Personal Injury - Premises Accidents

Trips, slips, and falls are a personal injury claim. It is based on a claim that the property owner was negligent in allowing some dangerous condition to exist that caused the injury.

Property owners generally have two basic defenses to public liability slip and fall claims. When handled successfully the injured person may get compensated for the lifetime effect of the injuries.

For example, the owner claims the banana a patron slipped on had been dropped on the floor by another patron moments before the person slipped therefore a store owner would not have had time to discover the danger or take steps to remove it thus mitigating the danger. 

A more typical defense would be that the person injured is at fault. If the person was more aware of their surroundings, they would have noticed the banana on the floor and steps necessary to avoid slipping on it.

Depending upon the intent or negligence of a responsible party, the injured party may be entitled to monetary compensation from that party through a settlement or a judgment. However, because of a general perception that slips, and falls are often, at least partly, the fault of the person injured. Slip and fall injuries are usually worth less than injuries from other types of torts. Aside from compensation for injuries, the injured person may get compensated for the lifetime effect of the injuries.