Slip and fall accidents are not always easy to prove. In fact, thousands of people are injured each year, after falling on stairs, wet floors or other slippery surfaces, but they never receive the compensation they deserve. This article will discuss the factors that need to be present in order to prove liability in a slip and fall accident.
The first question to ask after a slip and fall event is whether the property owner could have prevented the injuries if he or she had been more careful. For example, a leaky roof could cause a wet spot on the floor that leads to a slip and fall event. If the property owner failed to fix the leak, or failed to place signage warning of the danger before the leak was fixed, then he or she might be responsible. That said, if a reasonable person should have been aware of the possible danger and avoided it, then the property owner may not be liable.
At least one or more of the following factors generally need to be present in order to prevail in a slip and fall accident case: 1) the property owner and/or employees should have been aware of dangerous conditions because any other reasonable person would have known about it and fixed it; 2) the property owner and/or employees knew the dangerous situation was there but failed to repair it; or, 3) the property owner and/or employee actually caused the dangerous situation through a spill, broken floor or the creation of another kind of obstacle.
If one of the above is present and can be proved after a North Carolina slip and fall injury, then the plaintiff will have a higher likelihood of succeeding in the pursuit of financial restitution relating to his or her premises liability case. By speaking with a qualified personal injury attorney, injured parties can explore what legal strategies to employ in their cases to try and achieve this kind of favorable result.
Source: FindLaw, “Proving Fault in a Slip and Fall Accident,” accessed Dec. 23, 2015