If you’re walking to work, shopping or visiting a neighbor’s house, you could fall prey to a tragic slip-and-fall event. If the owner of the property failed to make the property reasonably safe for visitors, you might have a viable claim to pursue financial damages in court.
This article will review three common slip-and-fall accident scenarios: (1) broken sidewalk accidents; (2) falling at a neighbor’s party; and (3) tripping at a retail store.
Examples of slip-and-fall accidents
Broken sidewalk falls: If you fall on a broken piece of sidewalk, who is at fault? In many cases, the city or municipality in charge of the sidewalk’s upkeep will be the one to blame for your fall. However, sometimes the owner of a building next to the sidewalk is responsible for maintaining the walkway safely.
Getting hurt at a neighbor’s house: People who invite others to their home for parties need to make sure that their homes are free of potential dangers. If someone gets hurt on their property because of a dangerous condition — one the property owner should have known about or should have fixed — then the property owner could be liable for injuries. Similarly, property owners could be liable in the event of a pool-related accident or drowning, particularly if the property owner failed to supervise the pool area or failed to fence in the pool to prevent people from falling into it.
Falling down in a retail store: When a business offers its premises up to the public for the purpose of making purchases, the business has to maintain a strict eye toward premises safety to ensure that no unintended accidents happen. For example, the business and its employees must routinely inspect floors to ensure that there are no dangerous obstacles or wet spots, on which customers could inadvertently trip or slip.
Damages recoverable after a slip-and-fall accident
Those who suffer serious injuries in slip-and-fall accidents could incur financial damages relating to the costs they pay for their medical care. They might also need to pay money for in-home services while they are recovering from their injuries. Also, they could suffer from lost income if the injuries prevent them from being able to work. All these damages and other categories of financial loss could be pursuable if the slip-and-fall accident was the fault of another party.