Premises Liability – Slips,Trips & Falls
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If you have been injured due to a trip or fall on the property of another, please call us to find out about your options for compensation against those who may be legally liable.
Understanding Legal Liability for Trips and Falls in Kentucky and Indiana
In both Kentucky and Indiana, premises owners have a legal duty to ensure that their property is generally safe. Normally commercial establishments have a higher duty to keep property safe than non-commercial establishments, and thus the law may impose a greater duty of care.
Just because a person was injured in a trip or fall on commercial property does not mean that the commercial establishment is automatically liable. For liability, a number of questions ordinarily should be addressed:
- Did a dangerous condition exist? People can trip or fall in all kinds of circumstances apart from a dangerous condition. If a person were to trip over an obvious obstacle, it may be determined that a dangerous condition did not exist if an ordinary person would have recognized the obstacle.
- Did the property owner know (or should they have known) of the dangerous condition? As an example, a store owner who knows of icy sidewalks in the wintertime should know that if action is not taken to remove the ice or otherwise make the sidewalks safe, there is a chance that a customer could fall. On the other hand, if there is a spill caused by a customer in an aisle, and the store does not know about the spill, and two minutes later another customer falls and is injured, the store may not have liability.
- What reasonable action should an owner have taken? Cleaning up a spill would be a reasonable action to take. Similarly, when floors are waxed, cones and notices informing customers of a slick floor might also be reasonable. If the store did not take reasonable action, this may increase the chance that they will be found liable.
- Was the person injured at fault? In some cases, customers may have been warned about a danger, such as a slick floor, and nonetheless they did not take any precaution.
While litigation for trips and falls is often initiated against commercial establishments such as stores, litigation can also be brought against private owners who fail to make their property safe. As an example, if your neighbor invites you over for a cookout on his deck, and you fall off the deck after leaning against a railing which you did not know was broken, you can bring a lawsuit against your neighbor for your injuries.
It’s also important to know that people often have insurance that will help protect them against someone who is injured on their property.
For instance, residents suffer from fall injuries who should not have been permitted to walk unattended. Residents choke, and sometimes die, when they are given food that they cannot chew and swallow because of a variety of conditions that can affect their ability to swallow. Bed sores, a commonly-seen injury in nursing homes, are usually the result of the failure of nursing home staff to properly care for individuals who need to be turned in bed.
It’s important to understand exactly what happened so that a determination of legal negligence can be ascertained. To make a determination of whether negligence may have occurred, it is important that we obtain all records relating to a patient and to have these records reviewed by a medical professional in order to get their opinion regarding what treatment and care should have been provided.
Trip and Fall Injury Claims are Highly Fact Specific
If you have been injured in a trip or fall, please call our firm to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. Upon learning about your case we can advise you of the possibilities for recovery and how we can help.
