Chandler slip and fall lawyers fighting for the rights of accident victims in Arizona, including East Valley, West Valley, Yuma, Glendale, Tucson and Phoenix.
The Centers for Disease Control report that approximately 8,000,000 non-fatal injuries, including spinal cord and traumatic head injuries, result from slip and fall accidents every year, and around 19,000 people die every year from falls. Prominent among these fall accidents are those caused by slippery floors.
More people are treated in emergency rooms because of falls than from car accidents, and falls are the number one cause of workplace injuries and deaths, the third most common cause of accidental or wrongful death, and the most common cause of accidental death in people over the age of sixty-five. These are pretty shocking figures. A large number of these falls could have – and should have – been prevented. If you or a loved one has been hurt because of a fall on a slippery fall, remember that the law is on your side. Contact an experienced Phoenix slip and fall attorney at Wattel & York for a free and comprehensive discussion of your case.
WHAT CONSTITUTES NEGLIGENCE IN SLIP AND FALL ACCIDENTS?
Property owners are legally required to use reasonable care in the maintenance of their premises and may not expose others to an unreasonable risk of harm, such as the risk inherent in a slippery floor. Owners have a duty to inspect their premises for unsafe conditions and to eliminate those conditions or at the very least warn people of conditions that pose a risk of injury.
Retail stores, restaurants, malls, apartment and office buildings, and supermarkets are all places where slippery floors may cause accidents. The cause may be a spill, a leak, or a floor that has been cleaned or waxed. When these conditions occur and are not taken care of, and an accident happens, the owner may be held liable for the resulting injuries.
TO PROVE NEGLIGENCE IN A SLIPPERY FLOOR CASE, THE VICTIM MUST SHOW THAT:
- The owner of the premises or an employee caused the spill or other slippery dangerous surface.
- Owner of the premises or an employee must have known of the dangerous surface but done nothing about it.
- The owner of the premises or an employee should have known of the dangerous surface because a reasonable person taking care of a property would have discovered the problem and fixed it or placed warning signs or barriers.
Furthermore, the victim must show that the accident caused by the owner’s negligence was the cause of the injury, and that the victim suffered actual damages.
TYPES OF NEGLIGENCE
Types of owner negligence that may cause people to be injured when falling on slippery floors might include:
- Improper floor maintenance
- Improper cleaning and finishing methods by janitorial staff
- Failure to institute precautions that employees are to take in response to poor weather conditions and spills, or when cleaning or polishing floors
- Failure to place walk-off mats at entrance doors to absorb water that may accumulate during wet weather
- Failing to use barriers and signage to warn of wet or slippery flooring
- Failure to train employees to identify, report, and promptly remedy all slip-and-fall hazards
Any person who has been injured in a slippery floor accident caused by a property owner’s negligence deserves to receive fair and adequate compensation for medical expenses, lost earnings, pain and suffering, disability and disfigurement, or any other losses caused by the fall.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA SLIP AND FALL ATTORNEYS HELP VICTIMS RECOVER
If you or someone in your family has been injured in a slippery floor accident, the Phoenix premises liability lawyers at Wattel & York have the knowledge, legal expertise, and commitment to justice to fight for your right to a fair and reasonable recovery for your losses. We serve Chandler, Glendale, Yuma, Tucson, Phoenix and beyond. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation. You pay nothing unless we win!
