Slip-and-falls may occur for many different reasons. Sometimes, snow and ice in a parking lot could lead to a customer falling before they ever get into the store. Other times, unsafe conditions inside a business result in a person losing traction, falling and getting hurt.
Although slip-and-falls don’t involve a significant elevation, the person who falls can still sustain noteworthy injuries. Broken bones and soft tissue injuries are common in slip-and-fall scenarios. People can even develop traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) if they hit their heads when they fall.
When can those with injuries caused by a slip-and-fall hold the business where an incident occurred accountable for their losses?
When the business was negligent
Companies have a duty to the public when people can access their commercial facilities. Stores, professional practices and other businesses where customers or clients visit in person need to ensure that facilities are reasonably safe. The failure to maintain safe facilities is a form of negligence that can lead to liability.
Regular maintenance of the building is important, as is proper cleaning. Spills, damaged flooring, leaking roofs and other hazards can lead to people falling and sustaining injuries. Those risks are relatively easy to predict.
As such, businesses should ensure that they consistently address them. Training workers to inspect the business facilities regularly and to clean can prevent slip-and-fall instances. Understaffing, inadequate employee training and deferred facility maintenance are all business practices that reasonable people may agree could increase the risk of a slip-and-fall.
Provided that an injured party can show that negligent business practices caused an incident, they may have grounds for a premises liability lawsuit. Taking action against a company can help injured people request compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and even property damage sustained as a result of a preventable slip-and-fall scenario.
