London Slip & Fall Lawyer
Property owners are legally required to keep their premises safe for invited visitors, which includes ensuring that their property is free of unreasonable hazards and warning visitors of any hazards that have not yet been addressed. Unfortunately, not all property owners fulfill these duties, leaving visitors at risk of serious injury in the event of a slip and fall accident. It is, however, possible to recover damages from negligent property owners who fail to take adequate steps to protect visitors, so if you were hurt on someone else’s property and believe that the accident could have been prevented, you should consider reaching out to an experienced London slip & fall attorney who can advise you throughout the investigation and claim filing process.
Where Do Most Slip and Fall Accidents Occur?
Slip and fall accidents can happen just about anywhere and at any time, whether on public or private property. These kinds of accidents do, however, tend to occur in certain places more often than others, including:
- Sidewalks;
- Escalators or moving walkways;
- Parking lots;
- Swimming pools;
- Gyms and locker rooms;
- Malls;
- Grocery stores;
- Restaurants and bars; and
- Stairwells.
Sometimes, slip and fall accidents in these areas could be the result of someone’s failure to use reasonable care. A person who was talking on the phone and missed a step on the escalator as a result would, for instance, have a hard time proving that the property owner was at fault for the accident. Other times, however, an accident could be directly attributable to a property owner’s negligence. Torn carpeting, uneven flooring, improper lighting, broken stairway railings, and frozen sidewalks, for instance, could all justify a premises liability claim.
Demonstrating Fault
Property owners who invite others on to their premises must take reasonable care to prevent injuries by keeping their property clean and free of hazards and repairing any hazards that they do discover. Those who fail to fulfill these responsibilities can be held liable for resulting injuries, but only if the victim can prove that:
- The property owner had a duty to keep his or her property free of hazards;
- The property knew, or should have known, that the hazard existed; and
- The property owner’s failure to address that hazard resulted in the claimant’s injury.
Of these elements, proving that a property owner knew about the hazard but failed to address it is often the most difficult. Fortunately, victims can also succeed by demonstrating that a property owner would have known of the defect if he or she had used reasonable care in maintaining the property. If a defect is permanent, like a missing stair rail, courts will usually assume that a property owner knew about it. If, on the other hand, the defect was temporary, the court will assess how long it existed prior to the fall when deciding whether the owner is liable.
How a London Slip & Fall Attorney Can Help
Obtaining the evidence to establish your slip and fall claim can be difficult, as many property owners are reluctant to provide security footage, accident reports, and eyewitness statements. For support when filing your own claim, please reach out to the experienced London slip and fall lawyers at the Cessna & George Law Firm today.
