Slip and Fall / Trip and Fall Accidents

West Palm Beach & Palm Beach County Premises Liability Lawyer

• Slip and Fall Injuries
• Trip and Fall Injuries
• Step and Fall Injuries

Fall Injuries

Injuries from falls represent a serious health risk. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) reports that over 800,000 patients a year are hospitalized because of a fall injury, most often because of a head injury or hip fracture. Falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injury.

Older Florida residents and visitors—those 65 and older—face particular danger from falls, according to the CDC. Nationally, one in four older adults falls every year. Falling once doubles a person’s chances of falling again.

Older adults are not the only people at risk from falls. In fact, the World Health Organization reports that falls represent the second leading cause of accidental and unintentional injury deaths worldwide every year, after traffic accidents. Along with older people, children face a high risk of taking catastrophic falls, because of their higher rate of risk-taking. Other groups that deal with heightened fall risk every day include:

• Those who work in potentially hazardous, high-height conditions (such as construction workers);
• Users of alcohol, pain medications, and illicit drugs; and
• Anyone who visits a location that is potentially unsafe (whether it is inherently so or because of poor upkeep).

Falls are immensely costly. The CDC reports that in the year 2015, the total medical costs for falls totaled more than $50 billion.

About Premises Liability

Believe it or not, there is an entire body of law devoted to assigning liability for injuries someone sustains when he/she falls on someone else’s property. It is called “premises liability” law.

Some property owners/occupiers who may be liable for a slip/trip/step and fall on their property, include:

• Bars;
• Restaurants;
• Grocery stores;
• Fast food chains;
• Hotels;
• Amusement Parks;
• Motels;
• Malls;
• Clothing retailers;
• Auto dealerships;
• Department stores;
• Nursing homes;
• Other businesses

Florida, like most states, recognizes that owners and occupiers of property have duties to keep visitors to their properties safe from harm. If an owner/occupier fails in this duty, and a property visitor gets hurt as a result, then the owner/occupier may have legal liability for damages to the injured person.

Different Types of “Fall” Accidents

There are different types of accidents causing someone to fall:

• “Slip and fall”- a person loses his/her footing, usually because of a slippery substance or surface, and falls;
• “Trip and fall”- a person falls over an object in his/her path, or falls because of an uneven surface;
• “Step and fall”- a person falls because of a hole or low spot in his/her path

Falls happen for all sorts of reasons. Examples are:

• Slipping;
• Tripping;
• Getting injured because of a property feature like a crack in the sidewalk;
• Raised sidewalk;
• Loose railing

We Will Fight to Get You Compensated for Your  Injuries

If someone else’s actions caused, or helped to cause, your fall, you may have the right to seek compensation.  The Law Offices of Andrea McMillan is experienced in representing Florida residents and visitors who have fallen and hurt themselves, due to the negligence of others.  Call the experienced Palm Beach County trip and fall injury lawyer, Andrea McMillan, at The Law Offices of Andrea McMillan, at (561) 612-5700, to learn more.

People sometimes feel reluctant to get the help of a lawyer after they fall. Falling can be embarrassing. No one wants others to think he/she is unsteady on his/her feet. Fall victims often think they should just “tough it out,” rather than making an issue out of an injury. At The Law Offices of Andrea McMillan, we understand these concerns. And yes, sometimes a fall is just a fall. But Florida’s premises liability laws exist to keep all of us safe.

By speaking up and seeking compensation for injuries you sustained in a fall, not only might you recover compensation the law says you deserve, you will also do your part in holding wrongdoers accountable, and in making the places where we eat, shop, and recreate, safer for everyone.

Who Is Responsible for The Injuries?

It can be difficult to know exactly who is at fault for a “fall” accident. For example, a store may be owned and operated by the same person, while a shopping center may have multiple owners and businesses under one roof. Several parties may share some responsibility for an injured shopper.

It is important that every potentially liable owner or business be included in the case. If your case does not include every responsible party, then you may not receive full payment. That is because each defendant is only required to pay for its percentage of fault for your injuries. West Beach County trip and fall attorney, Andrea McMillan, with the Law Offices of Andrea McMillan, will ensure that your fall injury claim/case is asserted against all potentially responsible parties.

