor

All the above dangerous conditions can cause you to slip and hurt yourself. Outside a building, you may slip and fall because of rain, ice, snow or a hidden hazard, such as a gap or a hard to see pothole in the ground. Slip and fall accidents can occur on commercial, residential or public property. Regardless of where they happen, all property or building owners have a certain level of responsibility (duty of care) to make sure an environment is safe.

Slip and fall accidents are the most common type of “premises liability” cases, which center on the question of a property owner’s duty to care for the property. Injury by fire or other accidents resulting from defects in the conditions of buildings also fall under this category.

Slip and fall injury claims in North Miami Beach and all of Miami-Dade County are governed under the negligence law. To win a premises liability claim, an injured victim must prove:

1. Either that the defendant created the hazard that lead to the accident, or
2. That the defendant knew or should have known about the danger and had it removed or repaired.

This can often be difficult to prove, since proving when a given hazard first appeared can be challenging.

Example: If you slip and fall on a wet floor in a grocery store, without some evidence of when the floor got wet, it may be difficult to prove that the store “knew or should have known” about the dangerous condition. If the spill happened seconds before you arrived, then the store most likely could not have known about it. Since Plaintiff’s have the burden of proof, proving when the hazard first appeared and that the store should have known about the hazard presents problems in certain cases.