Grand Prairie Slip and Fall Lawyer
Property owners and occupiers are expected to maintain the premises and fix dangerous conditions that could harm visitors. If they fail to correct hazards, it is just a matter of time before a visitor slips, falls, or trips. The results could be embarrassing or lead to severe—or fatal—injuries.
Whether you are visiting a residential or commercial site or if you are injured by a known or unknown danger, a Grand Prairie slip and fall lawyer understands that you should be compensated for your mounting medical bills, lost work, pain, and suffering. A local personal injury attorney could be the positive difference in your case that you need.
What Could Cause a Slip and Fall Accident?
Slip and fall accidents occur anywhere people visit—such as grocery stores, restaurants, apartments, private homes, amusement parks, construction sites, offices, playgrounds, and parking lots. The list is endless, but many of the causes might include:
- Floors that are wet, cluttered, uneven, or with torn carpeting or loose boards
- Stairs with loose handrails and stairwells with inadequate lighting
- Streets and sidewalks that are cracked, full of potholes, or poorly lit
- Inclement weather
- Faulty playground or amusement park equipment
Owners should look for hazards on their properties routinely and repair the dangerous area if it is possible or warn visitors through posted signs or other measures. A dedicated Grand Prairie attorney could assess the facts in a victim’s slip and fall case to determine the property owner’s duty of care.
Duties of Care Differing in Three Categories of Visitors
Visitors are categorized as invitees, licensees, or trespassers. Property owners have different duties to these different types of visitors when it comes to ensuring their safety.
Invitees
Property owners customarily invite some visitors onto the property, such as employees into an office building, customers into a store, or tenants into an apartment building. Owners or property managers are tasked with keeping the property safe for invitees, the highest duty of care owed to the three classes of visitors.
Licensees
Licensees are people who have an implied permission to visit a property, such as the mail delivery person, a census taker, or a friend. Licensees who suffer slip and fall accidents must show that the injuries were caused by a hazard on the owner’s property and that the owner knew—or should have known—of the danger.
Trespassers
If someone with no invitation—and no implied permission to visit—enters a person’s property, that person is a trespasser. Owners have no duty to ensure the safety of a trespasser other than to refrain from willfully entrapping or harming them.
State Law & Slip and Fall Accidents
The state Supreme Court in Randy Austin, Appellant, v. Kroger Texas, L.P., Appellee, tasked those in cases like this to have more evidence if they are to collect damages. Before the ruling, victims had to show a condition on the premises was unreasonably hazardous and that the owner knew—or should have known—about it. Now, owners— or defendants—are asked to show that the hazard was not obvious, and the person injured was unaware of the danger.
For instance, a grocery store customer who slips half an hour after a carton explodes and spews milk all over the floor could probably make a case that the spill was a hazard, and the store should have known. But it would be difficult to prove the hazard was not obvious, or the person who slipped did not see the spill.
Because of the heightened standard of proof, those who suffer a trip and fall accident should contact a Grand Prairie lawyer to outline a case for compensation.
Enlist a Grand Prairie Slip and Fall Attorney to Work for You Now
Slip and fall accidents could happen anywhere and to anyone. If you suffer physical injuries due to an incident like this, you may be facing hefty medical bills and healing that may cause lost time at work. A local attorney with experience handling slip and fall cases could hold whoever caused your injury accountable.
If you fell on another’s land, give a Grand Prairie slip and fall lawyer a call today. Experienced attorneys could sit down with you to discuss your legal options.