Sudden slips and falls can cause surprisingly serious injuries, particularly if they lead to you falling from a significant height or onto a hard surface. Holding a property owner legally liable for causing an accident through their failure to maintain their land in safe condition can be extremely difficult, especially if you try to do it entirely on your own.
Working closely with a Cocoa Beach slip and fall lawyer could make a huge difference in your ability to establish legal fault for your injuries and demand compensation for your losses. No matter how your accident happened or what specific damages you need to recover for, a seasoned personal injury attorney could provide dedicated and individualized support throughout your legal proceeding.
One thing worth noting when talking about slip and fall lawsuits in Florida is that landowners do not automatically assume civil liability for every injury which happens on their property. Instead, landowners are only expected to take reasonable steps to keep their land safe for the benefit of lawful visitors. In legal terms, they must fulfill a “duty of care” that changes slightly depending on the reason why someone is visiting their land to begin with.
Generally speaking, landowners are expected to warn lawful visitors about any slipping hazards they discover and to fix that hazard soon after learning of it. For visitors whose presence directly benefits the landowner, such as customers in a retail store, the landowner also has to regularly inspect their land for hazards they have not yet discovered.
A person can hold a landowner financially liable for their injury-related losses if they can prove:
A Cocoa Beach slip and fall attorney could further explain during a private consultation how all these legal concepts work and how they might impact a particular person’s recovery efforts.
Importantly, people who get hurt in and file suit over trip and fall accidents may miss out on compensation if a court finds them partially responsible for causing their own injuries through negligence of their own. More specifically, Florida Statutes § 768.81 allows courts to assign a percentage of total fault to a negligent plaintiff and then reduce the total compensation available to that plaintiff in proportion to their share of fault.
Additionally, Fla. Stat. § 95.11 allows people injured by the negligence of someone else just four years after initially sustaining harm to begin filing suit against the person. A new state law brings this deadline down to two years for any injuries occurring after March 24, 2023.
Failing to retain a skilled trip and fall lawyer in Cocoa Beach and file a claim before this deadline will leave an injured person with no legal means of getting repaid for losses they have suffered in that incident.
Recovering damages for slipping or tripping and falling on someone else’s property can be more difficult than it might initially seem. Fortunately, there is help available from The Umansky Law Firm. We have the skills and knowledge necessary to protect your rights and make a strong case for compensatory damages.
Speaking with a Cocoa Beach slip and fall lawyer could give you clarity about your legal options and confidence about the next steps to take towards civil recovery. Call today to schedule a free consultation.
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