Slipping, tripping, or otherwise taking a nasty fall can leave you with severe injuries, and property owners must be mindful of potential tripping hazards. Speak to an attorney as soon as you can after such an accident.
Slip and fall injuries are tricky to work with because injured victims often blame themselves and assume that their clumsiness caused the accident. Property owners owe a duty of care to visitors and guests to keep the premises safe, and they might be liable for your injuries. In a lawsuit, you might name several possible parties as defendants, including private property owners, businesses, or the government. To get compensation, we must prove how the defendant’s negligence caused your injuries. To do this, we need to gather evidence that supports your claims.
Our slip and fall injury lawyers here at Howe Law can be reached at (844) 876-4357 for a free case review.
Liability for Slip and Fall Injuries in Valdosta, GA
Slip and fall injuries fall under the legal umbrella of premises liability. Premises liability cases are based on injuries or accidents that occur in specific locations. The person or people who own the property where the accident happened are usually the ones held liable. However, it is not enough that someone owns the property where an accident occurred. Unsafe conditions or hazards on the property must directly cause the accident.
Property owners owe a duty of care to guests and visitors. This duty requires property owners to repair or remove known hazards and make reasonable inspections for potentially unknown ones. If a guest or visitor is injured because the property owner failed to take the necessary precautions, the owner might be on the hook for the injured victim’s damages.
If hazards cannot be removed or unsafe conditions cannot be repaired, guests must at least be adequately warned of the danger. For example, if a store clerk mops up a spill, patrons must be warned of the wet floor so they can avoid slipping, and a wet-floor sign is usually considered an adequate warning.
Additionally, only people with the right to be on the premises are owed a duty of care. This includes invited guests and visitors who might not be invited but should be reasonably expected (e.g., customers in a store). Unknown trespassers are owed no duty and often cannot sue property owners for their injuries.
Whom to Sue for Your Slip and Fall Injuries in Valdosta, GA
Property owners are often held liable for slip and fall accidents, but many different people or entities could be property owners. You might sue a private homeowner, business, organization, or governmental entity. Our slip and fall injury attorneys can help you determine who owns the premises where you were injured.
Private Homeowner
In many slip and fall cases, the defendant is a private homeowner, and the plaintiff is a guest. A common scenario is when someone is invited to a neighbor’s house and slips and falls on something like wobbly stairs or uneven floors. The injured visitor can sue the homeowner for their injuries.
A slip and fall lawsuit does not require an actual invitation into the building. If the private homeowner should reasonably expect certain visitors without an invitation, they still owe those visitors a duty of care. For example, mail carriers or delivery workers can reasonably be expected even though they are not necessarily invited. If this person slips and falls on the homeowner’s front porch or front steps, the homeowner might be held liable.
Business or Organization
A lot of slip and fall accidents happen outside of private homes. Businesses, stores, and other private property spaces used for commerce are frequently the subjects of slip and fall lawsuits. These places see numerous visitors daily in the form of customers or patrons, and there might be a lot of foot traffic. As such, the risk of slip and fall accidents is higher. A small puddle, hole in the floor, or rickety staircase could be enough to cause someone to take a bad fall and be severely injured. The business owner is likely the liable party.
The Government
If your slip and fall injuries happened on public property (e.g., public parks, government buildings, public libraries), you can sue the government for your injuries. The problem is that suing a governmental entity is complicated and often requires plaintiffs to overcome multiple legal hurdles.
First, our slip and fall injury attorneys have to help you file notice of your claim with the appropriate governmental authority. The notice of your claim is a written document informing the government of your lawsuit. The time you have to submit this notice varies depending on whether you are suing the state or local government.
Under O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5(b), you have 6 months to submit a notice of your claim against a local government entity. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-21-26(a)(1), you have 12 months to submit a notice of your claim against the state.
What You Need to Prove Your Claims in a Slip and Fall Case in Valdosta, GA
To get compensation for your injuries, you must prove that the defendant’s negligence caused your accident. Proving negligence requires strong evidence supporting your claims. Our slip and fall injury attorneys know where to find evidence and how to use it effectively to prove your claims.
One very important piece of evidence that people often forget about is photographs. Immediately after your accident, you should take pictures of where you fell. Once you are taken away for emergency medical care, the property owner will probably remove the hazards that caused your accident, and precious evidence might be lost. Your photographs may be used as evidence showing the hazard on the defendant’s property.
In some cases, the defendant might claim they are not liable because they do not own the property. This is often the case when the person occupying or using the property is technically not the owner. We might need to use public records to prove who owns the property. Even so, renters or occupants of a property might also be liable under certain circumstances.
Call Our Valdosta, GA Slip and Fall Injury Lawyers for Assistance
Call Howe Law at (844) 876-4357 for a free assessment of your case with our slip and fall injury lawyers.
