Condominium and Homeowner Association, Slips, Trips, and Falls

Many people suffer slip, trip, and fall accidents in or around their condominium, especially in Florida, where condominiums are immensely popular residences among all sorts of people, including the elderly. Both condominium and homeowner associations are governed by a Florida statute that makes them corporations. This means that the board of directors appointed by the corporation is responsible for the maintenance and safety of the condominium’s property.

Any person in Florida who has a slip or trip and fall accident around his or her condominium resulting in an injury can call the offices of attorney Brandon Stein for a complimentary review of his or her case and legal options. Call 786.766.8701 to begin seeking compensation today.

Slip or Trip and Fall Accidents and Injuries

Slip or trip and fall accidents refers to two types of accidents that can result in similar, serious injuries. When a person slips on a floor because it is wet, oily, greasy or otherwise unsafe and falls, it is a slip and fall accident. If a person falls because of an uneven floor, missing or damaged stair, or other structural problem with the floor surface, it is a trip and fall accident.

Slip and fall and trip and fall accidents can cause serious injuries. The most common of these are hip fractures, head, neck or back injuries, and sprained or broken ankles. Many other types of injuries are also possible in slip, trip, and fall accidents, including fatal injuries. Elderly people are especially prone to suffering these types of accidents and are more likely to be seriously or fatally injured in them.

It is incredibly important for condominium owners and homeowner associations who have elderly residents to properly maintain their property to prevent accidents and injuries. If they fail to do so, they can be sued for personal injury by a person who suffers an injury on their property, or even sued for wrongful death by the family of a person who dies as a result of a slip, trip, and fall accident.

Fault in Cases of Slips, Trips, and Falls

The responsibility for injuries suffered in a slip, trip, and fall case may or may not rest on the owners of the property where the accident occurred. Proving fault is the most critical part of winning such a case.

In order for the owner of a property, or one of their employees, to be found responsible for an accident, one of three conditions must be met:

• The owner or employee must be responsible for the unsafe condition which caused the accident.
• They must have known about the condition but did nothing to make it safe.
• They should have known about the safety issue because any reasonable owner or employee taking care of the property would have.

The first two conditions are obvious and easily understood. The third one is made slightly more complicated by the idea of “reasonability.” However, common sense usually decides whether or not the owner or employee should reasonably have known about an unsafe condition.

Claimants (the person filing the claim) must also prove that the defendant did not take reasonable steps to make his or her property safe and that the claimant’s own actions did not lead to the accident. Many questions are asked about what the defendant could or could not have done about the unsafe condition and whether the claimant could be at fault for his or her own injuries. This is partly why it is essential to have a professional, experienced attorney to assist in pursuing a slip, trip, and fall case that leads to injury or death.

Florida residents can contact Brandon Stein for compassionate, driven legal assistance in any slip, trip, and fall case or any other form of personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.