Practice Areas

• Car and Motorcycle Accidents
• DUI and Criminal Defense
• Big Truck Accidents
• Medical Malpractice
• Serious Injuries:
  Slip and Fall | Dog Bites

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Q: I slipped and fell in Kmart on water on the floor, now I need to have surgery, can I sue Kmart?

A: It is possible; however, whether anyone injured by slipping and falling in a retail store can sue or receive a financial settlement from the store depends on the specific facts of the case.
 
A business has a duty to use reasonable and ordinary care to keep and maintain the property, including the floors, reasonably safe for customers.  The business also has a duty to warn customers of a dangerous condition that creates an unreasonable risk of harm, if it is known to the owner and not likely to be discovered by the customer.
In order to prove that the business was responsible for a fall, it must be proven that:

• The danger (water on the floor in this case), was not obvious and visible to the customer.
• There was no way that the customer could have reasonable seen it.
• The owner should have known about the danger or did have actual knowledge of it and failed to clean it up or fix the dangerous condition.
• There was no warning the customer of the danger.
• There was an injury.
• The injury was a direct result of the slip and fall in the business.
  

Jeffrey Meldon Tip:  People have a duty to look where they are walking, and if something is “open and obvious”, an obvious danger, the business may not be liable for injuries caused by it.  This is one reason that makes “slip and fall” cases which fall under the category of Premises Liability is difficult to prove by even an experienced Fl slip and fall injury law firm.

Jeffrey Meldon Tip:   Storeowners must use reasonable and ordinary care to keep the property reasonably safe for customers.  This includes warning customers of non-obvious dangerous conditions known to the owner and to use ordinary care in the active operations of the business and to make reasonable inspections to discover dangerous conditions and make them safe.

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