A slip and fall accident is a personal injury case in which a person slips or trips and falls, causing injury on someone else's property. Slip and fall cases generally fall under the personal injury law category of premises liability claims, because slip and fall accidents typically happen on property owned or maintained by another party and the owner or possessor of the property may be held liable for the slip and fall accident.

Dangerous conditions such as changes in flooring levels, torn carpeting, poor lighting, narrow stairs or a wet floor can cause someone to slip and injure themselves inside a building. Other examples of slip and fall incidents are when people trip on broken or cracked public sidewalks or trip and fall on stairs or escalators.

Additionally, a slip and fall case may be filed when someone slips or trips and falls due to rain, ice, snow or a hidden hazard, such as a pothole in the ground. There are four general categories, or types, of premises liability accidents.

Trip and fall accidents in which a foreign object in the walking path causes injury is one type of accident that falls under the premises liability category of personal injury law.

Another type of accident is a stump and fall accident in which there is an impediment in the walking surface.

Step and fall accidents are those in which there is an unexpected hole in the walking surface.

Finally and most common, slip and fall accidents are those in which the interface of the shoe and floor fails, causing one to fall resulting in injury.

In many cases both the property owner as well as the injured person can be held liable for a slip and fall accident in varying degrees. While the property owner has a duty to keep property as safe as possible, each person has a responsibility to realize that there are things that fall or spill onto walking surfaces. Therefore, there is no precise way to determine when someone else is legally responsible for your injuries if you slip or trip.

Each slip and fall case must be examined to determine whether the property owner acted carefully in an attempt to prevent a slip and fall accident, and also whether you were careless in not seeing or avoiding the condition that caused your slip and fall accident.

There are a few general guidelines you can use to help you determine whether or not another party is responsible for your slip and fall injury.

First, if the owner created the condition that caused your slip and fall injury, you may have a case.

Additionally, if the owner knew the condition existed and failed to correct it or the condition existed for a period of time in which the owner should have discovered and corrected the condition prior to your slip and fall injury, you may also have a slip and fall lawsuit case.

If you are unsure about the liability of your slip and fall accident, you should contact an experienced personal injury attorney to review your case and determine your legal rights and options.

Typically, in order to file a slip and fall lawsuit, a victim of a slip and fall accident on someone else's property must prove that the cause of the accident was a dangerous condition, and that the owner of the property knew of the dangerous condition. A condition is dangerous when it presents an unreasonable risk to a person on the property.

Additionally, it must be a condition that the injured party should not have been expected to anticipate. This requires that people must be aware of and avoid obvious dangers.

In a residential rental setting, the landlord may be held liable to tenants or third parties for slip and fall injuries. There are several factors which must be shown in order to hold a landlord liable for a slip and fall injury.

First, you must show that the landlord had control over the condition which caused the slip and fall injury.

Additionally, it must be proven that repairing the condition that caused the slip and fall injury would not have been unreasonable expensive or difficult, and that serious injury was foreseeable as a result of not repairing the condition.

Finally, the victim must show that the landlord's failure to take reasonable steps to prevent a slip and fall accident caused the victim's slip and fall injury.

There are many potential parties which may be held liable for injuries in a slip and fall accident that occurs on commercial property. For example, if a business rents space from a third party, both the property owner and the business may be held liable in a slip and fall accident. In this situation, the business is a possessor of the property and, therefore, has a responsibility to use reasonable care to prevent injury.

In order for a slip and fall injury to be the liability of the owner or possessor of a store, there are several factors which must be proven.

First, the business must have caused and/or known of the dangerous condition which caused the slip and fall injury, and did nothing to correct the situation.

Alternatively, it should be proven that the business should have known of the dangerous condition and its ability to cause a slip and fall accident because a reasonable person taking care of the property would have discovered and removed or repaired it.

To receive compensation for a slip and fall injury, there must be a liable party whose negligence caused the slip and fall injury. While this may sound obvious, many people do not realize that some personal injuries are simply slip and fall accidents caused by their own carelessness.

For example, if someone falls because he was not paying attention to his surroundings, he cannot receive compensation for the slip and fall injury from the property owner. If the victim of a slip and fall injury is only partially at fault for his own injury, he may yet be able to receive compensation from another party; however, the amount of compensation will likely be lessened.

In order for a property owner or possessor to be held legally responsible for a slip and fall accident or injury it must have been foreseeable that his negligence would create the dangerous situation which caused the slip and fall accident.

For example, if a can of paint falls to the ground and spills into an aisle in a hardware store and the store does not notice or clean up the spill, the store owner could then be held liable for a slip and fall accident resulting from the paint spill.

In some cases, a victim of a slip and fall accident can prove negligence by showing that the property owner violated a relevant statute or law. For instance, building codes often require handrails and other similar features to be installed in many cases. If you fall on a stairway that lacked appropriate handrails which caused your injuries, you may have a valid slip and fall lawsuit against the building owner based upon the building code violation.

When you are involved in a slip and fall accident you should complete an accident report immediately which outlines what happened, any witnesses present, as well as other relevant information that shows what caused the slip and fall accident. The requirement for an accident report is typically a business policy rather than law.

If an accident report is not completed or the slip and fall accident was not witnessed by others, you should create a record for yourself regarding your slip and fall injury. This record should include a description of the circumstances, who was present and the comments made by those who saw or assisted after the slip and fall accident. If possible, you should also take photographs of the area, as well as any physical injuries sustained due to the slip and fall accident. Additionally, you should have your slip and fall injury treated as soon as possible by a medical professional to substantiate your possible slip and fall lawsuit.

Whether you need emergency care or care from your primary physician, be sure your health is your first priority.

An attorney can help you with the nuances of your case, and to make sure you are adequately compensated for your injuries.

Complete all treatment and medications prescribed by your doctor.

Was it uneven pavement? Was there a substance spilled on the floor? Whatever the cause of your slip and fall you need to take photographs of the exact place where you slipped and fell as soon as you possibly can.

You want to have the names and contact information of anyone who saw you fall, saw the hazard that caused your fall, or saw you just after the fall.

If it happened at a place of business and an employee or manager said anything about the accident or previous accidents, jot this down along with their contact information.

As soon as possible start a journal of everything that you can remember related to the fall. In addition to logging information about the accident itself, you want to keep track of how it continues to affect your life. Keep notes on doctor’s visits, time missed at work, activities that you cannot take part in, etc.

Insurance companies may ask for your statement or ask you to sign something. Do not sign or say anything until you have spoken with your attorney.