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A slip and fall accident occurs when someone loses their footing or contact with the ground due to a slippery or wet substance on the floor. The slip happens when there’s not enough traction between the shoe and the surface, causing the foot to slip forward or upward. This might include things like water, oil, squashed fruit on the grocery store floor, or a spilled beverage.
Trip and falls are slightly different; these involve components of the floor or walking surface that are damaged or poorly marked, and these elements cause you to trip and fall. Examples might be uneven tiles, an extension cord that was not taped down, or potholes.
To have a successful slip and fall case in Florida, you must prove that the defendant (such as a store owner) knew or should have known that the substance was there and failed to remedy the situation; this is called a “notice requirement.” Notice requirements in slip and fall cases fall into two categories: actual knowledge and constructive knowledge.
Actual notice means that the defendant was responsible for the substance being there, such as water from a mop that was used to mop the floor or they already knew about it.
Constructive notice means that the defendant is not directly responsible for the transitory foreign substance’s presence but should have known the substance was there.
A good example of this would be a banana peel that a customer has dropped on the grocery store floor. If it just happened a moment ago, there’s not enough time for a store employee to have seen the peel and cleaned it – but if the peel has been there for a significant amount of time and started to turn brown and decompose, those responsible for the store should have known and should have taken reasonable precautions to clean or remove it.
To prove constructive notice, it’s important to have evidence that the foreign substance was there for long enough that the store or defendant should have known about it. For example, spilled liquid laundry detergent that has shopping cart tracks running through it; the tracks indicate that people have been walking through the spilled detergent and pushing carts through it. A grocery store employee should have noticed it before this could happen and cleaned it up.
These kinds of details matter greatly, as they can help determine how long a substance was there and prove constructive knowledge and responsibility. Squashed grapes on the grocery store floor are another example of this, as squashed fruit has been stepped on or rolled over with a cart. Before the fruit can be stepped on by others, it should have been noticed and cleaned up.
This makes proving constructive knowledge very much a case-by-case endeavor and why it is important to have as many careful details about your slip and fall as possible. The right personal injury attorney can walk you through those details and help to document relevant information. Additionally, photos are essential when claiming a slip and fall over a transitory foreign substance. It can help to determine different time factors of how long the substance was present.
Attorney Stephanie Fenstersheib is a diligent personal injury attorney who’s helped hundreds of Floridians just like you. Fenstersheib Law Group has nearly 40 years of experience handling complex slip and fall cases, the firm has the precision and legal skill to help you get the damages you truly deserve.
Still have questions? For an initial consultation, give The Fenstersheib Law Group a call at 954-456-2488 today.
Weather conditions can contribute to both actual and constructive notice incidents. Actual notice might include placing “wet floor” signs or absorbent rugs incorrectly during a storm. This could cause a person to slip on water that they were not properly warned of, as signage may have been present but not easily noticeable or not set up correctly.
Constructive knowledge incidents can include cases where wet, mud was tracked through the store during a rain storm by customers’ feet. This should have been noticed and cleaned up by staff before a fall occurred.
This really depends greatly upon the circumstances, such as where the substance was located and the type of establishment where the slip and fall occurred. In some cases, two minutes would have been enough for someone to notice and clean the spill, whereas in other cases, 30 minutes would be a more reasonable time.
The longer that a substance was present and not taken care of, the stronger a case you’ll have for constructive notice. This longer period of time would have given those responsible plenty of time to rope off the area, clean the mess, or do anything else that could have helped prevent the slip and fall. Again, photos of the area and what caused you to slip and fall are often pivotal in proving notice requirements in slip and fall cases. Additionally, reporting your slip and fall and obtaining an incident report is also crucial for slip and falls.
Many slip and fall cases involve squashed fruit on the grocery store floor. Spilled water is often seen, whether from a leaky air conditioner or freezer unit, and cases of a spilled drink on a restaurant floor are also common.
Parking lots can also be especially slippery in the rain if the traffic marking paint is not applied or maintained correctly. Similarly, tiles or flooring that are not sufficiently slip-proof can cause incidents in places where greater traction is needed, like restaurant kitchens.
In The State of Florida slip and fall cases have some very specific requirements. This makes navigating the law rather tricky and it’s especially important to have a knowledgeable and skilled attorney representing you and reviewing your case.
A notice requirement is always needed, and details of your slip and fall may be hard to recall. An experienced attorney can help mentally guide you back to that day and to everything that happened during the incident, allowing you to recall key details that could make or break your case.
Recent changes to the law in Florida make it even more important to have an experienced attorney; these new laws state that if you are determined to have more than 51% of the fault for the slip and fall, your case is thrown out. What might this look like?
Say you’ve slipped and fallen on squished blueberries in the grocery store, but store cameras show you walking past those same berries a couple of times before you fall. This could damage your case, as the defense may argue that you likely noticed the berries and should have avoided them.
Similarly, having a possible share in responsibility could affect the damages you’re awarded. Say you slip and fall on a spilled drink in a restaurant, but you were also tipsy at the time. Some degree of blame might be shifted onto you in this case, which will lower your awardable damages.
In both of these cases, having skilled legal help is essential. The right attorney can help you navigate these pinch points in State law deftly and fight for all the compensation that you deserve.
For more information on the Basics Of Notice Requirements In Florida Slip And Fall, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling 954-456-2488 today.
Attorney Stephanie Fenstersheib is a diligent personal injury attorney who’s helped hundreds of Floridians just like you. Fenstersheib Law Group has nearly 40 years of experience handling complex slip and fall cases, the firm has the precision and legal skill to help you get the damages you truly deserve.
Still have questions? For an initial consultation, give The Fenstersheib Law Group a call at 954-456-2488 today.
