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What is Premises Liability?

Commonly referred to as slip, trip or fall accidents, premises liability involves the legal responsibility that the owners of a property have in the event that someone is injured. If an individual would slip and fall on the property, the owner could possibly be held responsible for any resulting injury.

If a property’s conditions are dangerous or hazardous and an individual is injured, the owner of the property could be held legally responsible. Examples of dangerous conditions include a wet floor, unstable ground, and even poor lighting.

Slip and Fall Accident

If a slip and fall accident occurs and the individual suffers injury, they may be able to seek compensation for the injury. There are however certain factors that must be met in order for the owner to be considered at-fault for the accident and injury.

If you have suffered from a slip and fall accident and are wondering if you can file a premises liability claim, at least one of the below factors must apply to your accident.

  1. The owner of the property, whether it is an individual or a place of business, or an employee of the business caused the hazard or condition that resulted in the slip and fall accident (i.e. an employee spilled milk in an aisle of the grocery store).
  2. The owner of the property or an employee of the business knew about the hazard and did not do anything to resolve it. (i.e. an employee knew about a spill on the ground but failed to mop it up or place a warning sign).

When pursuing a premises liability claim, you must be able to overcome the “open and obvious” doctrine. This doctrine states that if you slip, trip or fall over something you could have seen, but simply did not see, you lose.

Falls at your Rental Property

If you are the tenant at a rental property, you have special rights against property owners. If you have a slip, trip or fall injury where you rent your apartment, there are special exceptions that may apply if there are violation of the building codes.

For instance, if there are not proper handrails or the elevations of the treads on stairs are the wrong size, there may be a basis for a claim to be successful.

Snow and Ice

Recent Supreme Court decisions have declared that slipping and falling on a natural accumulation of snow or ice eliminates your right to compensation for injuries caused by that fall.

You can only recover snow and ice slip and fall accidents if it is an unnatural accumulation (manmade).

Presmises Liability Lawyer

If you were the victim of a slip and fall accident, the type of lawyer that you should contact is a personal injury lawyer.

Contrada & Associates has helped victims of slip and fall accidents to receive compensation for their injury. If you suffered an accident to the dangerous condition or hazard on someone else’s property and the characteristics of the accident meet one of the three conditions above, call our law firm at 419.841.4400. You will have the opportunity to speak directly with attorney Charlie Contrada about your slip and fall accident and the legal options that you have.

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Attorney Charlie Contrada has been practicing law since 1979, focusing his career on personal injury, car accident, and mesothelioma cases. Over the years, Charlie has helped thousands of clients throughout Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan to receive the settlements that they deserve.

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