Wet Floor Accidents
We see them everywhere: bright yellow signs warning visitors of a WET FLOOR set out in front of public restrooms, in grocery store aisles, in shopping plazas, and anywhere else where a spill or cleaning work has left the floor wet and slick. These signs may seem like a courtesy extended by the property owners or managers, but the reality is that while they are extremely helpful. They are also meant to protect the property owners from liability in the event that someone slips on the wet floor. While we rarely pay much mind to these signs, you will quickly recognize how important they are if you slip and fall on a wet floor that didn’t have a warning sign, especially if you suffer serious injuries as a result.
If you fall on a wet floor that the property owners or managers failed to take appropriate measures to either correct or warn you about, then it is likely that you are the victim of a premise liability issue that entitles you to seek compensation through a personal injury claim or lawsuit. The owners or liable party understands this all too well, and they will immediately jump into action in order to protect themselves from their legal obligations by offering you low, one-time settlements in exchange for signing a waiver absolving them of responsibility, as well as having their legal representation take an aggressive approach to handle your situation. All this while you are trying to come to terms with your injuries and understand the reality of your circumstances.
Contact Fasig | Brooks For a Free Legal Consultation After a Wet Floor Accident
After you are injured while visiting someone else’s property, whether private, commercial, or even government-owned and managed, it is important that you work with an experienced premise liability attorney who can help you build a comprehensive case and guide you through this otherwise complicated and stressful process. Otherwise, it will be you against either the insurance company or the property owner’s lawyers, all while you are trying to recover from your injuries and keep your life on track while your medical bills accumulate, and you are likely missing work. This all causes mounting stress that can have a serious negative impact on your recovery, and in many instances leads to people accepting settlement offers far below what they are actually entitled to.
The team of personal injury attorneys at Fasig | Brooks offers a free initial consultation for victims of wet floor accidents and other slip and fall injuries so that we can help them understand their rights and options. Trying to wade through the legal options by themselves is overwhelming, and the claims process is designed by the insurance companies for their advantage. When our award-winning team of slip and fall attorneys is representing your case, you can stay focused on your personal needs with confidence knowing that there is a dedicated legal professional fighting to get the money that you truly deserve, either through an out-of-court settlement or lawsuit award.
Determining Fault and Liability After a Wet Floor Accident
One of the most important steps in any slip and fall accident is proving that the property manager is at fault and liable for your injuries due to their own negligence or recklessness in the situation. Depending on the specifics of your accident, this can be by proving that the property owner failed to fix a leaky pipe that caused the wet floor, that the maintenance team failed to put out a “wet floor” sign warning you of slick tiles, or any other situation where the ownership should have either resolved the problem causing the wet floor or given you adequate warnings.
All personal injury cases must follow a set of criteria:
- The defendant had a duty of care owed to the victim
- The defendant failed to uphold their duty of care
- This failure led to an accident
- The victim was injured in the accident caused by the defendant’s negligent, malicious, or reckless failure of their duty of care
In this instance, the duty of care that the property owner has is to provide a safe environment for visitors to their property, including ensuring that floors are not wet and slippery. If you fell on a wet floor that did not have a sign warning you of it, then this is likely a failure of the owner’s duty of care. The resulting accident was your fall, and if you were injured, then this checks all of the necessary boxes for a slip and fall claim.
One more complication might be that the owner has contracts with a maintenance company or leasee that puts liability on the leasee or management company, but in this case, we will simply adjust who we are seeking compensation from, whether through their insurance company or directly from the company or owner themselves. From there, we will begin to calculate your measurable damages and losses, both economic and non-economic, to ensure that you get fair compensation for suffering from your injuries.
