Slips, trips and falls leading to serious, long-lasting injury are all-too-common. Here are three places where slips, trips and falls commonly occur.
Icy Sidewalks and Parking Lots
When sleet or freezing rain falls, or temperatures drop below normal levels, places where people have to walk can become dangerously icy. Sidewalks and parking lots can become slick with ice or even snow. As a result, people can slip and fall very easily.
This is especially true in Louisiana, where merchants and the state often don’t prepare for chilly temperatures that could make pedestrian areas dangerous, because low temperatures and freezing precipitation are so infrequent.
Retail Stores
Floors in retail stores can become dangerously slippery very easily. If someone drops a glass bottle in a grocery or convenience store, for example, the liquid — not to mention the glass — will be on the floor.
While the store’s employees should clean up the area and put barriers around it so customers don’t slip, they don’t always get to it as quickly as they should. Customers and bystanders can slip and fall.
At Work on Boats or Construction Areas
Some occupations present dangers of slipping and falling. Workers on fishing boats, for example, must often work on surfaces that are slick with the catch, water, and other substances. Construction workers work on surfaces that may be uneven and under construction.
As a result, workers in both these occupations have a higher danger of slipping and falling than workers in other occupations.
Liability for Slip and Fall Accidents
Under the law, those responsible for these areas have a duty of care to keep them safe. That means that a retail establishment’s parking lot and sidewalk need to be kept free of ice, so pedestrians can walk safely. Store floors need to be cleaned up promptly if something has been spilled. Boats and construction areas should be safe to work on without danger of slipping and falling.
If those responsible do not keep these areas safe, they may bear liability for a slip and fall accident if it can be proved that:
- They knew or should reasonably have known that conditions were unsafe.
- There had been sufficient time to correct the conditions.
- They did not correct the conditions.
Do You Need a Slip and Fall Attorney?
Louisiana slip and fall attorney Bart Bernard has decades of experience winning cases where the plaintiff was hurt due to a property owner’s negligence. If you have been injured on someone else’s property, take advantage of your legal rights to compensation for medical bills and more! Call Bart Bernard today in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, LA. All initial case consultations are free, and we charge you no fees unless we win money for you.
More information on common slip and fall accident sites:
- Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. State of Louisiana. Winter Weather. Winter Storms. http://gohsep.la.gov/ABOUT/LOUISIANA-HAZARDS-THREATS/WINTER-WEATHER
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Workplace Solutions. Preventing Slips, Trips, and Falls in Wholesale and Retail Trade Establishments. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2013-100/pdfs/2013-100.pdf
- National Floor Safety Institute. Slip and Fall Quick Facts. https://nfsi.org/nfsi-research/quick-facts/
