Mesa Slip and Fall Lawyer

Slip and fall accidents are very common both in Arizona and the U.S. Because of how often people slip and fall, many people view these types of accidents as non-serious. However, slip and fall accidents can be very serious and even deadly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls are the leading cause of preventable, injury-related deaths among older adults. Regardless of age, anyone can be seriously injured when they slip and fall.

People can suffer fractures, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), and other serious injuries when they fall. If your accident and injuries resulted because of someone else’s negligence, you should speak to the slip and fall lawyers Mesa at Lamber Goodnow. An attorney at our firm can analyze the facts and circumstances of your case and explain whether you have a viable slip and fall claim. If your claim has legal merits, we will thoroughly investigate what happened and work with experts to gather and present evidence that supports your claim. By being thorough, our attorneys are frequently able to recover maximum compensation for our clients through settlement agreements or jury verdicts.

Slip and Fall Accidents and Premises Liability Law

Slip and fall accidents fall under the area of Arizona’s civil tort laws called premises liability. Under the legal theory of premises liability, property owners and possessors are legally obligated to maintain their premises in a safe condition to reduce the risk that visitors with specific statuses will be injured.

Arizona property owners and possessors owe varying degrees of duty to people who are present on their premises based on their statuses. While a property owner or possessor owes a heightened duty of care to invitees and licensees, they only owe a minimal duty of care to trespassers. For trespassers, the only duty property owners owe is to avoid intentionally causing injuries by setting traps, for example.

The highest duty of care is owed by property owners to invitees. Invitees are people who are expressly invited to the property for the benefit of the owner and might include customers who are shopping in a store, for example. Property owners owe a duty of care to invitees to maintain their premises in a safe condition and to provide reasonable warnings about any dangerous conditions the owner knows or has reason to know about. When a property owner learns about a dangerous condition, they must take action to correct it to prevent invitees from being injured.

In a slip and fall claim, the property owner or possessor has violated the duty of care it owed to the victim by failing to inspect the property to discover dangers, failing to post warnings about dangerous conditions, or failing to fix hazards that they knew about or reasonably should have known about.

Common Examples of Hazardous Conditions That Can Cause Slip and Fall Accidents

Some of the common types of dangers that can cause slip and fall accidents include the following:

• Spills allowed to remain pooled on the floor
• Slippery floor surfaces
• Objects or debris left on sidewalks or in aisles
• Unfilled and unmarked potholes in parking lots
• Broken pavement on sidewalks and parking lots
• Loose or broken floor tiles
• Lack of posted warnings
• Broken steps or missing handrails
• Poor lighting
• Uneven sidewalks

Types of Injuries in Slip and Fall Accidents

More than one million Americans visit emergency departments each year because of injuries they suffer in slip and fall accidents. These types of accidents can cause serious injuries, including the following types:

• Back injuries
• Hip fractures
• Fractured wrists, arms, or elbows
• Spinal cord injuries
• Paraplegia or quadriplegia
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Dislocated joints
• Strains and sprains
• Soft tissue injuries
• Leg or ankle fractures
• Knee injuries

Determining Liability

While you might fall when you are visiting someone else’s property, that won’t necessarily mean that you will have a viable slip and fall accident claim. For example, if you tripped over something obvious because you failed to pay attention to where you were walking, the owner likely won’t be liable. Similarly, if you fell because you were acting recklessly such as running through a crowded aisle, the owner likely will not have to pay damages for your injuries. By contrast, if the property owner failed to correct a dangerous condition that caused your injuries and that the owner knew about or should reasonably have known about, you might have grounds to file a claim.

Determining liability for a slip and fall accident requires a fact-specific analysis and a careful review of the evidence. Your slip and fall attorney Mesa will gather and review the evidence, including maintenance and inspection logs, incident reports, store surveillance video, eyewitness statements, and your medical records. Analyzing the evidence and reports is necessary for your attorney to determine the legal merits of your potential claim and who should be named as a defendant in your lawsuit.

Negligence in Slip and Fall Accidents

To win your premises liability claim, you will have to prove that the property owner or operator was negligent. Plaintiffs have the burden of proof to present evidence to prove each negligence element by a preponderance of the evidence. The elements you will need to prove in a slip and fall claim include the following:

• You were lawfully present.
• The property owner owed a duty of care to maintain its property in a reasonably safe condition or to warn you about any known hazards.
• The property owner violated the duty of care.
• The property owner’s violation of the duty of care caused your accident and injuries.
• You suffered losses as a result.

You must meet your burden of proof for each of these elements. If you fail to prove one of the elements, you won’t be able to recover compensation.