What You Need to Legally Prove In A “Fall” / Premises Liability Case

To prevail in a Florida premises liability case, an injured person has to prove that the property owner/occupier:

• Owed a duty of care to the injured person;
• Breached that duty of care by failing to maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition, so as not to cause injury;
• The property owner/occupier’s failure to use reasonable care caused injuries;
• The damages that the injured person suffered/will suffer in the future. as a result of the property owner/occupier’s breach of the duty,

The Three Categories of Property Visitors, Under Florida Law, And The Corresponding Duties of Care A Property Owner/Occupier Owes To Each Category

Not every visitor who sets foot on a property is owed the same duty of care.  Rather, the law classifies property visitors into three general categories, and establishes three corresponding duties of care that a property owner/occupier owes to each category. Those three categories of property visitors are:

1. (Business) Invitees;
2. Licensees;
3. Trespassers

Anytime someone falls and gets injured on someone else’s property, that person’s lawyer’s first job usually is to identify which type of visitor the injured person was at the time of injury. That, in turn, will help the lawyer determine the degree of potential legal liability the property owner/occupier has to the injured client.

“Invitees” Are Owed The Highest Duties of Care

Visitors with express or implied permission to set foot on someone else’s property for the (typically business or official) benefit of the property owner/occupier are called “invitees.” Property owners/occupiers have a legal duty to take all reasonable measures to keep invitees safe from harm. Property owners/occupiers must maintain the property in a safe condition for invitees, and must warn them of any unsafe condition, until it is fixed.

Invitees include:

• Customers at any type of business that is open to the public, such as:
  • Stores;
  • Restaurants; and
  • Amusement parks.

The duty of care a property owner/occupier owes to an invitee, may encompass some of the following:

• Keeping floor surfaces clean and dry;
• Ensuring that carpeting is properly secured;
• Ensuring that aisles and passageways are free of clutter and other tripping hazards;
• Providing proper lighting in all areas indoors and outdoors to reduce shadows, dark areas, and glare, so that trip hazards or surface irregularities are clearly visible;
• Replacing burnt out light bulbs promptly;
• If electrical cords are used on a regular basis, installing outlets so that cords do not cross walkways;
• In grocery stores, ensuring that water from produce spray misters is directed onto produce, and is not spraying onto the floor;
• In grocery stores, providing customers with plastic bags and paper towels for wet produce, to prevent it from dripping water onto the floor;
• Providing clean-up supplies (paper towels, absorbent material, “wet floor” signs, etc.) at convenient locations in the facility;
• Providing umbrella bags to prevent rain water from dripping onto the floor;
• Selecting proper flooring material;
• Using flooring with a static coefficient of friction of more than 0.5 for high-risk areas;
• Using mats to provide slip-resistant walking surfaces by absorbing liquid and removing dirt, debris, and liquid from shoes;
• Providing water-absorbent mats near entrances and other areas where water may drip, or other substances may be tracked onto the floor;
• Ensuring nothing obstructs a person’s view and causes slips, trips, and falls;
• Ensuring that employees identify slip/trip/fall hazards, and that they prevent them by using safe cleaning procedures, including placing caution signs and/or cones around the site with wet walking surfaces;
• Ensuring that employees know whom to call to report hazards and whom to call for clean-up or repair;
• Cleaning floors and work surfaces as soon as they become wet;
• Inspecting refrigerated and freezer cases for water leakage onto floor surfaces; placing absorbent strips and water-absorbent mats on the floor until the unit is repaired;
• Placing warning signs in wet floor areas and removing them promptly when the floor is clean and dry;
• Using no-skid waxes in slippery areas, and using soap that does not leave slippery residue;
• During wet or oily processes, maintaining drainage and providing false floors, platforms, or nonslip mats. (False floors are elevated floors usually 2 to 4 inches above the structural floor designed to provide a surface for safe transit);
• Cleaning only one side of a passageway at a time to allow room for passing;
• Keeping passageways clear at all times, and marking permanent aisles and passageways;
• For purposes of one-time use, taping or anchor electrical cords to floors if they cross walkways;
• Providing stable guardrails

“Licensees” Have Lesser Protections

Visitors to a property who have express or implied permission to enter property principally for their own benefit are known as “licensees.” Property owners/occupiers owe licensees a slightly lesser duty of care than is owed to invitees. Property owners must not affirmatively injure licensees, and must warn them of known dangers on a property. But the owners/occupiers do not have an obligation to keep a property in safe condition all the time for licensees, as they do for invitees. Licensees include:

• People visiting a public park or beach; and
• People invited over to someone else’s house as a social guest.

