What Is Hazardous Condition?

When someone has suffered a slip and fall accident on someone else’s property, the victim may believe that it was caused by a hazardous condition the owner should have corrected and ask an attorney to file a slip and fall lawsuit.  However, everyone knows that a slip and fall accident can be common, even in safe areas.  That does not mean that the property owner/manager is not responsible to make sure the property is as safe as possible.  If it is not, the victim of a slip and fall accident can quickly call a slip and fall attorney, who will help you consider the potential filing of a slip and fall lawsuit.  

Filing a Slip and Fall Lawsuit
The first step in filing a slip and fall lawsuit is to consult an accident attorney.  A slip and fall attorney has the experience to help you determine if your slip and fall lawsuit is valid.  That begins with the slip and fall attorney determining if the slip and fall accident was caused by a dangerous condition, which could have been corrected.  Dangerous conditions can be anything from a slippery floor, to slippery steps, uneven flooring, a torn carpet, a broken sidewalk, a pothole, and more.  If one of these conditions appears in the middle of a busy day, a visitor may have a slip and fall accident before the owner/manager knows about it or is reasonably able to repair it.  A slip and fall attorney may determine that the property owner/manager did all that was possible to maintain a safe environment, and that may lead the slip and fall attorney to decide that your slip and fall lawsuit is unfounded. 

If the owner/manager has known about a hazardous condition for some time, which can be reasonably expected to have corrected it, the owner/manager may be liable for the slip and fall accident and the victim may have grounds for hiring a slip and fall attorney to file a slip and fall lawsuit. 

In addition, if a hazardous condition has existed on an owner/manager’s property for some time, and normal maintenance should reasonably have revealed the condition and caused the owner/manager to correct it, a slip and fall accident may be the responsibility of the owner/manager.  A slip and fall attorney may have grounds for filing a slip and fall lawsuit. 

While these conditions are difficult for a slip and fall attorney to prove, that slip and fall attorney may help the relevant parties realize that common sense is the key to deciding a slip and fall lawsuit.

Avoiding a Slip and Fall Lawsuit
A property owner/manager may refute the claims of a slip and fall attorney filing a slip and fall lawsuit, claiming that there was no hazardous condition.  The slip and fall attorney may also realize that there was such a condition but it is unreasonable to expect it to have been corrected to avoid the slip and fall accident and the personal injury lawyer may drop the slip and fall lawsuit.  The slip and fall attorney must consider this:

• Was there good reason for the slip and fall accident victim to be where the slip and fall accident occurred, or was it marked off limits to visitors, rendering the slip and fall lawsuit unfounded?
• Were there warnings or barriers that would have protected a reasonable person from entering the area and suffering a slip and fall accident, eliminating the grounds for a slip and fall lawsuit?  
• Was the hazardous condition so obvious that a reasonable person should have avoided it, thus circumventing the slip and fall accident altogether and voiding the slip and fall lawsuit?
• Was the victim of the slip and fall accident careless, inattentive or behaving in an irresponsible manner that led to the slip and fall accident, also voiding the slip and fall lawsuit?

A slip and fall accident victim should consult a slip and fall attorney to determine if any of these conditions existed.  If so, a personal injury lawyer may advise that the slip and fall accident victim has no grounds for a slip and fall lawsuit. 

Negotiating a Settlement in a Slip and Fall Accident
In some slip and fall lawsuits, a slip and fall attorney may determine that the victim of a slip and fall accident is partly to blame.  Early in a slip and fall lawsuit, a slip and fall attorney will attempt to negotiate a settlement for a slip and fall accident victim.  In those negotiations, the slip and fall attorney may find that both the property owner/manager and the slip and fall accident victim are partially liable in the slip and fall lawsuit.  That is called comparative negligence, and provides grounds for the slip and fall attorney to negotiate a settlement to the slip and fall lawsuit out of court.