Articles Posted in Slip and Fall Accidents

Florida’s stringent slip-and-fall law, updated in 2011, covers incidents that occur at colleges and other institutes of higher learning, according to a recent ruling by the 4th DCA.

The court in McCarthy v. Broward College ruled the provision of F.S. 768.0755 that states “in a business establishment” is applicable to universities.

The totality of the updated law states a person who is injured after slipping and falling on a foreign transitory substance (water, grease, sand, oil, cleaning solution, wax, etc.) in a business establishment has to prove the business had actual or constructive knowledge of the potentially dangerous condition and failed to take action to remedy it. Actual knowledge means the establishment was informed of the problem or noticed it. Constructive knowledge essentially means “should have known.” This element of the statute can be proven by showing either the condition existed for a certain length of time that would suggest in the ordinary exercise of due care, the company would have discovered it OR that the condition occurred with such regularity that it is considered foreseeable.
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In Florida, if you slip or trip and fall in a doctor’s office or hospital and are injured, is it considered a medical malpractice case or a premises liability claim?

It’s an important distinction because the answer to this question is going to impact whether you must retain expert witness testimony, what kind of notification requirements you must meet, the relevant proof burden, the general amount of damages you may be awarded, and the applicable statute of limitations deadline.

Just as an example of the differences, Florida’s statute of limitations on medical malpractice cases is two years, while the deadline for personal injury cases is four years.
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If Facebook were a country, it would rival China as the world’s largest. As of October 2014, The Washington Post reports the number of unique users cleared 1.35 billion. It has effectively revolutionized the way we communicate.

Most people are on these sites to connect with others. However, privacy settings are available to block dissemination of certain information to the general public. But take heed: That information is not actually private, and whatever you post may be subject to scrutiny in a court of law.

That point was underscored recently in a slip-and-fall lawsuit weighed by Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal. In Nucci v. Target et al., plaintiff argued against a trial court order compelling her to allow defendants access to her social media pictures dating back two years prior to the incident. (The court also ordered her to turn over pictures taken with her cell phone, but those were not at issue on appeal.)
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The tourism industry is vital to the economy in Lee County, with the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau reporting 88 percent of visitors stayed at some sort of paid lodging. Of those, 77 percent stayed at a hotel, motel or resort, 12 percent at a vacation home and 6 percent at a bed & breakfast. On average visitors stayed 4 nights.

Businesses or even private property owners that provide lodging services owe a duty to guests to provide a safe environment. That means keeping rooms and common areas neat and free of foreseeable hazards, providing adequate lighting and security and ensuring all items provided for guest use are reasonably safe.

Even so, just because a person is injured while at a hotel doesn’t mean he or she is entitled to compensation. Premises liability laws are complex, and there are a number of factors that must be considered. One of those is the proper and timely identification of all defendants.
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One of the reasons it’s so important to hire a Fort Myers injury lawyer with experience is because quite often, elements of the case will meander into other facets of law, such as employment law or business law.

The outcome of the injury case could hinge on the plaintiff lawyer’s ability to argue some element pertaining to these specific areas of law. A common example would be a person injured by a negligent truck driver. In order to seek compensation from the trucker’s employer and insurer, one might first have to establish the trucker actually worked for the firm, and was not simply an independent contractor. Doing so requires more than base-level knowledge of state and federal labor law.

Another example of how other areas of law can factor into an injury lawsuit was illustrated recently in the case of Hillstone Restaurant Group v. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc., weighed recently by Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal. Although the injured party was not required to argue which entity should indemnify the other (this was a dispute between two companies), it’s relevant to future personal injury plaintiffs.
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As a general rule, the law places a duty upon landowners and possessors to make their property safe from dangerous conditions so that people who come upon the land are not injured. Unsafe premises conditions can exist just about anywhere, including shopping centers, apartments, sports facilities, farms, or open parcels of land.

Our premises liability attorneys know the burden of proof, overwhelmingly falls on the plaintiff in such cases. When someone suffers a serious fall injury or other injury on commercial property, getting timely legal advice can be critical to proving your case. If the case must be litigated, you will need all the evidentiary support you can gather. One of the most common of these claims is slip and fall accidents. While a number of things can cause a slip and fall accident in Southwest Florida, the primary cause of this type of accident is a slippery surface. When spills aren’t cleaned up right away, wet floors aren’t dried properly, or floor mats aren’t secured, people often suffer serious injuries as a result.
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