Tampa Florida Slip and Fall Lawyer
Slip and Fall Accidents
Government studies show that slip and fall incidents are second only to motor vehicle accidents as a cause of serious bodily injuries. This area of the law that deals with accidents involving a slip, trip or fall is known as Premise Liability. Premise Liability refers to an owner’s responsibility for accidents or injuries occurring on their property by any number of hazards, including sidewalks, stairs and walkways that are unsafe for a variety of reasons including poor lighting, missing handrails or supports, faulty railings, uneven surfaces, broken areas, poorly marked steps, misaligned edges and cracks, and poorly kept carpet, rugs or mats. Other causes of slips, trips or falls include food, water or other substances on floors in restaurants or supermarkets, objects left where they shouldn’t be, and a wide variety of other causes.
Property owners, lessors, landlords and property managers all have a legal duty to safely maintain their premises and when they fail to do so, they will be held liable for the injuries you suffer. In order to prevail under a premise liability theory, the victim must prove that the property owner knew or should have known of the dangerous condition and that they failed to exercise reasonable care in reducing or removing foreseeable risks, by either eliminating the source of danger itself or by providing a warning about the threat to safety. Examples of a property owner’s legal obligations include: cleaning up spilled liquid, providing adequate lighting, replacing broken flooring or stairway rails, posting warnings about dangerous situations, or notifying apartment tenants of known dangers that exist in the parking lot (i.e. sexual assaults in a college apartment parking lot). An owner is assumed to have knowledge if the hazard is permanent in nature. For temporary conditions, the length of time the hazard existed is important. If you slip on a puddle of water in a grocery store, and the spill occurred only moments before, the store owner might not be held liable, since he or she didn’t have time to know about the hazard. If the spill was there for some time, or was in an area prone to spills, the owner could be liable. Damages that a slip and fall accident victim and the victim's family are entitled to recover may include: hospital and medical expenses; past and future lost earnings; past and future permanent physical disability, such as a limp, scars, loss of a limb; emotional distress, such as depression and anxiety; grief and emotional suffering caused by the death of a loved one; loss of love and companionship caused by the death of a loved one; damage or destruction of property; physical pain and suffering; loss of enjoyment of life.
Our Firm has experience handling slip and fall accidents of all types. Our Firm also understands that your immediate goals after going through such trauma are to get your medical bills paid and covered, make sure you do not suffer financially through any lost wages, and make sure the premise owner’s insurance company will pay for future treatment relating to your injury. Our experienced legal team will discuss your situation and go over the options available to you, as well as work with insurance companies and other parties involved in your case to make sure all your needs are handled quickly and appropriately.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a slip and fall accident, contact us online or call us at (813) 933-1234 or toll free at (877) EDGARGUZMAN to set up a FREE consultation to discuss your legal options.
