Florida businesses have an obligation to create safe, non-hazardous conditions for their customers. If a business fails to warn customers of a dangerous environment, such as a wet floor or a cracked sidewalk, it could be liable for any accidents.

Experiencing a slip-and-fall accident in public is embarrassing enough, but if your accident was the fault of the property owner and led to significant injuries, it could also be expensive and traumatizing. Filing a personal injury lawsuit is an effective way to receive compensation for your injuries and begin the process of moving forward following this stressful event.

Read on to learn more about slip-and-fall accidents, your rights in a slip-and-fall accident in Florida, and how our lawyers for personal injury cases can help you during this distressing time.

Common Types of Slip-and-Fall Accidents

The broad term “slip-and-fall accident” can include any scenario in which a person trips or slips on another person’s property. The most common slip-and-fall accidents include those involving:

• Slick surfaces
• Poor lighting
• Inclement weather
• Broken floorboards
• Loose carpet
• Stepladders
• Clutter

Unfortunately, slip-and-fall accidents can lead to severe injuries and even wrongful death. Often, these accidents create injuries such as:

• Broken bones and fractures
• Cuts
• Concussions
• Bruises
• Sprains
• Head injuries
  Strains

Not unlike injuries you might receive in a car accident, slip-and-fall injuries can lead to expensive medical bills and require extensive medical treatment to correct.

Often, victims of slip-and-fall accidents must miss work for days or weeks while their injuries heal. In some cases, they may also experience mental and emotional distress following their accident, making it challenging to move forward.

If you have experienced a slip-and-fall accident, you do not have to suffer through your injuries alone. You may be able to receive compensation from the at-fault party through a personal injury lawsuit.

Florida Laws for Slip-and-Fall Liability

If you slipped and fell on another person’s property, this does not automatically mean that the property owner owes you compensation for your injuries. According to Florida law, the dangerous environment leading to the slip-and-fall accident must meet one of the following conditions to qualify for a negligence lawsuit:

• The business knew about the hazardous condition;
• The dangerous situation existed for enough time for the business to know about it; or
• The condition was foreseeable.

Additionally, the slip-and-fall accident must meet these qualifications:

• The victim experienced the accident on the property; and
• The accident occurred as a direct result of the dangerous condition.

If your slip-and-fall accident meets all of these conditions, you may qualify for a slip-and-fall lawsuit under Florida law.

Understanding Premise Duty of Care

Another factor to consider when determining a property owner’s negligence is their duty of care to the accident victim.

Property owners have a duty of care to those who enter their premises. However, the duty of care they owe to visitors depends on the visitor’s reasons for entering the property and their relationship to the property owner.

Florida law recognizes three different types of visitors and distinguishes the duty of care that the property owner owes them.

Invitee. An invitee is someone a property owner invites to their property for business purposes. For example, a customer at a store would classify as an invitee. Property owners have the highest duty of care to invitees.

Licensee. A licensee is someone the property owner invites to the property for the visitor’s benefit. An example of a licensee is someone who enters a store to use the restroom but not purchase any items. Property owners have the second-highest duty of care to licensees.

Trespasser. A trespasser is someone who enters the property without the property owner’s permission. A property owner does not owe a duty of care to trespassers, yet they cannot engage in willful misconduct that would cause the trespasser harm.

Understanding which of these classifications you fall into can help you determine whether or not to file a personal injury lawsuit. Josh Jones Law, P.A. can help you with this determination.

Compensation for Slip-and-Fall Lawsuits

Filing a lawsuit against the at-fault party in your personal injury accident could allow you to receive monetary compensation for your injuries. There are two primary types of damages you may be able to obtain through your lawsuit:

• Compensatory damages: compensation for the expenses associated with your injury. These may include compensation for loss of employment, medical bills, pain and suffering, and lower quality of life.
• Punitive damages: additional payment that acts as punishment to the party who caused you harm.

Hiring a personal injury lawyer is an effective way to increase your chances of securing compensation through your lawsuit. Personal injury lawyers have years of experience in this area of law helping clients navigate personal injury cases to secure the payment they need to move forward.

At Josh Jones Law, P.A., we strive to help everyday people like you receive fair compensation following your slip-and-fall accident. We not only care about your case, but we also care about the community. Representing you in a personal injury lawsuit can help us keep our Miami community safe and prevent future accidents.

If you’re looking for a lawyer for personal injury to represent you in a slip-and-fall lawsuit, we can help. Contact our Josh Jones Law, P.A. team today in Miami, Florida, at (305) 677-8846 to speak with an experienced attorney at our law firm.

Our mission is to help people, especially from underserved communities, understand and fight for their rights. At Josh Jones Law, P.A., we’re ready to help our neighbors in the Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Gardens, Miramar, Lauderhill, North Miami, Hollywood, and Homestead communities. To learn more, download a copy of our complimentary Personal Injury Toolkit.

For a free case evaluation from Josh Jones, an experienced personal injury and negligent security lawyer in the Miami metropolitan area, call our team at Josh Jones Law, P.A. today at (305) 677-8846 or fill out our online form.

 

Copyright © 2021. Josh Jones Law, P.A. All rights reserved.

 

The information in this blog post (“post”) is provided for general informational purposes only and may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction. No information in this post should be construed as legal advice from the individual author or the law firm, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this post should act or refrain from acting based on any information included in or accessible through this post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer licensed in the recipient’s state, country or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.

 

Josh Jones Law, P.A.
15715 South Dixie Highway, Suite 214
Miami, FL 33157
(305) 677-8846
https://www.joshjoneslaw.com