Slip-and-fall accidents and floor maintenance

On behalf of Aiken and Aiken P.C. Personal Injury Attorneys posted in Premises Liability, on Friday, December 4, 2015

Many Massachusetts residents are injured from slip-and-fall accidents each year. When these accidents occur on the property of another person, that person may be held responsible if they knew, or reasonably should have known, about the hazard and failed to correct it for a victim who was legally entitled to be on those premises.Generally, owners and those with control over a piece of property, such as a business, may be liable. Business owners should take steps to make certain their floors are properly maintained to prevent this type of injury accident. Problems may include such things as tiles that are missing, broken concrete, wet floors and other such issues. If a person who is a guest or a person with a legitimate reason for being on the property falls and is injured because of such a hazard, the business owner may be liable. Business owners may want to start by carefully evaluating all of the walkways in their property. One important thing to remember is that this might include the parking lot, if the business owns or leases it and is responsible for its maintenance. They then need to correct problems they find. Choosing the cleaners that they use for floor surfaces is also important to make certain they will not be ones that will make the floor overly slippery. There are many other things business owners can do to avoid slip-and-fall accidents. If a customer or person who is simply visiting as a guest does fall and suffers serious injuries, the owner may be held liable under a theory of premises liability. Business owners should obviously thus take steps to prevent this type of accident from occurring. A person who is injured in such a manner may want to have the assistance of an attorney in seeking compensation for medical expenses and other losses that have been incurred.