When you slip, fall, and sustain injuries on someone else’s property because of a dangerous condition existing on that property, you can sue for damages. The property owner can be held liable for the dangerous condition that caused the accident. Even though older people are more likely to have such accidents, a slip and fall can happen to anybody, especially when there is a dangerous condition.

The most common dangerous conditions that result in slip and fall accidents include:

Accumulation of snow, ice, or water on the property
Wet floors as a result of mopping or spilling of liquids
Irregular level of the floor
Bunched or torn carpets, or holes in the floor
Faulty stairway or weak hand rails
Objects on the floor that are not supposed to be there
Poor visibility due to inadequate lighting

When you are trying to decide whether you should file a slip and fall lawsuit, the most important thing to consider is whether the property owner can be held liable for the dangerous condition that has caused you to slip and fall. A dangerous condition could be permanent like a faulty stairway, or temporary condition like spilt water on the floor.

Owner’s Responsibility

The property owner is responsible for permanent dangerous conditions, since they should have had knowledge of such conditions and done something to correct it. However, the property owner is also liable for temporary dangerous conditions as well, when enough time has passed from the time the dangerous condition occurred and the time you experienced this slip and fall accident.

Ignorance is not a Defense

The other factor to consider is comparative negligence. This means, how much were you to blame for the accident. Were you careless or preoccupied while walking, or did you ignore warning signs put up by the property owner pertinent to the dangerous condition. If you chose to ignore these signs and chose to confront this peril on your own which ended up defeating you, you may not have too much of a case. Your ignorance of the threat cannot be verified since you chose to disregard the warning signs.

Some people should not be owners though. They invested in businesses and thought it was going to be simple but they just cannot keep up with the energy that is needed to run a business. Then they start to be careless and show apathy towards their responsibilities. They need to post warning signs if there is a spill, if a step is broken, or when they are mopping. If they believe that they can cut corners like this then perhaps they should not manage an operation and your lawsuit is another indication of this being the truth.