Slips & Falls Wyoming

Elements Of A Slip And Fall Case

It can be difficult to know when a slip and fall results from nature itself or from negligence on the part of the property owner. You may not know if you have a slip and fall case or not, but with how serious the injuries resulting from a slip and fall can be and the impact they can have on your life, it is worth consulting with an attorney. If the property owner is liable for your slip and case, you can receive compensation for any lost wages, emotional pain and suffering, and more. There are several principles the law considers with slip and fall cases: open and obvious hazard, natural accumulation, and non-icy falls.

• Open and obvious hazard refers to when the ice is open and obvious – if you know a surface is icy and you still walk on it, this can result in comparative fault where you share a percentage of the blame for the slip and fall. However, even if it looks icy, it can still be slipperier than expected, you had no other choice than to cross the surface, or you were trying to be careful and mindful but the ice was worse than you expected. While you should be alert and guarded if the icy surface is open and obvious, that does not automatically mean you are solely responsible for any slips and falls that occur.
• Natural accumulation is not something a property owner is responsible for if it is a portion of their property they do not maintain. For instance, if they do not clear their entire parking lot, they are not responsible for injury resulting from slips and falls in the un-maintained area. However, when they do try to clear an area and do not do a good enough job, then they can be held responsible. Whether or not damages to the parking lot from snow that the property owner did not clear away are their fault or not depends on a case-by-case basis.
• Non-icy falls refer to slips and falls that do not result from the ice or the snow, such as spills within a business. These can be considered “open and obvious” if the store owner took the necessary precautions in mopping it up and putting up caution signs around the wet area. But if they do not do this, you can seek compensation for a non-icy slip and fall, as it was neither a result of natural accumulation nor was it open and obvious. 

If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall on another’s property, you’ll want to take pictures of where you slipped and of any injury you sustained. You should seek medical attention and collect the contact information of the liable party, as well as see if there are any witnesses willing to make a statement. You should not offer any detailed or recorded statements or sign any papers for the insurance company or liable party, as this can affect your claim. Hiring a slip and fall attorney will ensure that you have the representation you need to get a fair settlement.