Its natural for people to slip and fall-the laws of gravity apply to all of us after all. Some falls, however, can be more dangerous than others. The harder the surface is upon which a Louisiana resident falls and the farther the person is falling, the more likely injuries are going to be serious. One type of slip and fall accident that can be very dangerous both because of the impact of the fall and the surface upon which one lands is falling down a flight of stairs. Given how dangerous an accident like that can be, it is essential that property owners, both private and commercial, ensure their premises are safe for everyone that enters it.
Holding a property owner accountable for an unsafe condition that causes a slip and fall accident on the stairs through a premises liability claim requires certain conditions must be met. Firstly, it must be shown that the property owner knew of the condition; either by creating the condition, knowing it existed and failing to do anything about it, or the condition should have existed for such a long time that the owner or possessor should have known about it. Legal responsibility requires that it should be foreseeable that the dangerous condition results in an accident.
It is also important to keep in mind that there must be a party whose negligence caused the accident-there must be someone responsible. In simpler terms, the accident should not have been a simple accident that was caused by one’s carelessness or distraction.
It can be difficult to ascertain what the term ‘should have known about it’ means and it can often come down to a common sense application of the law. In cases like this, it might be helpful to consult an experienced attorney as the other side likely will have retained knowledgeable counsel who may try to twist an accident caused by negligence into one caused by carelessness.
