Who Is Liable for My Injuries after a Slip and Fall?

Property owners owe a duty of care to visitors, patrons, and staff to make sure that they are kept safe. This duty applies to anyone who owns, leases, controls, or occupies a given property. This can also include parent companies and the respective insurers of all the individuals and entities involved.  

When this duty is breached—i.e., the owner failed to clear a hazard from their premises—and this results in someone’s injury or death, they are liable for the damages this individual, or their surviving relatives, have incurred. 

For example, if you slip and fall due to a faulty handrail at a diner, the owner, their insurer, and potentially some of the diner’s staff or companies contracted to maintain the premises could be held liable for the resulting damages. 

How Do I Prove the Property Owner Is Liable for My Damages? 

While it may seem clear to you that the property owner was negligent, they will likely dispute your version of events in an effort to reduce how much they have to pay out. For instance, they might argue that the hazard was properly signposted, that you were trespassing when you suffered your injuries, or that you were behaving negligently or recklessly and caused the accident yourself. 

Ultimately, you will have to gather strong evidence to prove that the owner breached the duty of care owed to you, that the slip and fall caused your injuries, and provide evidence of the types of damages you incurred. A property owner is considered negligent if there was a condition on their property that posed a risk to others; they were aware of the condition or, through exercising reasonable care, should have known about it; and failed to address the condition within a reasonable timeframe or warn others of the condition (i.e., putting up adequate signage). 

The types of proof you might need to demonstrate negligence will depend on the unique circumstances surrounding your fall; but there are a few common types of evidence that might play a role during proceedings, such as: 

  • Surveillance camera footage 
  • Maintenance records for the property 
  • Photographs of the area where you fell 
  • Eyewitness statements
  • The accident report
  • Medical records 

What Kinds of Damages Can I Seek after a Slip and Fall? 

The types of compensation you can pursue are the same as most other personal injury cases. The potential recovery can account for your medical bills, any lost earnings, lost earning capacity, and non-economic damages such as loss of enjoyment in life, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. In some rare cases, if it’s clear the property owner purposefully injured you or behaved particularly recklessly, you may also be able to seek punitive damages. 

Discuss Your Case with a California Slip and Fall Accident Attorney Today 

Were you hurt on someone else’s property? You may be able to recover compensation for many of the losses you incurred by filing a premises liability claim against the owner and the other parties involved.  

At HPIL, we have decades of collective experience helping slip and fall victims recover the compensation they needed to get their lives back on track. To lock in a free consultation with a California slip and fall attorney, contact us today at 1-800-GO-HARRIS or drop us a message using our contact page HERE.