Miami Slip & Fall Lawyer

Accidents can happen anywhere, even at the grocery store, coffee shop, or community college. While a high speed dune buggy crash might seem more dangerous than shopping for eggs and milk, falls account for more than 30,000 deaths a year, reported by the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC). While the majority of these falls are not the fault of businesses or other establishments, thousands of people do get injured because of dangerous and unmarked hazards in walkways. If you or a loved one was injured in a slip and fall accident, you may be able to collect damages if the establishment’s negligence can be proven. Contact our experienced Miami slip & fall lawyers today, let us help.

Falls Can be Deadly, Especially for the Elderly

As we age, our bones become less dense and are more prone to fractures. Common slip and fall injuries include spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injuries, torn ligaments, broken collarbones, and sprained joints. However, the injury that may pose the greatest risk of all to older victims is a fractured hip. If a 65-69 year-old woman fractures a hip, she is five times more likely to die within the year than a woman of the same age who does not injure her hip, according to a study done by Kaiser Permanente. While women are more likely to fracture a hip than men, men aged 65 or greater are more likely to die within the year that they fractured a hip than women. Women 65 years or older have a 20.8 percent chance of dying within the year, while men have a 30.9 percent chance of dying, as found in a recent study.

All members of society must abide by a duty of care. This applies to businesses and other establishments as well, in order to ensure that the conditions are safe for all their invitees. When this duty is breached and the premises is not in safe condition, and therefore causes an invitee to become injured, the business owner can be found negligent and liable for compensating the injured victim. A bad slip and fall can result in thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in associated medical costs. You may also be able to recover damages to help pay for these costs, as well as pain and suffering, by contacting an experienced Miami slip and fall lawyer today.

Miami Businesses Owe a Duty of Care to their Invitees

Florida law states that all business owners must keep their premises reasonably safe for all invitees. Therefore, business owners must maintain cleanliness and safety of their premises during all hours of business. If it is found that the owner had prior knowledge of the environment being unsafe, such as a wet or slippery floor, they can be held liable. This knowledge falls under two categories.

• Actual knowledge: a business owner has actual knowledge by physically seeing, touching, hearing, or smelling, something. Or, they have knowledge from an employee.
• Constructive knowledge: the business owner is expected to know of certain things through deductive reasoning, while on notice. As an example, if a business owner knows that the roof is leaking but neglects to check the floors for dripping water, the business owner could be held liable for having constructive knowledge of an unsafe floor in the event that someone becomes injured.

What to do if You Have Had a Slip & Fall Accident in Miami

If you have had a slip and fall and were injured, the first and most important step in being compensated for your injury is proving that the business was negligent. To do this, it is important to find the exact cause of the slip and fall, as well as to collect witness testimony and contact information. The next step is to contact an experienced Miami slip & fall lawyer and begin deciding upon the legal action you wish to take. The Pendas Law Firm is prepared to fight for your rights and aggressively pursue the compensation that you deserve. We do not charge a consultation fee, so there is no reason to wait; call us today.