“Trespassers” Are Owed The Least Protections (Unless They Are Children)

Property owners/occupiers owe almost no protection to trespassers, who have no permission, express or implied, to enter someone else’s property. For example, a burglar who breaks into your home and slips on water in the kitchen is not owed a duty of care. The only duty the owner/occupier owes to a trespasser is not to willfully or wantonly injure that person. However, even that duty is limited by “stand your ground” laws, and legal principles that give homeowners certain rights to defend their property against someone then appearing to commit a crime.

However, the law treats child trespassers differently. Property owners/occupiers have a duty to take reasonable steps to keep children safe from harm on their properties, even if the child is a trespasser, when a property has what is known as an “attractive nuisance,” (i.e., a feature such as a swimming pool or a trampoline, that would be attractive to a child), and the property owner knows or has reason to know that it may attract young children. In this case, the property owner has a duty to block off any dangerous areas that may attract a child.

Types of Evidence to Gather After a Fall

Florida law sets forth certain evidentiary standards that an injured person must meet in order to hold a business establishment liable for a slip/trip/step and fall injury. If a person is at a business establishment, the injured individual must show the following:

• That the establishment had actual or constructive notice (knew or should have known) of the substance on the floor;
• That the establishment should have taken action to remedy it; and
• That the dangerous condition existed for such a length of time that the establishment should have known about the condition, as it monitored the premises; or
• The condition was foreseeable, because it occurred regularly.

As such, if a child in the cart in front of you spills his drink on the floor, and you immediately slip and fall on the substance, you likely cannot hold the property owner liable in negligence because there was not sufficient time for the supermarket to observe and clean up the mess. However, if water from thawing frozen foods is constantly dripping on the floor in the meat department, even if the drip was recent, this was a constant condition that should have been monitored.

Palm Beach County slip and fall attorney, Andrea McMillan, of the Law Offices of Andrea McMillan, encourages anyone injured on someone else’s property to contact us. We will sort it out, and advise you of your rights.

Common Slip and Fall Injuries

Many people simply pick themselves up and dust themselves off after such an incident. All too often, however, injuries and pain can surface days, even weeks, after the fact. That is why a slip and fall should never be taken lightly. The scary thing about falls is that even one that looks minor can cause severe, even life-threatening injuries. This is particularly true for older Floridians, whose bones tend to be more brittle, and for children, whose brains are still developing. Even serious injuries, such as a fractured rib or wrist, can go unnoticed prior to being diagnosed by a medical professional, especially if you have a high tolerance for pain.  You may think you are simply a little sore, when in fact you have actually broken a bone or sustained a soft tissue injury, such as a torn ligament.

Below are some of the most common types of injuries resulting from accidental falls.

• Broken bones (especially wrists and hips). As we age, our bones become more prone to breaks. For older Floridians, the bones that absorb the brunt of the impact in even a simple fall are often the hip (when someone falls on his/her side) and wrist (when someone extends an arm to cushion a fall). Of course, a person of any age can break a bone in a fall, and falls can break just about any bone in the human body, depending on the circumstances.

• Brain injury. In a fall in which a person takes a blow to the head, brain injury is a real and significant danger, and one that often goes undiagnosed until long after the accident. If you fall and hit your head, always consult with a doctor right away. There are telltale signs of concussion and/or traumatic brain injury that simple exams can reveal. Do not assume that just because you feel okay immediately after a fall that you are, in fact, okay. Brain injuries can take time to show symptoms, and can affect your judgment and ability to make decisions. Effects that seem like normal occurrences, such as headaches, may be indicative of a more serious problem.  Other than headaches, classic warning signs of a brain injury include:
  • Drowsiness
  • Fatigue
  • Insomnia
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting

If you experience these effects after hitting your head in an accidental fall, do not assume that you simply have a cold or stomach bug.  For your own safety, it is vital that you see a doctor immediately.

• Spine injury. A fall that impacts or exerts unnatural force on a person’s spine can result in a catastrophic injury to the spinal cord (the bundle of nerve fibers protected by the spine that transmit the brain’s messages to the body). A rupture of the spinal cord, or even swelling around it, can cause temporary or permanent paralysis.
• Nerve and soft tissue damage. The impact of a fall can cause permanent damage to nerves, and can inflict tears, sprains, and other trauma on soft tissue, such as muscles, ligaments, and tendons. While most of these injuries may heal, they can also lead to chronic pain conditions that have a devastating impact on a person’s quality of life.

