Slips, Trips & Falls due to Unsafe Premises – How to File a Claim for Compensation?

Unsafe buildings are more common than you think. Have you been injured by dangerous premises?

The modern business has an obligation to provide a safe platform for the sale of their goods. Whether this means ensuring that their website isn’t carrying malware, or whether that means providing safe buildings without trip or slip hazards, depends on the business. When you are injured by a trip, slip, or fall on a business’s premises, there is always a question over if it could have been avoided or not.

If you have had an accident as described above, and you are injured as a result of your slip, trip, or fall, then you are entitled to compensation. Businesses have liability insurance for exactly this reason. If they fail in their duty to provide you with a safe shopping experience, then you should make a claim for personal injury.

Let’s look at how you would go about filing a claim for compensation if you have been injured due to unsafe footing in business premises.

Businesses Have A Duty of Protection Against Trips and Falls

While you are on someone else’s land, it is only reasonable that you don’t come to harm as a result of this. If you need to go to a store for food and supplies necessary for your survival, only to have that survival threatened, then you are well within your rights to protest. Businesses should be performing risk assessment for these reasons… but many don’t.

Putting in a claim for compensation due to a trip, slip, or fall, is a perfectly reasonable request. There are certain circumstances when someone else’s negligence is responsible for your pain and suffering – as well as any medical bills you accrue because of it.

Some slips, trips, or falls, that you might get compensation for include:

• Unmarked raised areas of flooring, such as unexpected steps.
• Wet or slippery floors that are not clearly identified.
• Bumpy flooring which isn’t all the same level and causes an accident.
• Loose flooring, such as rugs or carpet tiles, which causes you to tip.
• A fall down unmarked stairs or because of any of the above is classed as the same type of lawsuit.

If the case is to be progressed, your lawyer will want as much evidence as possible about the accident. Try to gather witnesses, take photographs, or describe the scene to them so that they can do it on your behalf, should you be incapacitated.

What Happens When Businesses Fail to Provide Safe Premises?

If you are injured by a slip, trip, or fall, on someone else’s property, you can hold them responsible for it. This is especially true of those times when the business failed to take appropriate measures to stop you from being injured. If you slip on a floor that an employee is mopping, for example, and there is no warning that the floor is wet, you could be entitled to compensation.

However, if you slip on a wet floor that you were informed was wet, and the area was closed to the public at the time, it could well be argued that you were informed of the risk and that you are to blame. This is precisely the route that the firm’s insurance company is likely to take to stop themselves having to owe you any money.

At this point, you need a personal injury lawyer. Hiring a legal expert, such as those found in Dolan Dobrinsky Rosenblum Bluestein, will give you the best chance at getting the compensation you need to pay those medical bills. Without an attorney, you need to file the correct paperwork yourself, at the right time, and in the right order. It is the same as the difference between hiring a plumber and fixing a burst pipe yourself… nobody wants a flooded house.

Once you have hired your personal injury/accident lawyer, they will take you through the process of claiming for a trip, slip, or fall.

What’s the Risk of a Slip, Trip, or Fall Accident?

The risk is that you dislocate a shoulder, break a bone, or knock a joint out of place. There are any number of things that can happen to you during a bad fall. You could end up needing a hip replacement, losing valuables, or needing to go to the ER. Even if the slip, trip, or fall, has taken time away from your workday, then you have lost earnings because of it. All of this adds up to expense and troubles you otherwise wouldn’t have had to deal with.

Things to Consider when Pursuing a Slip, Trip, or Fall Claim?

If you do intend to make a claim for a slip, trip, or fall, you will have to do so within four years of the date of the accident. In Florida, this is when the statute of limitations expires on such cases. If someone you love tripped and fell, but afterwards died, you only have 2 years to claim.

You should keep in mind that you can only claim for this type of accident if you can prove that it was caused as a result of the property owner’s negligence. This means that you can’t fall due to your own mis-stepping and sue a company for it. These laws are put in place to prevent false accusations. You should also be aware that most modern stores have some form of CCTV inside, in order to keep staff safe in the event of robberies.

The most common cause of trip, slip, and fall accidents in the Miami area, is not indoors at all. Cracks in the sidewalk are a common issue and the local authorities have a responsibility to correct them. Because sidewalk cracks aren’t obvious, they are the leading cause of accidents outdoors, involving a trip that causes broken bones. With Florida having an aging population, this is a particularly big issue for all of us. You could argue, in fact, that reporting it and claiming compensation is your duty as a responsible Miami citizen.

Should I File for Compensation after a Fall?

Yes, you should never pay medical bills for something that wasn’t your fault. Get the help you deserve by hiring a specialist injury lawyer and don’t look back.