Slip and Fall cases, also known as Premises Liability Actions can be complicated issues with many factors. The person’s status on the property, the nature of the hazard, the length of time that hazard existed, the property owner’s knowledge of the hazard’s presence, and the nature and extent of injuries are just a few factors that must be considered. Therefore the phrase Slip and Fall may be an over-simplification of the issue.

A property owner has a duty to make their property reasonably safe to those people who may enter upon it. The extent to which they have to make sure their property is safe depends on the person’s legal status on the property. There are two common distinctions Invitee and Licensee.

Invitee

When a person enters upon a business’s property they are most typically considered an Invitee. In these types of cases generally you must show:

• A dangerous condition existed
• The land possessor knew or SHOULD HAVE KNOWN that the dangerous condition existed
• The land possessor failed to use ordinary care to remove, remedy, or warn of the hazard
• As a result of the hazard the individual was injured

Licensee

When a person enters upon the property of another private individual they are most often considered a Licensee. In these types of cases generally you must show:

• A dangerous condition existed
• The land possessor had actual knowledge that the hazard existed
• That the individual upon the property did not have knowledge of the hazard and could not have discovered it through the use of ordinary care
• That the property possessor knew or should have known the individual upon the land was not aware of the hazard.
• That the land possessor failed to use ordinary care to remedy the hazard
• That as a result of the hazard the individual was injured

As you can see there are many issues at play when you are injured by a hazardous condition on someone else’s property. If you have been injured as the result of a dangerous property condition please feel free to give my office a call for a free consultation.