SLIP & FALL INJURY ATTORNEY
Serving All Delaware Slip & Fall Cases
People are often injured seriously from falls. In order to get damages from a fall, it is necessary to prove negligence on the part of the responsible property owner or business establishment. Not only must there be a dangerous condition that caused the fall (for example a broken step or an oil spill) but the person or business responsible must have notice or constructive notice of the of the dangerous condition.
Constructive notice means that the dangerous condition existed for a period of time or was so obvious that the responsible party should have known about it. Even if negligence can be proved, there are issues of assumption of the risk and comparative negligence. Assumption of the risk is when the party who fell knew of the danger and took the risk anyhow. Comparative negligence is when the party who fell was negligent himself or herself as well. For example, the person who fell did not watch where he or she was walking. It is possible to win even with comparative negligence where the negligence of the responsible party is more than that of the person who fell. However, the damages may be reduced by the percentage of comparative negligence.
When you see a lawyer over a slip and fall, you should be prepared to discuss all aspects of the case. Otherwise, you may short change yourself or, to the contrary, raise false hope. By the way, the guy in the photo may not have a good case. Why? You guessed it, because of assumption of the risk and/or comparative negligence. Nevertheless, if I were that guy, I would still discuss it with a lawyer since the negligence of the responsible party may be so egregious as to overcome assumption of the risk or comparative negligence.