Pinecrest Slip & Fall Lawyer
Slip-and-fall is the leading cause of injury at restaurants, hotels, and other hospitality businesses. 70 percent of these accidents occur on flat, level surfaces. Most hospitality businesses rely so greatly on a heavy amount of foot traffic that it’s almost impossible for these owners to ensure their interior floors and exterior walkways are reasonably safe.
Grocery store falls are just one of the many related matters that the Pinecrest slip & fall lawyer at Spencer Morgan Law routinely handles throughout the Sunshine State. Because we deal with so many cases, we have developed proven methods that have helped us achieve life-changing results for our client in the past. We’re confident these same methods will produce the same results in your case.
Pinecrest Slip-and-Fall Lawyers and the Duty of Care
Property owners are much like stagehands. These professionals must ensure that the right props are on stage at the right time, and that the stage is safe for the actors. Similarly, owners set the stage at their grocery stores or other properties. The show can’t go on if stagehands do not live up to their responsibilities, and guests are not reasonably safe unless property owners live up to their responsibilities.
Most victims are invitees (invited guests) who benefit the owner financially (the spend money) or nonfinancially (the benefit of social interaction). Invited guests trust these owners to make their homes and businesses reasonably safe. Owners cannot betray this trust.
A lesser duty of care applies if the victim was a licensee (permission but no benefit). A guest of an apartment tenant is usually a licensee. The duty of care is almost nonexistent if the victim was a trespasser (no permission and no benefit), unless a limited exception applied.
The duty of care is not a straightforward issue in these cases, mostly because these categories are somewhat vague and often overlap. These complexities underscore the need for a partnership with an experienced Pinecrest slip-and-fall lawyer.
Knowledge of Hazard
The duty of care is a fundamental principle in Florida negligence law. So is knowledge of a hazard. The law only expects owners to address and remove hazards if they know about the problem.
Direct evidence of actual knowledge is usually the best evidence in these situations. Such proof usually includes smoking guns like restroom cleaning reports and “cleanup on aisle five” announcements. Prior complaints of a similar fall hazard could be admissible on this point as well.
Circumstantial evidence of constructive (should have known) knowledge is admissible as well. Think of a piece of lettuce on the floor. If the lettuce is wet and crisp, it probably just fell on the floor, so the owner is probably off the hook. But if the lettuce is dry and wilted, it had probably been on the floor so long that the owner should have known about it and should have done something about it.
Possible Defenses
Comparative fault, in one form or another, may be the most common insurance company defense in slip-and-fall cases. In this context, insurance company lawyers basically argue that the victim didn’t watch where s/he was going.
Florida is a pure comparative fault state. So, even if a victim was 99 percent responsible for a wreck, the tortfeasor is still responsible for a proportionate share of damages. Frequently, the property owner is an out-of-state conglomerate. This remote ownership adds another layer to an already complicated case.
Count on a Diligent Miami-Dade County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced Pinecrest slip & fall accident lawyer, contact Spencer G. Morgan, Attorney at Law. We do not charge upfront legal fees in these matters.