| Have you ever had that unfortunate fall while walking | | | | owner or an employee of same. In order to be legally |
| to your car, up a flight of steps, or on an icy parking | | | | liable for your slip, at least one of these conditions |
| lot? It happens all the time to various people around the | | | | should be true. |
| world, and sometimes it creates some sort of personal | | | | * The condition responsible for the fall must have been |
| injury. This results in medical bills, medicines, and just | | | | caused by an establishment's owner or one of its |
| more money out of your pocket then you wanted | | | | employees. |
| when the day had begun. | | | | * The owner or employees knew about the cause but |
| Here are a few factors courts consider when | | | | did nothing to fix it. |
| assessing such a claim. The law is a fairly complex | | | | * In some circumstances, it can be argued that the |
| entity that varies from state to state, so while this | | | | owner or employees *should* have known about the |
| article discusses generalities, please consult with a | | | | cause had they taken reasonable care of the |
| lawyer about the specifics of your case. | | | | property. This is usually determined via common sense, |
| One of the primary considerations to determine who is | | | | and by determining if the owner has made reasonable |
| responsible is the duty. For instance, is Wal-Mart | | | | prior maintenance efforts. |
| expected to be responsible if you fall in their parking | | | | As you can see, determining liability is a tricky business. |
| lot? It's a complex question, but one with many | | | | Here are a few practical questions to help ascertain if |
| considerations. | | | | you have a valid claim. |
| Take, for instance, someone slipping on a patch of ice | | | | * Could the problem been addressed long before the |
| in an apartment complex. If the fall happened in a | | | | accident occurred? |
| parking lot, it might be argued that the apartment | | | | * If the cause was an object, was there a good |
| complex did not have a reasonable duty to keep its | | | | reason for the object to be located there? Could it |
| parking lot clear of ice, particularly in cold climates. | | | | have been realistically located elsewhere and not |
| If the fall happened instead on a flight of stairs, | | | | cause injury? |
| however, the apartment's duty to keep those stairs | | | | * Could a warning sign or barrier kept you from getting |
| clear is much greater. Falls on sidewalks are treated | | | | hurt? |
| similarly, though the responsibility is usually the city's. | | | | It is also possible that your own negligence may have |
| The major difference between the first situation and | | | | contributed more than did the property owner's. Here |
| the latter two is that a parking lot is a large area which | | | | are a few questions to help determine this. |
| cannot be expected to be free of ice, while the latter | | | | * Were you distracted at the time of your fall? |
| are smaller areas on which pedestrians have the | | | | * Could you have honestly avoided the issue if you |
| reasonable expectation of walking safely. | | | | were paying closer attention? |
| Some questions of duty are more clear-cut. For falls | | | | * Did you have a good reason for being at the location |
| involving spills, poor lighting, etc. it is usually obvious that | | | | of the fall? |
| the cause is negligence on the part of a property | | | | |