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General Personal Injury Claims We Handle-Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington D.C. or Eastern U.S.A.

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The law applying to Slip, Trip or Fall Accidents, and Property/Hotel Accidents explored by Virginia, West Virginia, North/South Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers

Slip, Trip or Fall Accidents

Property Owner/Hotel/Restaurant/Business Liability

Virginia, West Virginia, North/South Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers

A personal injury slip, trip and fall lawsuit or property/hotel/restaurant owner case in Virginia (VA) or elsewhere has two parts, liability and damages. Damages are the result of the bodily injury to the person who is hurt, such as a broken bone and the lost wages and medical expenses associated with any orthopedic surgery and permanent disability. The liability side of the bodily injury case is showing that the defendant/property owner was at fault in causing the plaintiff's injury and that the plaintiff was free from fault. Property owner accidents (such as hotels, restaurants, business premises) range from accidents caused by dangerous, hidden conditions to those caused by something that an employee caused.


Slip/Trip/Fall Accidents: to win a slip and fall type of property owner case you typically must have suffered an injury that is so serious that the injury is really beyond any question. If you do not have a very serious injury, then it may not be practical to spend the time and money necessary to pursue a slip, trip or fall case, because the liability is often hotly contested in these cases. Often, the defendant, even if liable, will argue that the injured person contributed to causing their own injury.

Most of the initial fight in these slip/trip/fall cases is typically over the liability issue, rather than the medical bills and damages. Take as an example a man who slips on grease on a floor of a buffet restaurant. As a result of the grease, he indicates that he has had multiple knee surgeries. I have recently handled a case just like that that occurred in Chesapeake, Virginia (VA). The trick to winning that case is being able to show that the restaurant had a dangerous condition on its premises, namely the grease, and had notice and awareness of the condition or should have realized it was there sufficiently far in advance of plaintiff's fall in order that they could have done something to prevent it. That mouthful of a last sentence is the tricky part.

First, you have to prove that there actually was grease or something on the floor. Often, the client has no idea what it was other than that there was a slick area on the carpet. The restaurant may deny that there was even any grease or slipperiness at all, as occurred in my case earlier this year. What ended up winning on that issue was that luckily my client had a friend who was with him at the time of his injury who also observed the discolored slick area on the floor. Without this corroborating witness, we would have been stuck with my client's word against the manager of the store, who said she looked at the place indicated and there was nothing there. So, often it is the corroborating evidence that is important. This can supplied by a surveillance camera footage, by a witness, or even by investigating whether a slippery substance was applied to a floor by the store or its maintenance contractor.

In the era of cell phone cameras, a great tip is to take pictures at the scene, or go and get the pictures of the condition if it still exists. Always complete an injury/incident report with a business or store if you ever have a slip, trip or fall caused by a condition at a business premises.

Proving that there was actually something that caused your fall is only the first step. We also need to have evidence of what it was, how it got there, and how long it was there. The law applying to slip and trip cases usually requires that the business be “on notice” that there was a problem to correct—so, a condition that was on the floor for 5 minutes is often not a reasonable opportunity for a business as opposed to a longer timeframe, as just one example. The best evidence in this situation is a party admission by some employee of the business establishment that the condition had been there for sufficient time for them to do something about it. In one case our firm handled, we had some information that the store manager acknowledged that some other employees were supposed to clean up the area prior to our client getting hurt. In that case, the manager denied she ever said that. However, some evidence of that sort is critical to proving notice, which is that the restaurant had time to deal with the mess and failed to keep the area clean or do something about it once it became soiled.

Even after you prove that the business owner or occupant was at fault, you still have to show that your client acted reasonably for his own safety and was not contributorily negligent. If the jury believes that the danger was so open and obvious that your client should have avoided it, the case can still be lost.

My law partners and I have successfully handled many slip, trip or fall cases in the past. Each poses its own unique challenges. Serious injuries can arise from all types of property/business owner accidents. In cases involving death/fatalities, the families of a person killed can file a wrongful death claim under state laws, whether this occurs in Virginia or any other state.

Hotel/Restaurant/Property Owner Accidents/Injuries:

Our personal injury lawyers have handled dozens of serious accidental injury cases involving hotel, restaurants, and business owners that created a dangerous and careless condition. If the condition was negligently or carelessly caused by an employee or agent of the property/business owner, our firm may be able to assist you or a family member. Prior cases we have successfully resolved involve hotels, restaurants, business owners, shop owners, home owners, and other businesses. See our real case results for various examples of prior cases.

In order to prove negligence in a slip,trip or fall case or any property/business owner liability case, it is crucial to have personal injury attorneys/lawyers that have both knowledge of the field and real trial experience. The Virgina/Carolina Law Firm of Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis and Appleton routinely confer with some of the foremost medical experts in the country on behalf of their clients, and have a long and distinguished history of taking cases to trial with successful results. If you or a loved one has been the victim of a property owner or slip, trip or fall accidental injury, please send us a quick contact form or call us toll free for a free consultation today.

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©2009 Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton, P.C., All Rights Reserved, Reproduced with Permission
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