Slip and fall accidents are a common reason for premise liability lawsuits. Like other premise liability laws, you must prove the property owner’s negligence caused you to trip and fall. You must also be able to prove you were in fact injured by the fall.

A change in Florida law, enacted July 1, 2010, makes it more difficult than it was previously for the plaintiff to prove his or her case in a slip and fall lawsuit. The new law reintroduced the concept of “notice.” This places a greater burden on the injured person to prove the business or property owner was responsible for the situation and should have corrected it.

This new law provides several ways a plaintiff can prove notice. These are to show that the property owner had:

The plaintiff must also show that the dangerous situation reoccurred regularly. The plaintiff also cannot have contributed to the injury by his or her own negligent or irresponsible acts.

Examples of slip and fall situations include:

The first thing you should do if you slip and fall is to get medical attention. This might be required immediately in an emergency situation. Even if your injuries seem minor, you should seek medical attention to make sure your injuries aren’t worse than you suspect. This will also provide documentation of the accident in case you decide to seek compensation.

If possible, document the accident using your camera phone. If you fell because a railing was loose or because of a torn piece of carpet, take pictures. You should also write down the names and contact information of any witnesses to the accident.

After you seek medical attention for your injuries, you should contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. The Miami personal injury lawyers at Baron, Herskowitz, and Cohen represent individuals across the state of Florida in a number of personal injury claims including slip and fall claims. To find out if you qualify to seek compensation for your injuries contact our law office today.