Premises Liability: Slip and Fall Accidents

Premises liability is the legal responsibility that property owners have for injuries that occur on their property due to slip and fall accidents. If a person slips, trips, or falls as a result of a dangerous or hazardous condition, the property owner may be fully responsible. In general, property owners are held accountable for falls that result from ice, snow, or water, as well as abrupt changes in flooring, poor lighting, or a hidden hazard, such as a gap or hard to see hole in the ground.

In many instances, premises liability cases will allow damages for pain and suffering, lost wages, and medical expenses. Premises liability may also compensate surviving family members in the event of death.

Factors in Evaluating Premises Liability

In order for a property owner to be legally responsible for injuries suffered from slip and fall or trip and fall accidents, one of the following must be true:

• The owner of the premises or an employee must have caused the dangerous condition (such as a spill, worn or torn spot, or other slippery or other hazardous surface).
• The owner of the premises or an employee must have known about the dangerous condition but done nothing about it.
• The owner of the premises or an employee should have known about the dangerous condition.

Proving liability in the third situation can be tricky because of the words "should have known." In these instances, the case is often decided by common sense. Judges and juries determine liability by deciding if the owner makes regular and thorough efforts to keep the property safe and clean.

Homeowner Liability

There are several different types of people to whom homeowners may be liable in the event of a slip and fall accident. They are:

• Invitees – An invitation can be implied or expressly extended. This category generally includes workers or contractors.
• Licensee – A licensee is someone who has no contractual relationship with the homeowner but is permitted to go on the premises. A social guest is normally considered a licensee.
• Trespassers – A trespasser is someone who enters property without implied or express permission from the owner. Property owners cannot purposely prepare traps for trespassers, and if there is evidence that a trespasser may be on the property or is expected to be on the property, property owners must take ordinary care to keep the premises safe.

Homeowner's Liability Insurance

Homeowner's liability insurance pays damages for which you become liable, up to the dollar amount of coverage that you purchased. If damages exceed the amount of your coverage, or if you don't have any coverage, your personal assets could be at risk if you are sued and found to be responsible for causing someone else's injuries.

A suit against a homeowner can involve several different claims, some of which may be covered by the homeowner's liability insurance policy and some of which may not. The insurance company must provide a defense for any claim that could be covered, but the company may not be required to pay the damages for certain types of claims.

For example, liability policies typically don't provide coverage for intentional acts, and there may be a question as to whether the policyholder acted intentionally. Negligent or accidental acts are generally covered, however.

Under most types of liability insurance, the insurance company has the right to settle or defend the case as it desires. The homeowner can express an opinion, but the company normally has no obligation to obtain the policyholder's consent or approval for its decisions.

In the end, the insurance company may refuse to pay part or all of a claim. It may say that the claim is not covered by the policy or that the policyholder took some type of action that made the policy void. Insurance policies are contracts and open to interpretation by the courts, so policyholders may be able to use the legal system to overturn such decisions. In the event that a homeowner consults an attorney to pursue this course of action, the attorney should not be the same one that was hired by the insurance company to represent the homeowner.

Business Owner Liability

The following are some examples of common conditions that lead to slip and fall accidents indoors:

Floors

Businesses are expected to mop, wax, or polish their floors. If a slip and fall accident occurs as the result of a wet floor, however, the business owner may be liable. Instances in which a business owner may be held responsible for injuries from a slip and fall accident are:

• Failing to provide adequate warnings, like signs, that the floor is being cleaned or is wet or damp
• Failing to provide adequate barriers to close off an area that has a wet or damp floor
• Using an excessive amount of wax or polish or applying the treatments unevenly
• Using a floor treatment to a sloping or inclining part of the floor
• Treating one part of a floor and leaving a part untreated, so that the difference in conditions causes an accident
• Not using a floor treatment with "non-skid" ingredients when it is necessary
• Rugs or mats with curled edges
• Torn, worn, or bulging areas of carpet
• Items caught in the carpet material that stick up and catch on footwear

Stairs

If the owner knew or should have known about a dangerous stairway condition, liability may apply when:

• One or more steps are worn and rounded
• Debris is present on the stairs
• The stairs have been waxed or polished but don't have a non-skid surface
• There is a broken or missing handrail

Escalators and Elevators

Escalators and elevators are designed to carry passengers so in some instances business owners have a larger legal responsibility than in other premises liability situations. Slip and fall accidents can occur on escalators and elevators when there are sudden, unexpected movements the machinery or when articles of clothing or body parts are caught in an escalator or elevator. Business owners are responsible for maintaining their escalators and elevators so that they operate safely.