When people slip, they typically lose their footing for a moment or get minor injuries— requiring little medical care and no downtime. In other cases, however, slipping leads to lifelong injuries or even death. Slipping and falling can cause damage to the neck, spine, or brain. Recovering from these injuries can be daunting—resulting in physical pain, emotional trauma, time away from work, and even a reduced earning capacity.
Wet floor accidents in Bakersfield lead to a surprising percentage of slip and fall injuries. In most—but not all—cases, these accidents are the result of negligence. Property owners are responsible for keeping their property hazard-free, and while you might not think of a spill or other liquid as a hazard, it is. If you were injured in a wet floor accident, you may be entitled to a substantial financial recovery. One of our dedicated slip and fall attorneys could help you understand your potential remedies and explore your options.
Negligence is not always the cause for all falling injuries. Sometimes, people fall from wearing high heels, intoxication, and not paying attention, which all occur without another party being negligent.
Even when a Bakersfield property owner’s hazardous condition, such as a wet floor, contributed to the fall, it is not always negligence. For example, if a person spills a beverage and then immediately slips in that spill, the property owners have no opportunity to clean that liquid before the spill, making it difficult to prove negligence. However, these scenarios are the exception rather than the rule. Generally, when a property has a hazardous condition, the property owner knows or should have known about it.
When establishing liability in a wet floor injury lawsuit, the victim in Bakersfield has to not only prove the property owner’s negligence but also prove that it led to the accident that caused the injuries. Those last two elements are the same in any personal injury lawsuit, but proving negligence is usually commission-based. Instead of proving that a property owner acted negligently, a victim is usually proving that the owner failed to act reasonably. Doing so requires establishing three things:
Establishing that a hazardous condition existed is the most essential step. The standards are situational—the condition has to be outside of the normal range of what people would expect to encounter on that type of property. For wet floor accidents, people anticipate encountering wet floors at a waterpark but not at a grocery store. By the same token, the owner of an office building can have a marble floor and still be reasonable, but the owner of a waterpark could not.
Proving that the property owner knew or should have known of the danger is the next hurdle. The owner does not need to have personal knowledge—proving that their representative had notice is enough. Representatives can include property managers, tenants, business managers, employees—anyone with a duty to provide information to the property owner or their representative.
Finally, the victim has to prove that the property owner either failed to remedy the condition or failed to warn people of the dangerous condition. Depending on what the repair requires, there may be a reasonable delay between a property owner getting notice of the issue and being able to remedy the problem. In those circumstances, they should provide a warning. The familiar yellow signs that say wet floor are one reliable way to provide a warning.
Warnings may not always be sufficient. Are the property owner’s efforts to remedy the situation reasonable? Are the warnings enough to let people know the location and extent of the hazard? A Bakersfield property owner cannot just ignore a wet floor scenario and put up a wet floor sign to avoid liability. Their efforts to remedy the issue have to be reasonable and also occur within a reasonable amount of time.
Slipping on a wet surface can lead to severe injuries or even death. Recovery may involve extensive medical treatment, surgeries, time away from work, and more. In some instances, even aggressive medical treatment may be unable to restore you to your previous condition.
Some victims of wet floor accidents in Bakersfield will never fully recover, leading to a loss in earning capacity and lifelong medical issues. To find out your potential remedies, schedule a consultation with an attorney. They can help make sure the responsible parties pay for your injuries.
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