Slip and Fall Accidents
Anyone who has ever suffered an injury from a slip and fall accident knows it’s not the fun depicted in cartoons with the rib-tickling slip on the banana peel. Injuries from slip and falls are often severe and can result in pain, a loss of income, necessity to rely on others to do household tasks, health care costs, and a loss of enjoyment of life.
Slips, trips, and falls can occur in any location. The fall may have occurred down faulty stairs at a friend’s home, on a slippery substance in a store, in an icy parking lot, over a utility cable, on a poorly maintained sidewalk, etc. The location of the fall is important. In many jurisdictions, if the slip, trip, or fall occurred on public property there are very short time limits for providing notice to the appropriate government body. Such notice must include details of the fall including, at a minimum, your name, location of the fall, date of fall, and
anticipated legal action. In some instances the notice periods are as short as a few days. If you fail to provide notice to the municipality, township, or appropriate governing body within the notice period, you may lose your right to sue entirely. Therefore, it is essential to meet with a lawyer immediately following a fall in which you have suffered injury if there is any possibility of that fall having occurred on public property.In many cases, the person who falls will be contributorily negligent for the slip and fall and resulting injuries. In other words, the person who falls may be assessed to be partly responsible for his fall and the injuries that result. Footwear, familiarity with the location, and other factors may result in the person being contributorily negligent.