Slip And Fall Lawsuit: What It Is & How It Works (2025)

How to Pursue a Slip and Fall Lawsuit

Slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere. However, to file a legal claim, you will probably need to show you were on someone else’s property. In other words, you must show that someone was responsible for maintaining a safe environment for you, and they failed to do so. Importantly, you must also show the failure was the product of negligence.

Proving Negligence in Slip and Fall Cases

Most slip and fall claims rely on negligence law. To win your case, your lawyer must prove the elements of negligence, which include:

• The property owner owed you a duty of care
• They breached that duty
• The breach led to your injuries
• You have damages to collect as a result

In discussions of premises liability, many people reference the property owner. However, anyone responsible for the property (like an owner, manager or tenant) can be named as a defendant in a slip and fall lawsuit. These parties owe a duty of care to provide safe premises to:

• Guests
• Customers
• People with a lawful purpose on the premises, such as mail carriers

These parties breach this duty if they fail to exercise reasonable care in identifying and addressing hazardous conditions. They are not responsible for all injuries on the premises. Accident victims only have claims for those where the party responsible for the premises exposed them to an unreasonable risk of injury through their actions or inaction.

The damages come from the injuries. Accident victims might face many financial and human costs from their injuries, and an experienced premises liability lawyer could help them recover compensation for those costs.

Common Defenses Property Owners Use in Slip and Fall Cases

Few property owners are willing to admit liability on their own. Instead, they or their attorneys will likely create arguments to push back against you. Before you file your lawsuit, it may be helpful to be aware of some of the most common defenses used by these property owners.

The Hazard Was Obvious

In many cases, a defendant will argue that the hazard was obvious enough that there was no need to put out a sign or otherwise give you advance warning.

The Property Owner Wasn’t Made Aware

For the property owner to be found liable for your injuries, your lawyer must prove that they knew about the hazard or reasonably should have known about it. Some property owners may argue that there was no way they could have known about the hazard before your injury.

The Victim Was Partially to Blame

If a defendant knows that they obviously contributed to your injuries, they might try to argue that you were partially to blame, too. For instance, they might say you were unaware of your surroundings or wearing improper shoes.

Slip and Fall Case Examples

Slip and fall claims usually fall into two broad categories. Slipping happens when your feet slide on a surface. Some examples of hazards that can cause you to slip include the following:

• Liquid spills
• Dropped food
• Gravel or sand
• Condensation
• Snow or ice

As your feet slide forward, you lose your balance and fall back. Since you cannot catch yourself, you can hit your buttocks, back, or head on the ground. This impact can cause serious injuries such as:

• Hip fractures
• Back strains
• Disc injuries
• Concussions

Tripping happens when you lose your footing. Some common tripping hazards include:

• Unmarked steps
• Raised thresholds
• Objects
• Potholes
• Broken or uneven sidewalks

When you trip, your momentum causes you to fall forward. You may extend your arms to try to catch yourself. An impact with the ground can result in:

• Hand, wrist, and arm fractures
• Facial fractures
• Concussions
• Knee injuries
• Rib fractures

A common example of a slip and fall accident occurs in a grocery store. Shoppers might not spot food or liquid spills before stepping in them and slipping. In these situations, stores may be held liable for customer injuries if they failed to correct a known hazard or did not act quickly enough to ensure a safe environment. A common example of a trip and fall accident happens on sidewalks. A raised sidewalk pad can catch a customer’s toe, causing them to fall.

Damages Recoverable in a Slip and Fall Case

When you pursue a slip and fall case, you can seek compensation for economic and non-economic losses. Economic losses include the costs of your injuries due to medical care and missed work. Non-economic losses encompass the human costs of your injuries due to a diminishment in your quality of life. Pain and suffering are common examples of non-economic losses.

Slip and Fall Claim Procedure

Most slip and fall claims start with an insurance claim. Typically, the party responsible for maintaining the premises has property liability insurance for these types of claims. A slip and fall lawyer will start your case by filing an insurance claim against this policy.

The insurer investigates the claim and your losses. It can review witness statements, photos and videos from the accident scene, and other evidence showing what happened. It will also look at your medical records to determine which injuries resulted from your fall.

If the insurer accepts the claim, the lawyer will negotiate a settlement. The insurer can also deny or reduce the claim because:

• The accident did not result from negligence
• The accident did not cause your injuries
• You contributed to your injuries through your negligence

The effect of your actions will depend on the state. Some state laws reduce your compensation by your share of the fault. Other states bar all compensation if you were even partially at fault.

A lawsuit will happen if the insurer refuses to withdraw a denial or your lawyer cannot negotiate a fair settlement. However, even when you file a lawsuit, the odds are high that it will not reach trial. Instead, the parties often settle after seeing the evidence each intends to present to the jury.

How Long Do You Have to File a Slip and Fall Lawsuit?

If you’ve just suffered from a serious injury, you’re probably not thinking about filing a lawsuit right away. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that you only have a limited amount of time to file a personal injury lawsuit.

Each state has the freedom to set its own statute of limitations for personal injury cases. The majority have a statute of limitations between two and three years, meaning you have two to three years from the date of the incident to file a lawsuit.

Let ConsumerShield Help With Your Slip and Fall Case

A slip and fall accident can leave you facing serious injuries or even permanent disabilities. ConsumerShield educates consumers about their rights after suffering an injury on someone else’s premises. We also connect slip and fall accident victims with experienced lawyers who can help them pursue fair compensation, even in trip and fall cases. Request a free case review by filling out our contact form.