All of the injuries above, if severe enough, can lead to the fall victim’s death, either directly, or because of secondary health complications. In other words, a loved one may not have passed away immediately from falling and breaking his/her hip. However, fatal health events, such as stroke or organ failure, triggered by the initial trauma of the fall could still make the fall, a contributing cause, for which your family is owed damages.

Recoverable Damages in A Florida “Fall” Case

You are entitled to be compensated for the following damages in a Florida “fall”/premises liability case:

• Medical Bills;
• Future Medical Bills;
• Lost Wages, both now and in the future;
• Permanent disability;
• Pain and suffering;

Comparative Negligence in Florida “Fall” Cases

Before you file an insurance claim or lawsuit over your slip and fall, prepare yourself to hear the property owner argue that you bear some amount of blame for the accident. For example, the property owner will likely argue that:

• You were on a part of the property where visitors aren’t usually allowed, or aren’t usually expected to be;
• You weren’t paying attention to where you were walking (you were using your phone, for example);
• You were wearing footwear that was inappropriate, or even unsafe, for the situation;
• The dangerous condition was cordoned off by cones and signage (reasonable steps were taken to protect visitors, in other words);
• The dangerous condition should have been obvious to you.

If your Florida slip and fall case makes it to court, the state’s “pure comparative negligence rule” will be used to determine your share of legal blame for your accident, and how much compensation you can still receive from the property owner. Under “pure comparative negligence,” any damages award a personal injury plaintiff receives, will be reduced according to the percentage of his/her fault for the underlying accident.

So, let’s say the jury finds that you are 15 percent to blame for your slip and fall accident. They also find that your damages (including your medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering damages, total $10,000. That will leave the property owner on the hook for $8,500 (that’s the original $10,000 minus the 15 percent that equates with your share of fault).

That’s how shared fault works in Florida. Personal injury cases if your slip and fall case makes it all the way to trial. Even if your case doesn’t make it to trial — even if a lawsuit isn’t actually filed, for that matter — Florida’s comparative negligence rule will still be a factor. During settlement negotiations, the property owner’s insurance company (and/or their attorney) are concerned with what might happen if your case does wind up in court. So you can expect any slip and fall settlement offer from the other side to reflect their view of your role in causing your own injuries, seen through the lens of Florida’s shared fault rules. That’s why it’s so important to make a strong liability case against the property owner.

What You Should Do Immediately After you Fall

• Take photographs of the dangerous condition that caused you to fall, and the surrounding area, if you can. If not, ask someone on the scene to do so, and get the person’s name and telephone number. Also, if you are able, get the names and telephone numbers of any witnesses.
• Report the fall to the property owner/occupier/store manager, or ask someone to report it, if you are unable;
• You may be asked to fill out an incident report. Do so, and ASK FOR A COPY THEN AND THERE. The incident report is important proof  that your injury occurred, and contains basic facts regarding the incident;
• Seek appropriate medical care right away. Tending to your health is critical. Calling 911 or visiting a hospital emergency department, urgent care center, or your doctor, will help rule out an acute injury, and will otherwise ensure that you receive the treatment you need. The documentation from this healthcare visit will also be useful in your case. If you delay seeking medical care, you will make it easier for the property owner’s insurance adjuster or defense lawyer to successfully argue that the fall was not what caused your injuries, and your injuries are not as serious as you assert in your claim.  Not only must you see a doctor right away; you must also take care to document all of your medical appointments and treatments received.  By creating a traceable timeline of the injury and its effects on your life, medical records will serve as vital evidence to strengthen your injury claim/case;
• Once your (or your loved one’s) health has stabilized, take time to consult with West Palm Beach County and fall attorney, Andrea McMillan of the Law Offices of Andrea McMillan. An initial consultation with us is free, confidential, and comes with no obligation to hire us to help you. Time is of the essence. Why? Read below.

Investigating the Fall:  Why You Should Contact The Law Offices of Andrea McMillan Immediately After Your Fall

You should immediately contact us right after your fall. The sooner we can get started investigating, the better.  Why? A “fall” case requires us to immediately investigate the occurrence, and take steps to preserve important evidence.

