February 14, 2011
Slip and fall injury cases are classic “premise liability” cases. When a person slips, falls and injured themselves on the property of another person, they may have a “slip and fall” case. This is because the owner of property has a legal duty to exercise reasonable care to maintain the property in a reasonable safe condition under the circumstances. A breach of this legal duty is negligence. A land owner is liable for the damages suffered by a person injured by his negligence.
Over the last 30+ years I have successfully handled many slip and fall cases where there are serious injuries. But, these cases have significant challenges.
In Alaska we have many “slip and fall” injuries, but not ever slip and fall injury will lead to a good “slip and fall case.” The injured person has difficult burdens to meet in proving his/her claim. Some of the challenges include:
The land owner is not a guarantor of the safety of persons on his property. If the land owner or his tenant (the person in control of the land) has made a reasonable effort to maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition “under the circumstance,” there is no negligence. What is “reasonable” conduct in performing maintenance truly does depend on the circumstance. Likewise, what is a “reasonably safe” condition depends on the circumstance.
The injured person has a legal duty to act reasonably in order to avoid injury. If he/she failed to act reasonably to prevent injury, they are comparatively negligent. So, even if the land owner is found to be negligent, the injured person’s damages will be reduced by their share of the “fault” in causing the accident.
The “Alaska Factor” can significantly effect whether the outcome of a slip and fall case. I define the “Alaska Factor” as being the mind set of jurors that everyone walking around in the winter time should know walking surfaces are slippery and they will fall down if they are not careful. In short, people hurt in a slip and fall injury have to overcome the perception that falling was their fault. But, when the evidence shows a gross lack of maintenance and an unexpectedly dangerous condition on the property and real damages caused by the injury, juries will award reasonable damages in slip and fall cases.
There are many other challenges to presentation of a slip and fall case. But, if you have suffered significant injuries and you believe you may have a case, then call or email Elliott T. Dennis at (907) 929-4890 or Elliott@attorneydennis.com for a free evaluation of your case.