A slip and fall case is when a party gets injured because of a fall that was caused by conditions in a certain location.
It is also known as premise liability.
It seems simple enough, one party gets injured and the owner of the location is responsible for it.
Whose Fault is it? However, things are not as simple as that.
Premise liability is the idea that a person who owns a land or a facility should be held responsible for any injury that a person might suffer there.
While in some cases that might be true, it is not always applicable.
Types of Visitors The law recognizes three types of visitors that the owner of the land would have to deal with.
The first is the invitee, who is someone who has been specifically invited to come over for commercial or business purpose.
The second type of visitor is the licensee, who is someone who has been invited with the commercial gain in mind.
Then there is the trespasser, who is someone who has not been invited at all.
The owner of the place has the responsibility to make sure that all visitors to the place are taken care of properly except for the trespasser.
Anything that happens to the visitors to the place is the responsibility of the owner.
Ice and Snow Buildup One of the most common reasons why people slip and fall is because of unwanted ice and snow buildup on pathways.
A house owner is responsible for keeping the walkway in front of their house free from snow and ice.
Anyone who falls and gets injured because of any snow buildup on the sidewalk can file a case against the owner who lives in front of the area where he fell.
Even if someone else was hired to clean the sidewalk, the homeowner is still ultimately responsible for it.
As the owner, they should see to it that it is free from snow and ice to ensure that anyone who passes through would be safe.
The owner is not always responsible for any injury that might occur on his own place.
If the person who was injured for example was behaving recklessly and without any regards for his safety then the owner in that case cannot be responsible.
The owner cannot be responsible for injuries caused by conditions that are to be expected there in the first place.
The owner is going to be held responsible for an injury if they are aware of the dangerous condition and they did nothing about it.
That is when they should be held liable for the injury that it has caused.
It is of utmost importance for owners to be aware of the condition of their place at all times.
If you suffered an injury because of some slip or fall then you should figure out if that was caused by conditions that could have been resolved.
If you find that your injury was preventable then you might want to think about filing a case against the owners of the place where you suffered the injury.