The National Floor Safety Institute reports that falls are the number one cause of emergency room visits, and 12% of these are slip and fall incidents—that’s over 1 million a year. With so many cases, associated injuries, and causes ranging from wet floors and uneven surfaces to icy walkways, understanding liability for these falls is crucial.
Responsibility for a slip and fall case depends on the conditions of the property, what individuals were doing when they fell, and several other factors. Today’s post will give you a general overview of slip and fall liability so you can better understand your rights and responsibilities in these situations. This post should not be considered legal advice, and you should consult with attorneys like PMHP Law if you have any questions.
Understanding Contributory Negligence
Contributory negligence, aka comparative negligence, is a system many states use that divides the fault of an accident between multiple parties. This generally means that different individuals can only receive part of their compensation if they are partly at fault. For example, if you are found to be 20% at fault for an accident, your settlement amount would be reduced by 20%.
Georgia uses a modified comparative negligence rule. It follows the same principles as normal comparative negligence, with the added condition that if you’re more than 50% responsible for the injury, you can’t receive any compensation. Having a clear understanding of who is liable in a slip and fall case is crucial to allocating the proper and fair compensation for everyone.
Scenario 1: Victim of Fall May Not Recover Damages
Even if the conditions of a property aren’t ideal, individuals who are injured in a fall may not recover damages under certain circumstances such as the following:
- Ignoring Warning Signs: If a property owner has clearly marked an area as wet, slippery, or otherwise unsafe with signs (and/or has taken measures to fix it), but a patron ignored these signs and suffered a fall, the property owner may not be responsible for any injuries.
- Trespassing: In a slip and fall case where a person was trespassing on private property or a restricted area when they fell, the property owner is not usually held responsible.
- Using Improper Footwear: Something as simple as footwear can shift liability. If an individual was using inadequate footwear for the conditions (e.g., high heels on a construction site) at the time of the accident, they will likely not be able to recover damages from the fall.
- Being Distracted: In general, if most people would have been able to notice and avoid the hazard, responsibility may fall on the victim of the fall. For example, if they were on their phone, chasing after children, simply not paying attention to signs, etc., they may be allocated at least partial fault.
Scenario 2: Property Owner Is Liable
Property owners are held responsible for a slip and fall case if they don’t recognize hazardous conditions and make efforts to notify others or fix them. This includes cleaning up spills, putting up warning signs, etc. If there’s a situation that the property owner reasonably should have known about and been able to remedy, but didn’t, they are also liable.
Property owners can also be held responsible for a fall if they were the cause of the hazardous conditions(ex. leaving debris or slippery substances like oil or cleaner on the floor). Anyone who files a slip and fall claim must provide evidence for one of these scenarios to place liability on the property owner.
Navigate Your Slip and Fall Case Seamlessly with PMHP
Determining liability for a slip and fall case can get complicated quickly. If you’ve been involved in one of these scenarios and aren’t sure if you are responsible, schedule a consultation with PMHP.We’ll take the time to get to know you and your case so we can offer transparent, personalized guidance. And if you decide to pursue your case, we’ll use our years of experience and expert resources to help you build a strong claim. Mark your free consultation to get started.