Property owners are not in a position where they can welcome visitors onto their premises if they cannot ensure their safety during their stay. In other words, they must first confirm that their premises are clear of any potentially dangerous conditions that may leave visitors vulnerable to an accident or injury. Continue reading to learn whether a property owner must prevent falls on their premises and how an experienced St. Mary’s County slip and fall lawyer at The Dorsey Law Firm can help you hold the right party accountable for your accident.
What types of slip and fall accidents might occur on a property owner’s premises?
You may assume that slip and falls only occur when there is rain, ice, or snow on sidewalks or potholes in a parking lot. But you may be vulnerable to such an accident in just about any type of premises. More specific examples read as follows:
- At a marina: you might slip and fall from a defective rail that a property owner left unfixed on a pier.
- At a supermarket: you might slip and fall from a spilled product that a property owner left uncleared from an aisle.
- At an apartment building: you might slip and fall from a defective automatic door that a property owner left unfixed at an entranceway.
- At a retail store: you might slip and fall from a lifted carpet that a property owner left unsecured at an entranceway.
Is it the duty of a property owner to prevent falls on their premises?
There may be an off chance that your slip and fall accident was caused by your own carelessness. For example, you may have been looking at your phone instead of observing the wet floor sign in your point of direction.
But it is more likely that you can pinpoint the property owner as at fault for failing to prevent your slip and fall on their premises. Otherwise, you may assign liability to the tenant or business owner controlling the premises, or even the property management company. Regardless of who you ultimately identify as the responsible party for your slip and fall accident, you must prove the following circumstances as true for your legal claim:
- The responsible party held a duty to prevent potentially dangerous conditions from appearing on the premises.
- The responsible party breached their duty by failing to identify and rectify potentially dangerous conditions on the premises.
- The responsible party’s breach of duty directly caused you to enter a slip and fall accident and subsequently incur injuries.
- You are continually suffering from the damages you received from your slip and fall accident (i.e., economic and non-economic damages).
You may be intimidated by the legal proceedings that lie ahead of you. But one way to relieve yourself of this stress is to have a skilled Leonardtown personal injury lawyer stand by your side throughout. Contact The Dorsey Law Firm at your earliest possible convenience.
