When it comes to slip and fall injuries, who is the one that is going to end up paying?
If you slip and fall on someone else’s property, say a business or a home, the property owner is likely going to be responsible for your injuries and the medical bills that come with it. Determining liability is an important factor in every claims case.
Thousands of people get injured every year. They slip or trip and fall on uneven ground, flights of stairs, rough patch of floor, icy sidewalks, and more Property owners may be held liable if they knew about the discrepancy and did nothing to fix or address the issue. Slip and fall accidents can occur anywhere and often occur in places like homes, department stores, shopping malls, hotels, and many more locations.
How to Determine Who is Responsible
When someone slips and falls on a property it is usually the owner of the property who is held liable. In order for the property owner to be held liable, one of the following must be true:
- Property owner created the dangerous condition which led to the incident and injury.
- Property owner knew of the dangerous situation and did not attempt to fix the issue.
- Property owner should have known of the condition and should have taken steps to prevent injuries within what a “reasonable person” would do.
Common sense is usually the deciding factor for the judge and jury. Judges and juries determine whether the owner or occupier of the property took the proper steps to keep their property safe from all risk. Law concentrates on whether the owner makes regular efforts to keep the property safe and up to the proper code.
Here are a few factors that may be taken into consideration to determine who is at fault:
- Did the owner attempt to fix the issue at hand, were their actions appropriate and reasonable.
- Was the victim who is filing the claim careless in their actions by which they all but invited injury to befall them?
- How long had the dangerous condition existed before the person making the claim got injured, and did the owner have time to fix the issue?
Property owners need to know their property like the back of their hand in order to reduce the risk of injury to others. We at PMC Insurance Group are experts on workers’ compensation . To learn more about getting competitive coverage for your small business and construction clients, contact us today.
