Maryland Slip & Fall Injury Lawyers

When a person loses their balance and slips or trips on someone else’s property and sustains an injury, there are times when a personal injury claim can be filed against the owner of the property.

Slip and fall cases, usually occur on premises owned by someone else. In such situations, the property owner or the landlord can be held legally responsible for the injuries, losses and expenses of recovery if the property owner or landlord’s negligence is the cause of the injuries.

There can be a number of highly dangerous conditions that cause slip and falls, such as unleveled flooring, torn carpeting, narrow staircases, wet floors, icy floors, or falling due to poor lighting. These conditions can cause serious accidents and injuries to anyone using the facility (whether you are a customer at a store or a visitor at an apartment complex).

Proving Fault in a Slip and Fall Injury Claim

There is no easy or precise procedure to determine when someone can be held legally responsible for the injuries that you sustained during a slip/trip and fall incident that would never have taken place if the property were properly maintained or constructed. In each case, we will carefully try to determine whether the property owner acted with due care and caution to prevent the fall. We will also objectively try to assess whether the injury would have taken place if you (the plaintiff) had taken all reasonable safety precautions.

Generally, anyone injured in a slip and fall accident on someone else’s property must establish in court that the cause of the accident was a “dangerous or defective condition” that existed within the premises. You (the plaintiff) will also have to prove that the owner of the property was actually aware of the dangerous condition or, if the owner was not aware, that he or she should have known that the dangerous condition existed and posed unreasonable risks to anybody using the property. This dangerous condition typically must also be something that the injured party would not anticipate before visiting the premises.

These requirements also imply that people should always be aware of any obvious dangers and should try to avoid them. To establish whether the property owner was aware of the possibly dangerous condition, the following details must be analyzed:

• Whether the owner of the property created the condition.
• Whether the owner was aware of the existence of the condition and neglected its correction.
• Whether the condition existed for a very long period of time, and the owner should have corrected the condition prior to the accident.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of a slip and fall injury, or any other personal injury, let the attorneys at Altmark, Rotter & Trock, LLP take care of the proceedings. Please call us for a free consultation at (410) 783-9230, or toll-free outside of Baltimore at 1-(888) 966-5566.