Property owners tend to try to fix the property condition that led to a fall right away. It makes sense that they would do that, but it makes it all that much more important that we act quickly to preserve evidence—visual and physical—of the scene of the fall. That evidence may help prove how the fall happened, and what the owner/occupier should have done to prevent your injury.

For example, if you tripped and fell on a sidewalk, a day or week after your fall, the city may have its maintenance workers pour cement to make the sidewalk even. Without photographs, and perhaps, measurements of the uneven sidewalk, we may have difficulty proving the dangerous condition that existed at the time you tripped and fell.

Similarly, if you slipped and fell in a store, store video cameras may very well have captured your slip and fall. However, stores often record over video footage after a certain amount of days and weeks. If you immediately hire us, we can quickly send a letter to the store manager, demanding that the video footage be preserved. Without receiving such a letter, the video of your fall will likely be gone forever.

At some point after your fall, you may receive a telephone call from one or more insurance adjusters, requesting that you give a statement about your fall. Don’t damage your case by giving the insurance company a statement harmful to you, or by signing an insurance document that harms you. It is best to have an experienced personal injury lawyer like Andrea McMillan explain to you how insurance companies operate, and what’s really going on. Andrea McMillan will prepare you to give a statement, review documents presented to you for signature, and help you every other step of the way. Call the Law Offices of Andrea McMillan at (561) 612-5700.

Other Ways We Will Help You With Your Premises Liability Case

Negotiating with Insurance Companies and Others

Without the help of a skilled lawyer like Andrea McMillan, a fall victim and his/her family risks being victimized all over again by insurance adjusters and defense lawyers, whose only goal is to limit their financial exposure.

Andrea McMillan has negotiated numerous case settlements over three decades of practice. Her years of experience defending premises liability cases on behalf of property owners and their insurance companies makes her a more credible advocate in the eyes of insurance adjusters and defense lawyers. They see her  as having a more balanced approach than many lawyers who have only represented injured people, and are often more willing to negotiate fair settlements with her.

Filing a Lawsuit And Taking The Case To Trial, If Necessary

Most slip and fall cases in Florida, and elsewhere, settle out of court. That is just the reality of the legal system. But the only way to have a strong bargaining position in a settlement negotiation is to be ready to go to court, if necessary, try the case, and win a recovery for you, the client.

Cases often settle at some point after a lawsuit is filed. Sometimes, cases settle at the eleventh hour, days– or even hours– before a trial is scheduled to begin. That is because insurance companies wait until the last minute to see if you will take the money offered and run, rather than try the case.    Andrea McMillan is a fighter.  She knows her way around a courtroom. If it becomes necessary, she will try your case, in order to give you the justice you deserve.

The Deadline for Filing A Lawsuit Related to A Fall Caused By Another’s Negligence

The deadline under the law for filing a lawsuit is called the “statute of limitations.” Generally, a person injured in a fall due to another’s negligence has four (4) years from the date of the fall in which to file a lawsuit. However, if the government is at fault for the fall (for example, the government owned the property where the fall occurred), then the injured party only has three (3) years from the date of injury, in which to sue the government. (Before suit is filed, the law requires that the injured person notify the government entity and the Florida Department of Financial Services, in writing, of the personal injury claim. This pre-suit notice provides the government an opportunity to investigate the claim. If the government denies the claim, then a lawsuit may be filed, as long as it is still within three (3) years of the date of injury).

A different statute of limitations applies if the fall victim dies from his/her injuries. If that occurs, then a wrongful death suit must be filed within two (2) years from the date of death.

Once the applicable statute of limitations runs, any lawsuit seeking compensation will be dismissed by the court. It is extremely important to keep these statute of limitations in mind.

Call Palm Beach County Slip and Fall/Trip and Fall Attorney, Andrea McMillan

Palm Beach County slip and fall lawyer, Andrea McMillan, with the Law Offices of Andrea McMillan, has handled many premises liability cases over her career. She defended many Palm Beach County trip and fall cases and slip and fall cases as a defense lawyer early on in her career. Since that time, she has recovered compensation for numerous clients who fell and were injured, because of a property owner’s negligence.

Andrea McMillan knows the importance of promptly capturing evidence to prove your case. Don’t delay. Call her today at (561) 612-5700.  She will fight for the compensation you deserve.