Sean | March 20, 2025
Is It Hard to Win a Slip and Fall Case?
Did you or a loved one sustain a fall due to someone else’s negligence and need to recover compensation for your injuries? You may be entitled to file an insurance claim or lawsuit against liable parties for your damages. Is it hard to win a slip and fall case? It can be challenging because it requires substantial evidence and the ability to prove that the liable party knew or should have known about the unsafe condition that caused the accident and failed to address it. You’ll want to speak to an experienced premises liability attorney in St. Petersburg about the circumstances of your slip and fall case. They can best advise you on whether you have a legitimate claim and how to proceed. Schedule a free consultation today.
How Common Are Slip and Fall Accidents?
Slip and fall accidents are extremely common, with over one million Americans visiting the emergency room annually due to injuries sustained from them. They significantly impact older adults, with over one-third of people over 65 falling yearly. While not all falls are fatal, they are the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths. Additional slip and fall statistics demonstrate:
- The incidence of a slip and fall increases with each decade of life.
- Fractures are the most serious consequences of slip and fall accidents, occurring in five percent of all people who fall.
- Over 60 percent of nursing home residents will fall each year.
- Slip and fall accidents account for 87 percent of fractures among people over 65.
- Half of all adults over 65 hospitalized for hip fractures cannot live independently or return home following a slip and fall.
- Slip and fall accidents are the second leading cause of spinal cord and brain injuries among adults over 65.
Slip and fall accidents can cause severe injuries and damages and, sometimes, result in wrongful death. If you or a loved one suffered injuries in a slip and fall accident, it is vital that you follow your medical treatment plan for recovery and speak to a lawyer. Because a slip and fall case can be hard to win, you’ll want to secure legal counsel immediately so that they can begin investigating and building a strong case for compensation.
Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents
A viable hazardous condition must be present and responsible for your accident and injuries to win a slip and fall case. The hazardous condition is the premises your injury attorney will build their case around, demonstrating negligence on behalf of the property owner or other liable party. Common hazardous conditions and causes of slip and fall accidents include the following:
- Wet or waxed floors
- Unmarked spills on the floor
- Uneven flooring or walkways
- Cluttered or obstructed pathways
- Broken or unmaintained stairs
- Loose carpets,
- Broken or missing handrails
- Poor or inadequate lighting
- Broken or cracked flooring or pavement
- Large potholes
- Exposed wires and cables
Ice and snow in parking lots and walkways that should have been removed are another proponent of injury-related slip and fall cases you may win. Slip and fall accidents have many causes and can occur while visiting someone’s residence or in public locations, including grocery outlets, shopping centers, restaurants, and sports stadiums. They can also happen in hospitals and frequently occur in nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
Who Is Liable in a Slip and Fall Case?
Property owners are the most common liable party in a slip and fall case because it’s their duty to ensure reasonably safe grounds due to premises liability law. They are responsible for providing adequate warnings of unsafe conditions and fixing them within a reasonable timeframe. Property owners who fail to maintain safe premises become liable for injuries and damages associated with another person’s slip and fall. Other potential liable parties in a slip and fall case may involve:
- Property Managers: If you suffer an injury on a rental property, landlords or property managers responsible for keeping the premises safe may be liable for your injuries and damages.
- Commercial Tenants: Sometimes, commercial tenants are liable. For example, business owners who rent a commercial property may be liable if a slip and fall accident occurs on their premises due to a hazardous situation they created.
- Residential Tenants: When visiting someone in a rented residential home or apartment, the tenant may be liable for damages if they created an unsafe condition in their rented space that caused your slip and fall.
- Municipalities: Municipalities (local government) can be liable when a hazardous condition, such as improperly maintained roads, sidewalks, and traffic signals, causes a car accident. It is harder to win a slip and fall case against government agencies. You will need an experienced attorney to navigate these claims.
Other potentially liable parties may include contractors or maintenance workers whose negligence causes a slip and fall on the premises. Sometimes, the person who caused a spill or unsafe condition may be liable for damages. Depending on the circumstances of your slip and fall case, there may be multiple parties of liability. It is important to have an experienced premises liability attorney investigate all possibilities to maximize your compensation claim.
Understanding Liability in a Slip and Fall Case
While multiple parties may be liable in a slip and fall case, they owe a differing degree of reasonable care depending on who suffers an injury on their property. There are three categories of relationships to a possessor (property owner) considered when evaluating premises liability or slip and fall cases:
- Invitees: Property owners and other potentially liable parties must demonstrate the highest level of reasonable care with invitees—people invited onto a property for business purposes, such as retail, dining, and health care.
- Licensees: People invited onto a property for social reasons, like visiting a friend, are licensees. Homeowners are not generally responsible for inspecting and fixing hidden hazards. However, they must warn licensees of unsafe conditions on the premises that may cause a slip and fall.
- Trespassers: Trespassers are not invited or permitted on a property. They may be there without the owner’s knowledge, such as a burglar. Under most circumstances, property owners and other parties responsible for maintaining the property have no duty to keep their premises safe for trespassers.
