People who own property of all types, whether business or private, are responsible for taking reasonable steps to keep their land safe for all visitors. They must keep up with routine maintenance, make necessary repairs, and follow the latest safety codes. When they cannot make repairs right away, they must give an adequate warning to visitors about any dangers until they can make the restorations.
When this does not happen and a visitor sustains an injury, the owner has opened themselves up to a civil lawsuit. Slip, trip, and fall injuries can be dangerous and leave you with massive medical bills and lost wages. The reliable personal injury attorneys at Shook & Stone are ready to help. When you endured one of these incidents, call a Summerlin slip and fall lawyer today to discuss your case.
Slip and Fall Accident Causes
Most people trip and fall to the ground because of wet or uneven surfaces. Some of the specific scenarios that can cause this accident include:
- Icy patches on a sidewalk
- Wet spots on the grocery floor
- Loose tiles, mats, or rugs
- Holes or cracks in sidewalks, walkways, or parking lots
- Poorly lit stairwells
- Inadequate warning signs
Regardless of how the accident occurred, a skilled slip and fall injury lawyer from Shook & Stone could help someone in Summerlin or Sun City prepare their case and then deal with insurance companies to reach a favorable settlement.
Invited Guests vs. Trespassers
Every property owner has a special duty of care to ensure their property is safe for visitors. However, the owner has a higher responsibility to some visitors than others. The three groups are invitees, licensees, and trespassers.
Invitees
These are visitors the property owner invited onto the premises for commercial reasons. Invitees include patrons at grocery stores or shopping malls.
Licensees
This includes guests who have an implicit right to enter or be on the property, such as service workers, mail carriers, or neighbors.
Trespassers
Property owners have only the slightest obligation of responsibility to trespassers unless it is a child. When a child enters an unsecured property and sustains an injury, a court may hold the owner liable for the damages.
A Summerlin slip and fall injury attorney could help you establish which group you would fall under and prepare the lawsuit accordingly.
Comparative Negligence in Trip and Fall Cases
Nevada Revised Statutes § 41.141is the state’s comparative negligence law which says a court can find the victim is partially at fault for their injuries. When this occurs, the court can still award them damages for their injuries as long as their liability for the accident does not exceed 50 percent. If a court finds that the victims’ liability exceeds 50 percent, they will not be eligible to collect damages.
Assumption of Risk
A common defense that the defendant’s insurance company makes in many slip and fall cases is the assumption of risk, which shifts the blame to the victim. This suggests they were aware of the danger but entered the dangerous area anyway and sustained an injury. The defendant would need to prove that you assumed the risk of injury because you were aware of the slipping hazard and accepted the danger.
Shook & Stone’s slip and fall lawyer in Summerlin could help you prepare your case in a way that proves there was no assumption of risk.
Call and Speak With a Slip and Fall Attorney in Summerlin
While you cannot attribute every slip and fall injury to the property owner’s negligence, many of them do occur because of unsafe property conditions.
Whether the accident takes place in a Sovana grocery store, an office building, a shopping mall, or a person’s private residence in Rhodes Ranch, you have the right to seek restitution for the financial fallout. Call a Summerlin slip and fall lawyer today for a free consultation with Shook & Stone to discuss the details of the incident.
