In many cases if a person slips and falls at the home or business of another person, the home or business owner may be responsible for any injuries.
As a general rule of thumb, if someone slips and falls on badly constructed stairs or trips over a patio block and falls on pavement, the property owner is legally responsible for any injuries incurred. However, there are instances when the owner is not responsible for the accident.
The various exceptions to the law will be laid out by an attorney, such as Stephen Ozcomert of Decatur, Georgia, prior to anyone making a decision to file a slip, trip, fall lawsuit.
There is another side to the slip, trip and fall law – that everyone is assumed to be responsible for their own safety. If a situation looks like it may be dangerous, could reasonably be expected to be dangerous and a plaintiff proceeds anyway, the property owner may not be held liable for the situation.
In another instance, if the property owner has posted his property with warnings, done all he or she is able to do to prevent accidents and one still happens, the courts look at the negligence of the injured person for not paying attention to possible posted dangers.
Liability is handed out by the courts in a slip, trip, fall case if the property owner or worker caused a spill, uneven surface, slippery material to accumulate or objects that may be stepped on to cause such an accident.
If, in addition, the property owner knows about the dangerous condition, and did nothing to fix the situation, liability may be apportioned to the property owner. The other facet of slip, trip, fall law is how the court views the overall situation; they consider if the property owner should have been aware of the dangerous situation (and being responsible) should have fixed the hazard.
The definition of reasonable is another item usually determined by the courts, based on case law. In most instances, being reasonable means the landowner must have a “regular and systematic” system to keep their property safe.
Never underestimate the power of a highly qualified attorney such as Stephen Ozcomert of Decatur, Georgia, in fighting for your rights. Ozcomert has handled hundreds of slip, trip, fall cases and is intimately familiar with the court system. Having an attorney that knows the ropes is more than half the battle in winning a decent settlement.
To learn more visit http://www.ozcomert.com.
The law offices of Stephen M. Ozcomert specialize in personal injury, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta Georgia.