Liability is often complex, making it hard to win a slip and fall case without an experienced lawyer. The timeframe to file an insurance claim or lawsuit for a slip and fall varies by state jurisdiction. Speak to a local slip and fall lawyer to get started on your claim right away. Delaying can mean the difference between securing compensation and absorbing medical bills and other costs yourself.
Proving Negligence to Win a Slip and Fall Case
The hardest part about winning a slip and fall case is proving negligence. You must demonstrate that the property owner or liable party knew about the hazardous condition and ignored it rather than fixing it. It involves a thorough investigation, strong evidence, and proving the four elements of negligence:
- Duty of Care: Referring to legal responsibility, property owners and parties responsible for taking care of rental properties have to maintain premises in a reasonably safe condition for visitors.
- Breach of Duty: A breach occurs when the property owner or liable party fails to meet a reasonable standard of care, such as neglecting to address a hazardous condition on their premises.
- Causation: You must demonstrate that the property owner’s breach of duty caused your slip and fall accident. This means showing how the unsafe condition on the premises was the cause for your slip and fall and subsequent injuries.
- Damages: You must have sustained some form of harm or injury resulting from the slip and fall, such as medical costs, income losses, and pain and suffering.
The evidence in your slip and fall case is critical for winning compensation for your damages. It must clearly pinpoint negligence and establish the extent of your injuries and their impact on your daily life. Your slip and fall lawyer will help gather and preserve relevant evidence to ensure a solid foundation for your case before negotiating with liable insurance companies.
You should write down your accounting of how the slip and fall occurred as quickly as possible after your accident—while still fresh in your mind. Important details can fade and be lost quickly. Your victim’s account should entail what you were doing at the time of the accident, what caused your slip and fall, and the immediate aftermath.
How a Slip and Fall Lawyer Can Help
In addition to proving negligence on your behalf, a slip and fall attorney offers free case evaluations to assess if you have a valid claim while identifying potential legal issues. Most slip and fall or premises liability lawyers offer contingency fee arrangements, meaning you don’t pay anything out-of-pocket. It also means your attorney doesn’t get paid unless they secure compensation, making it a top priority for them to win your slip and fall case. They also gather evidence, calculate damages, negotiate settlements with insurance companies, and represent your case in court if it requires litigation.
Gather Evidence
Your slip and fall lawyer will gather and preserve evidence vital to proving negligence and establishing liability in your case. Your written accounting is a valuable piece of evidence. Other key evidence that helps win slip and fall cases includes the following:
- Incident Reports: When a fall occurs on a commercial property or business premises, there should be an incident report that may contain vital details about the accident and their awareness of the hazardous condition.
- Visual Evidence: Photos of the accident site, including the hazardous condition, are compelling evidence in slip and fall cases to demonstrate negligence.
- Eyewitness Testimony: Statements from people who witnessed your slip and fall may provide valuable information about the accident’s circumstances.
- Medical Records: Detailed medical documentation is necessary for establishing the extent of your injuries and how they impact your daily life, including functional limitations and restricted work-related activities. Medical records should include diagnosis, treatment and procedure plans, and how you respond.
- Expert Witness Testimony: Depending on the nature of your incident, your attorney may consult with expert witnesses, including healthcare professionals, economists, and vocational experts.
Evidence that you must collect and present to your attorney includes documents demonstrating financial losses, such as invoices for medical treatments and receipts for copays and deductibles. The costs of medical devices, like walkers and wheelchairs, and transportation costs to and from medical appointments are also recoverable economic damages in your claim.
Calculate Damages
Calculating the damages in your claim involves evaluating the economic and non-economic damages in your slip and fall case. Your economic damages are monetary losses, such as medical bills, lost income, and future medical costs, while your non-economic damages are intangible and harder to calculate, including:
- Physical and chronic pain
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium (physical companionship and intimacy)
- Disability and disfigurement
Keep a detailed journal to document your non-economic damages. You’ll want to include entries outlining symptoms of injuries, such as pain, numbness, tingling, headaches, and dizziness. Sleep disturbances and symptoms of psychological trauma, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and post-accident depression, are important to document, too.
Negotiate Settlements
Negotiations of settlements typically involve a back-and-forth exchange of offers and counteroffers before all parties agree on the proposed settlement. It starts with sending a demand letter to the insurance company and waiting for their lowball counteroffer. Your lawyer should discuss any settlement offers before accepting or rejecting them. As tempting as it may be to settle early, you should heed your attorney’s advice if they inform you of your need to wait. Reasons you should wait include not completing your prescribed medical treatments or achieving maximum medical improvement (MMI)—when you fully recover or will no longer respond to treatments.
Court Representation
If your slip and fall case cannot be settled without court, your attorney may file a civil lawsuit to recover compensation for your damages. Most slip and fall cases do not require litigation and are settled during negotiations or before trial. However, if your case is part of the small percentage of claims that go to court, you’ll want to ensure you have an experienced slip and fall lawyer handling pre-trial motions and courtroom proceedings.
Consult an Experienced Slip and Fall Attorney Today
Schedule a free consultation to get started on your slip and fall case today. You’ll want to bring any evidence you have, including photos of the hazardous condition and medical bills, to give your experienced personal injury lawyer a more accurate picture of your case specifics.
