Personal Injury and Wrongful Death FAQs
- What must a plaintiff prove to recover for an assault or battery?
- If a dog bites a person, is the owner liable for doctor's bills?
- What does a person have to prove to win a slander or libel claim?
- Does the average member of the public have any privacy rights?
- Can a person recover damages for injuries sustained on someone else's property?
- Is an owner of property liable for using deadly force to defend their property?
- What remedies does a railroad worker, who is injured while working, have?
- What is a slip and fall action
- Can anyone bring a wrongful death claim?
- Learn More: Plaintiff's Personal Injury Law
What is a slip and fall action
A slip and fall action is a type of personal injury lawsuit filed by a plaintiff who has been injured by a slip and fall, usually on the defendant’s property. Examples of very common slip and fall plaintiffs include the grocery store patron who slips on a spill or a piece of food on the floor, and falls, causing injury to himself or herself; and a hotel guest who slips in the shower and injures his or her back in the process.
The plaintiff in slip and fall cases must usually show that the owner of the property had notice or knowledge of the condition but failed to clean it up and rectify it within a reasonable amount of time. If the plaintiff slipped on a grape that had been lying on the floor for two hours, and the manager of the store had walked past it and inspected it five times before asking someone to clean it up, liability is likely.
If the plaintiff has knowingly encountered a hazard, then he or she may have trouble holding the defendant liable. For example, if a hotel guest squirts baby oil onto the floor of the shower; steps into the shower and attempts to do the jitterbug; and then falls and breaks an ankle, liability on the part of the hotel is highly questionable. However, if the cleaning staff in the hotel repeatedly tells management that the non-skid treads in the bathtub for room 212 are missing and the hotel fails to replace them, the hotel will probably be liable for damages to a guest who is injured.
