An individual slips and falls on a wet floor, some snow or ice left on steps of pavement or on a bit of food littering the ground surrounding a public market. This simple type of accident occurs all over the country every day and a certain percentage of those who fall are injured as a result – a broken ankle or fractured arm, perhaps, or maybe a devastating trauma to the hip causing a hip fracture. The victims of slip-and-fall accidents causing injuries like these might be able to take a claim to court, but slip and fall cases can be much more difficult to win the other types of tort claims.

Why are slip-and-fall accident claims so difficult? Some are dismissed before trial but even those who make it to a jury frequently find themselves to be unsympathetic figures in the eyes of the jurors on their case. Most people have personal experience with embarrassing falls and are inclined to be skeptical of those who seem to wish profit from such an incident.

So what is there to be done for those who feel they have a claim? Understanding the laws and regulations surrounding premises liability, fault and negligence in slip and fall accident cases is the first step to take. In recent years courts have narrowed the window of liability and proof of both negligence on the part of the defendant and lack of fault on the part of the claimant must be airtight to avoid a summary judgment against the case.

Accidents that occur on the property of someone else may qualify for a slip and fall claim win if the owners can be proven negligent. The same accident that occurred through no fault of the injured party makes a property owner clearly liable. Negligence can be established if the owner of the property failed in their legal obligation to reasonably maintain safe environment of their property and post appropriate warnings when safety cannot be immediately repaired. Reasonable care exists within the boundaries of common sense. For example, if an ice storm is a raging and the steps leading into a business are icy despite regular shoveling, sweeping and salting and someone slips on the steps then negligence is not clear-cut. On the other hand, if the storm finished two days ago and no measures have been taken to clean the steps and someone falls as a result of the ice the negligence may be more clearly established. Unfortunately, even when there is a clear-cut case of negligence there is also the element of fault on the part of the injured.

If you have been seriously injured in a slip and fall accident on someone else’s property then don’t hesitate to contact a slip and fall accident attorney with whom to discuss your potential case. Although these claims are tricky, the compensation that may be won in valid cases of negligence makes them worth investigating.