According to the law, you’re owed what’s called duty of care by store owners the minute you walk into their premises as an invitee. The fact that they have something you want and want your money for it in a transaction is enough to legally bind the two of you for the purpose of a slip and fall accident. Should they breach this duty of care, you’ll be able to sue for money damages. That being said, a series of conditions need to be in place for you to be awarded compensation.

Here are the requirements that need to be met for a slip and fall incident to be seen as valid:

• There was a duty of care to begin with. This could be you accessing the premises by way of driving up to it and entering the building for the purpose of doing business with the establishment.
• It must be shown that the owner breached this duty of care. This could be e.g. failing to mop up spills in a timely manner, not putting up caution signs at a construction area at the premises, or ignoring repeated requests to fix something that has been deemed a hazard by other patrons in the past.
• The breach led to your injuries. There needs to be a direct relationship between your injuries and the business owner’s failure to act when it came to protecting you and other patrons.
• There needs to be the presence or evidence of injuries that necessitate treatment by a qualified medical professional. Sometimes, the injuries may not be apparent, so something like a psychological evaluation which points to the fact that you suffered embarrassment as well as emotional distress.

Duty of care usually includes the store owner meeting inspection and safety standards on a regular basis. In addition, should the owner have prior knowledge of the hazardous situation, realize that it causes some kind of risk to his or her patrons, expect that you will discover that condition but still fails to exercise care that is seen as reasonable to protect you from your condition, they are almost always looked at as culprits and the reason for your slip and fall accident.

If you were injured in a slip and fall accident, you may be able to file a lawsuit against the store owner and other defendants that may have contributed to your injuries. Please call us today at 877-561-3004 for more information. Thanks, and we look forward to hearing from you.