Chandler Slip and Fall Lawyer

Many people slip, trip, and fall each year. While everyone trips or slips and falls at some point, fall accidents can be very serious or deadly. Researchers report that fall accidents are the leading cause of unintentional injuries resulting in death among adults ages 65 and older. Slip and fall accidents can also cause serious injuries or deaths among younger adults and children. While some cases involving falls do not result from negligence, others happen because of the negligent acts or omissions of property owners or operators.

Slip and fall accidents can cause severe injuries, including traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), hip fractures, broken arms, fractured wrists, spinal cord injuries, and more. If you suffered serious injuries after falling because of a dangerous, uncorrected condition on the property of someone else, you should talk to an experienced Chandler slip and fall lawyer at Lamber Goodnow. Our attorneys can review what happened in your case and explain whether your claim has legal merits. If we agree to accept your case, we will conduct an in-depth investigation to identify all of the contributing factors that led to your accident and gather evidence to support your liability claim. Because of the thoroughness of our approach, our Chandler slip and fall accident attorneys often successfully recover maximal compensation for our clients through settlements and verdict awards.

Understanding Premises Liability Law and Slip and Falls

Arizona slip and fall claims involve an area of the state’s tort law called premises liability. Under this legal theory, property owners and operators must maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition to prevent lawful visitors from suffering injuries.

Property owners and operators owe different duties to people who are on their premises based on the status of the visitors. The lowest duty of care is owed to trespassers. When a person trespasses on someone else’s property, the only duty the property owner owes is to not intentionally cause injuries to them by setting traps.

By contrast, property owners owe a higher duty of care to invitees and licensees. Invitees are people who visit the property of another at the owner’s express invitation for the owner’s benefit. For example, people who go to retail or grocery stores to shop are present at the invitation of the business to benefit the business by spending money. Licensees are people who are present on the property of another as social guests or to perform work as authorized by law. For example, postal carriers, meter readers, package deliverers, and others are owed a duty of care by the property owners.

When invitees are present, the property owner must maintain their premises in a reasonably safe and hazard-free condition. If the owners discover a dangerous condition, they must warn the invitees about its existence and take immediate steps to correct it so that people will not suffer foreseeable injuries by slipping or tripping and falling because of the hazard. Property owners also must regularly inspect their premises to discover dangers. If a property owner should have known about a dangerous condition through a reasonable inspection but failed to inspect the premises, they can still be liable to pay damages in a premises liability lawsuit.

Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents

People can slip or trip and fall because of many different types of conditions or objects. Some of the most common causes of slip and fall accidents include the following:

• Spills allowed the remain on the floor
• Broken sidewalk slabs
• Potholes in parking lots
• Torn carpet
• Loose tiles
• Broken or missing handrails on staircases
• Broken steps on staircases
• Debris left on the floor
• Objects left in aisles by store personnel
• Slick floor surfaces
• Lack of warnings

Common Injuries in Slip and Falls

Millions of people are injured in slip and fall accidents each year. According to 2017 data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, more than 8.6 million people in the U.S. visited emergency departments for injuries sustained in falls during that year alone.

Some of the common types of injuries that happen in slip and fall accidents include the following:

• Broken hips
• Ankle sprains and strains
• Knee injuries
• Pelvic fractures
• Broken wrists and arms
• Spinal cord injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Joint dislocations
• Broken ankles or legs
• Permanent paralysis
• Soft tissue injuries

Liability in a Slip and Fall Accident

Even though you might have been injured in a fall while you were on someone else’s property, that doesn’t automatically mean that the property owner or operator will be liable. Some falls happen because people were not paying attention to where they were walking. For example, if you were texting on your phone and tripped over something open and obvious in a store, the owner likely will not be liable in a slip and fall claim. Similarly, if your injuries were caused by a fall after you were engaging in reckless behavior such as running through a crowded store aisle, you likely won’t have a viable legal claim.

On the other hand, if you fell because a store employee left spilled vegetable oil on the floor for an hour without cleaning it up, the owner might be liable. This is because an oil spill reasonably should have been discovered by the owner or the employees through a regular inspection.

To determine liability, a slip and fall attorney at Lamber Goodnow will carefully analyze the evidence and the reports to assess the facts. Your Chandler slip and fall attorney will gather relevant evidence, including surveillance video, accident reports, inspection logs, medical records, and eyewitness statements. They might send a formal letter to the property owner to preserve evidence that could otherwise be lost. For example, many stores re-record footage over surveillance video after a short time. Sending a notice to preserve evidence can ensure that the store won’t lose or spoliate any evidence that could be important to your case. By analyzing the evidence in your case, your attorney can determine liability and whether your claim has legal merits.

Negligence and Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and fall claims typically involve negligence causes of action. As the plaintiff, you will have the burden of proving your case by a preponderance of the evidence. You must present evidence to prove each of the following elements of a slip and fall claim:

• You were an invitee or licensee.
• The property owner had a duty to maintain the property in a safe condition to protect you from foreseeable injuries.
• The property owner failed to meet the duty of care.
• The property owner’s breach of the duty of care caused your slip and fall accident and injuries.
• You suffered calculable damages.

You will have to prove each element by a preponderance of the evidence. If you prove some, but not all, of the elements, you won’t win your claim.

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