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When is a business responsible for a slip-and-fall accident?

On Behalf of | Nov 10, 2022 | Personal Injury

As a business owner, you know that it’s possible that someone could be injured on your property. They could be involved in a slip-and-fall accident, for example, that leads to a head injury. This is a very serious situation and you certainly want to avoid it.

But you can’t prevent all injuries. What you really are interested in is when your business may be responsible for those injuries, and therefore for the costs to go along with them. There are three general ways this happens:

1. You created a dangerous condition

Maybe the layout of your business itself is faulty. If you created a dangerous situation and someone else was hurt as a result, you would be liable for their injuries. That makes it essential to keep safety in mind when you design a layout.

2. You didn’t fix a known condition

Even if you didn’t cause the condition, maybe you already knew that it existed. An example of this could be if a dripping pipe has created a wet floor. If you did not take steps to fix that problem, then it could be argued that you were negligent and allowed the injury to occur. You didn’t cause it to happen, as in the example above, but you needed to take more steps to stop it.

3. You should have known about the condition

Business owners will sometimes say that they simply didn’t know that there was a dangerous condition and so they couldn’t have stopped the accident from happening. This can be true, but if the condition existed for long enough that you should’ve discovered it, you may still be liable.

What are your options for your defense?

If you’re facing a lawsuit over a slip-and-fall injury, it can have a major impact on your business. Make sure you know exactly what legal steps to take, especially if you feel that your business was not responsible for the accident.

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