What Are the Most Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents?
The most common causes of slip and fall accidents include wet and uneven floors, unsafe stairs, debris, poor lighting, and a lack of maintenance.
Slip and Fall Accident Causes
The following are some of the most common causes of slip and fall accidents.
Whether from a spilled liquid at a supermarket or rainfall, wet floors can make it easy to lose your footing. Recently mopped, polished, or waxed floors can also fall into this category.
This includes floorboards that stick up too far and uneven pavement in a parking lot or other area.
Examples of unsafe stairs include cracked floorboards or stairs that are not equal in height, making it harder for you to judge the distance. Worn out and warped stairs are also dangerous. A lack of proper handrails or non-skid surfacing can also lead to slip and falls.
If there is trash, significant leaf matter, or other items accumulated in an area, you may have difficulty passing through or knowing what is underneath.
Being able to see your path is critical to avoiding a slip and fall. If there isn’t enough lighting in an area, you may be unable to avoid a slippery surface that you could have seen with enough light.
Sometimes, slip and fall accidents happen because workers or staff members were not trained to keep the premises safe and prevent slip and falls from happening. An example would be a custodial worker failing to place signs alerting people to a recently mopped floor.
There are many other ways that a slip and fall accident can happen and cause you to suffer painful injuries. If you are curious about whether you have a slip and fall accident claim, contacting our firm may be a good idea to learn more about your situation.
File Your Lawsuit Within the Statute of Limitations
If you suffered injuries in a slip and fall accident, you might be eligible to receive compensation for your injuries and damages. You can take a few steps to protect your legal rights. The first is to ensure that you file your lawsuit within the statute of limitations. This law specifies how much time you have to file your lawsuit before your right to sue expires.
According to Florida Statute §95.11(3)(a), you have two years from the date of the injury to file your lawsuit. If you fail to file your lawsuit within this timeframe, you may waive your right to sue. A lawyer from our team can help you with your case and make sure you file it within the two-year period. Do not wait because time may already be close to running out on your lawsuit.
After losing a loved one to a slip and fall accident, you can pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the parties responsible for their untimely loss within two years, according to Florida Statute §95.11(4)(d).
Compensation for Slip and Fall Accidents
In your lawsuit, you can seek compensation for the financial expenses and injuries you deal with because of the slip and fall accident. There are specific categories of damages that you can claim, including:
- Medical expenses
- Missed paychecks or earnings
- Ongoing medical care costs
- Reduced earning capacity
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Pain and suffering
- Reduced quality of life
If you are thinking about filing a lawsuit seeking damages, it is a good idea to keep track of any expenses that you have to pay because of the slip and fall. If you are unsure about whether the expense would be covered, keep a record of it anyway. Your lawyer from our team can review your documentation and help you determine which expenses you can claim in the lawsuit.
If your slip and fall injuries are catastrophic, you may need medical care for the rest of your life or for a long period of time. A life care planner and medical professionals can help us figure out how much this ongoing care will cost. This way, you may be able to ensure that you and your family can deal with your injuries’ long-term financial impacts.
Call Today for a Free Consultation
If you want to know more about the most common causes of slip and fall accidents, call Distasio Law Firm now at (813) 259-0022. We offer a free consultation to learn more about your legal rights and whether we can assist you with pursuing compensation. The call is free and confidential, so you have nothing to lose.
As an ethical and trusted Tampa personal injury lawyer, Scott Distasio founded Distasio Law Firm in February of 2006, which focuses on all types of personal injury cases. He wanted to open a law firm that represented his belief that all firms should provide ethical and outstanding service to their clients.
