Slip and fall accidents happen all of the time. It is very easy to seriously injure yourself, particularly in big box stores with concrete or covered concrete floors. A fall can cause significant damage and medical bills.
Unfortunately, you may end up paying for a store’s negligence if you do not know your rights.
Know the Statute of Limitations
This is the length of time you have to take legal action against the property owner or business. In Florida, it is four years from the date of the injury. This means you must have a physician verify the injury as soon as possible.
Understand comparative fault
Florida law uses comparative fault to determine the percentage of fault in a slip and fall accident. A corporation might try to use comparative negligence to place part of the blame on you. They do this by saying something like your shoes were not right for the situation or were you paying attention while walking.
Know what courts consider reasonable
The courts must determine if the company or business did everything possible to prevent your injury. This means did they:
- Have broken or damaged flooring
- Know about the unsafe condition
- Took measures to correct or warn about an unsafe condition
- Is there a good reason for the object or condition to exist
- Was there adequate lighting
- Could the store block off the area
This is basically to determine if you or the business was careless.
When dealing with a slip and fall at a business, you need to act quickly and have detailed records of what happened and pictures of the area if possible.