What You Need To Know About Slip And Fall Accidents In Florida
Mark A. Steinberg
Personal Injury
Did you recently slip and fall due to dangerous conditions on a property? If you got injured after that, you could have a personal injury lawsuit in your hands. You can file a lawsuit if a lack of maintenance or perhaps a spill caused the place to be unsafe. There are also a variety of reasons behind the incident that you can use to file a claim against the property owner.In the state of Florida, the statute of limitations for a personal injury case is four years. However, you need to file a lawsuit much earlier because there are times when litigation will lead to finding different culpable parties.
The Amount Of A Slip And Fall Lawsuit
There are two variables that determine the amount of the lawsuit: degree of injury and the liability of the defendant.
For the liability of the defendant, a plaintiff needs to prove the property owner did something wrong. This can be difficult, which is why if you do suffer a fall, make sure to gather as much evidence as you can. One way to do that is to take photos of the area. Those can help assist in determining what the property owner did wrong.
Other piece of evidence that can prove negligence is if the property has actual or constructive notice of the substance on the floor. The same is true if the owner should have taken action to remedy the issue but did not.
Proof Burden
Slip and fall injuries fall under the umbrella of premises liability law. Property owners, as well as property maintenance personnel, are required to use reasonable care to mitigate unsafe conditions that are known, discoverable, or foreseeable. Because of that, property owners are expected to have regular site checks.
In the Florida Statute 768.0755, plaintiffs are required to show by the greater weight of the evidence that:
• The defendant has actual knowledge of the specific hazard
• The defendant should have known about the hazard because it happens regularly and is foreseeable
• The defendant should have known about the hazard because it has existed for a long time that it should have been discovered through reasonable care
Another thing you should know is that the premises liability law in the state takes into consideration the status of the visitor before the duty of care owned to them is determined. There are some people who will be owed a higher duty of care, based on their relationship to defendant.
The general categories are the following:
• Public Invitee - If you are invited as a member of the public for a public purpose
• Business Invitee - An individual invited on-site to directly or indirectly further profits of the entity that owns the land
• Invited Licensee - A social guest
• Uninvited Licensee - An individual who stays on-site for their own convenience without being invited
• Trespasser - An individual who enters the property without invitation
The exact defenses for slip and fall cases will depend based on individual facts. Therefore, make sure you have reliable legal support to get you through the process. Only a lawyer can help you get the compensation that you deserve.