Seattle Slip and Fall
Accident Attorney

Understanding Slip and Fall Accidents

A slip and fall accident is when a person falls and receives an injury due to a dangerous condition on someone else’s property. The laws of negligence govern slip and fall cases. Some of the causes of slip and fall accidents include cracked sidewalks, spilled food or liquids, ice and snow, objects on stairs, uneven steps, broken floor tiles, potholes, and dim lighting.

Proving Liability for Slip and Fall Accidents

A slip and fall incident will require you to show negligence, meaning that you have to prove the defendant did not act reasonably in the given circumstances. For example, if an employee fails to put out a warning sign near a recently mopped area and a customer slips and is seriously injured, then the customer can hold the employee liable.

Negligence is determined based on what the defendant knew about the dangerous condition. The process of finding out how much the defendant knew is called discovery. During discovery, the defendant must hand over repair logs, maintenance records, surveillance footage, and any other relevant information. The plaintiff can also gather information through depositions, which are recorded interviews conducted under oath.

To show negligence, you must prove any of the following conditions:

• The owner of the property or the employees caused the dangerous circumstances.
• The owner of the property or the employees knew about the dangerous conditions, but did nothing.
• The owner of the property or the employees must have been aware of the dangerous conditions because any reasonable person in charge of the property would have noted the situation and taken steps to make it safe.

Reasonableness

When proving the liability of a property owner for your injuries in a slip and fall incident, you need to show the extent of the reasonableness of the owner’s actions. Your goal is to show that he or she acted unreasonably.

In order to demonstrate that the property owner acted unreasonably, you need to ask yourself:

• How long had the hazardous conditions been present?
• What kinds of cleaning and maintenance activities does the owner engage in?
• If your slip and fall involved tripping over an object on the floor, was there a legitimate reason for the object to be there?

Comparative Negligence in Slip and Fall Accidents

Many states follow the concept of comparative negligence when determining liability in slip and fall accidents. If you contributed to your own accident, your damage award is lessened by the percentage that you were at fault. For example, if the court awards you damages worth $200,000, and it is established that you were 30% at fault for the accident, you will receive $140,000 in damages.

You need to ask yourself some questions in order to determine your level of negligence in a slip and fall incident. Some of these questions include:

• Did you have a reason for being on the owner’s premises when the incident occurred? Should the owner have anticipated that you would be there?
• Would a reasonable person have noticed and prevented the dangerous conditions?
• Did the owner of the property erect a warning or a barrier near the dangerous conditions that caused the accident?
• Were you involved in any activities that led to the slip and fall accident? For example, were you running along the edge of a pool? Were you skipping, jumping, or texting while walking before you slipped and fell?

Why You Need a Lawyer After a Slip and Fall Accident

It is usually hard to prove that the defendant is at fault in a slip and fall accident. Also, insurers rarely acknowledge the liability of unrepresented persons. Therefore, the first job of a slip and fall accident attorney is to catch the attention of the insurance company and the defendant.

Often, the victims of slip and fall accidents are short on the resources they need to prove liability, so they have no solid ground for claiming damages. A slip and fall accident attorney at Zanes Law in Seattle has the resources needed to carry out an investigation and to obtain proof of the defendant’s liability. By utilizing medical records and our knowledge of the law, our lawyers will be able to provide a strong basis for you to receive damages. Some of the damages your lawyers are likely to secure for you include compensation for medical expenses, lost income, temporary disability, and pain and suffering.

The Takeaway

If you have been involved in a slip and fall accident, hire Zanes Law Injury Lawyers to help you file a suit and claim damages. When proving fault, you will need to show the negligence of the defendant. If you are partly to blame for the accident, your share of blame will reduce the amount you receive in damages. To improve your chance of getting a better result for your slip and fall lawsuit, let the legal team at Zanes Law take on your case.