Wet Floor Signs Can Be Helpful in Florida Slip and Fall Cases
I’ve said before, as an Orlando slip and fall attorney, Florida slip and fall cases are complex. The result is often based on complex specifics of what caused the fall. People often slip and fall due to wet floors in businesses or grocery stores or sometimes situations such as this. In those situations, the companies in the area where the individual falls are expected to have clear wet floor signs.
If you want to understand the possible importance of slip and fall cases in Florida, here is a clear overview of slip and fall settlement and fall circumstances. Any questions? Contact me for more in depth help!
Florida Slip and Fall Cases
The court said (in simpler terms) in one prior Florida slip and fall case: The complainant claimed inadequate management of the company premises. He reported that when they were cleaning the floor, the workers created a dangerous wet environment that caused him to slip, fall, and suffer personal injuries. The defendant filed a motion following depositions alleging that “wet floor” signs had been put in plain view, warning the complainant of the floor’s wet state. The plaintiff then continued, despite this warning, to the wet area of the floor, fell, and injured himself. So, he did nothing wrong, according to the defendant.
The plaintiff’s witness, however, protested back that no “wet floor” signs were nearby. He said the plaintiff was not warned of the conditions on the wet surface. Basically, he said that the prosecution witness lied about the signs on the wet surface.
What The Court Had Ruled
In that case, when the individual slipped and fell, the parties could not agree as to whether there were clear wet floor signs. So the court decided it had to go to trial in the event. In other words, if there was no sign of the wet floor, you’ve got a better argument.
Takeaway From Florida Slip and Fall Cases
This case shows many significant aspects of instances of wet floor slip and fall. Next, nuanced claims are turned on in all legal cases. That implies that you need a lawyer who listens to facts and understands complex legislation. Second, instances of slip and fall also require the accident lawyer to respond to written motions. These can be filed by the prosecuting attorney. If they are granted by the judge, so the case goes away forever, with no trial. So Florida slip and fall cases need an attorney who knows what to do with them and listens to the facts.
The Floor Must Have a Sign If The Owner Made The Floor Wet
There must be a clear wet floor sign in wet floor slip and fall situations where the injured person falls, but only in cases where the business owner caused the floor to be wet, such as by mopping. In all business slip and fall situations, in addition to wet floor signs, the owner must have had a justification before the fall to know about the material on the ground. (In residential situations, the laws are somewhat different.) It can get very complicated. For instance, the owner would have reason to know that if they had just mopped the floor, the floor was wet. However, if you fell on a wet floor caused by leaking machinery, the owner may or may not have reason to realize that the floor was damp. And the owner would normally have no reason to know that if you stepped on a random wet spot or spilled on the floor, the floor was wet.
Random wet spot cases have exceptions that make matters even more complicated. For instance, if you stumbled on a wet spot that looked like it had been there for a long time, let’s say a dirty spot or a wet spot that runs through it with grocery car track marks. The dirt of the wet spot may show that the owner should have known it was there in these cases (because the dirt shows that the water has been sitting for a long enough time that the owner of the store could have noticed), but with a Florida slip and fall event, a new, clean wet spot, of unidentified origin, would typically not be enough to move forward.
It can be done creatively to show the owner knew about a random wet spot. We may use items such as smudge marks, footprints, frozen material thawing, a big spill, widely dispersed debris, dirt in the spilled material, cart or other track marks, dirty floor, or garbage littering the field, smashed and broken debris, and the like, for instance. This can also be achieved by illustrating that this sort of spill has always occurred, so the owner should have known. For instance, that would work if you slipped on oil in a parking lot, surrounded by lots of other oil spills.
Do You Have a Florida Slip and Fall Case?
I’m going to need to know precisely where you fell and what caused you to fall and slip. I’m going to need to know who owns the house or organization where you fell, what material caused your fall, the kind of shoes you wore, who else was with you, what else was on the floor, the exact size and look of the product that caused you to fall and a lot of related questions. There is a lot of more information about Florida slip and fall cases on this website.
Why Some Lawyers Don't Take Certain Slip and Fall Cases
Florida slip and fall cases, as I said, can be complicated and have several possible pitfalls. Orlando personal injury lawyers often have to quickly refuse slip and fall lawsuits if the business owner obviously didn’t know about the substance, but there are several novel ways of proving cases of slip and fall. You can contact a slip-and-fall lawyer from Orlando who will learn the facts and test inventive arguments to make your case, like myself. I’m still available for a free consultation if you have a concern about Florida slip and fall cases. Be mindful of contacting or recruiting companies from settlement mills. I deal with cases from all over Florida.
