Slip & Fall Accidents

At Cohen & Juda, P.A., we represent clients personally in slip and fall accidents throughout South Florida, drawing upon more than 25 years of knowledge and experience.

Experienced Attorneys Helping Victims of Slip & Fall Accidents in South Florida Seek Financial Recovery

Have you experienced a slip-and-fall accident in South Florida? The consequences of these incidents can be severe, but you don’t have to face the aftermath alone. At Cohen & Juda, P.A., our experienced slip and fall lawyers stand ready to protect your rights and help you seek the justice and compensation you need.

Florida often categorizes slip and fall accidents under premises liability law. A slip and fall accident taking place on someone’s property can inflict serious injury on you and impact your family as you deal with lost wages due to an inability to work, mounting medical bills, and a range of emotions including frustration, sadness, and anger. If you’ve suffered injuries due to a hazardous condition, you may also require ongoing services such as physical therapy.

Considering these many challenges, fall accident victims should consult an experienced personal injury law firm as soon as possible for assistance in pursuing fair compensation in a timely manner. At Cohen & Juda, P.A., we will represent you personally, drawing upon over 30 years of experience with liability cases in Florida. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

  • Legal Basis: A slip and fall claim in Florida arises from injuries due to dangerous conditions on someone else’s property, where the property owner may be held liable for negligence leading to the accident.
  • Elements of a Claim:
    • Duty of Care: Property owners in Florida have a duty to maintain safe premises for visitors, based on the type of visitor (e.g., invitee, licensee, trespasser).
    • Breach of Duty: Occurs when the property owner fails to uphold their responsibility, such as not cleaning up spills promptly.
    • Causation: The dangerous condition directly causes the slip and fall accident.
    • Damages: Injuries suffered as a consequence of the accident, which can be physical or emotional.
  • Common Locations and Causes:
    • Indoor: Wet floors from spills pose risks in retail stores and restaurants.
    • Outdoor: Uneven sidewalks, especially in older neighborhoods, and wet surfaces in amusement parks are common hazards.
    • Pool Decks: Slick surfaces due to rain require proper maintenance to prevent accidents.
  • Post-Accident Steps:
    • Seek Medical Attention: Prioritize health by promptly seeking a diagnosis and treatment plan.
    • Document and Gather Information: Take pictures, collect witness details, and keep records of expenses.
    • Legal Assistance: Contact a slip and fall lawyer to evaluate your case and navigate the legal process.
  • Role of a Lawyer:
    • Case Evaluation: Review accident details, gather evidence, and consult with experts if needed.
    • Determining Liability: Establish who is responsible for the accident and ensure property owners are held accountable for negligence under Florida law.

Common Injuries from Slip & Fall Accidents in Florida

Fall-related injuries can vary, often causing physical, emotional, and financial hardships. When seeking compensation in a personal injury lawsuit, understanding the common injuries associated with a fall incident is crucial. When a fall occurs, the victim could experience the following:

  1. Fractures and Broken Bones: The impact of a fall can lead to bone fractures, particularly in the wrists, arms, hips, and ankles. These injuries may require extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation.
  2. Head and Brain Injuries: In slip and fall accidents, victims may suffer head injuries, including concussions or traumatic brain injuries, which can have long-lasting cognitive and physical effects.
  3. Back and Spinal Cord Injuries: Falls can cause back injuries, such as spinal cord damage, leading to paralysis or a permanent disability.
  4. Shoulder Dislocation or “Brachial Plexus Injury”: This type of fall injury can happen if you land hard on your side, or if your arm is twisted during the fall.
  5. Knee Damage: Falls can lead to various knee injuries, including damage to the kneecap or ligaments.
  6. Soft Tissue Injuries: Slip and fall accidents can lead to sprains, strains, and soft tissue damage, causing pain, swelling, and limited mobility.
  7. Bruises, Cuts, and Contusions: Falling can cause bruises, cuts, and contusions, ranging from minor injuries to more severe wounds that may require medical attention.

After a slip and fall injury, seek medical attention right away, even if your injuries seem minor. The full consequence of some injuries may not manifest immediately and a medical examination and evaluation document your injuries and support your fall claim.

Common Causes of Florida Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and fall accidents occur for multiple reasons in various locations due to several types of dangerous conditions. Some frequent slip and fall accident scenarios include:

Wet Floors or Other Slick Surfaces: As an experienced slip and fall lawyer knows, these accidents often happen on slippery walking surfaces, either outside on wet pavement or inside on recently mopped or waxed floors. These types of slip-and-fall accidents often take place in grocery stores, supermarkets, and department stores.

Uneven or Damaged Surfaces: Cracked pavement, uneven floors, broken sidewalks, and potholes frequently cause fall injuries in Florida. Such conditions can lead to unexpected changes in walking surfaces, causing people to stumble, fall, and sustain serious injuries. Poor maintenance and uneven pavement tend to cause slip and fall conditions.

Poor Lighting: Insufficient lighting can make it difficult to see hazards like debris, uneven surfaces, or steps, leading to a slip and fall accident.

Debris or Obstacles: Items left in walkways, cords, rugs, or clutter can cause someone to suffer a slip and fall injury.

Faulty Stairs or Lack of Handrails: Damaged stairs or a lack of handrails can contribute to a slip and fall accident.

Conditions leading to a slip-and-fall incident are often resolved shortly following a slip-and-fall accident. As an experienced slip and fall lawyer can attest, eliminating the danger may serve to prevent additional incidents but also eliminates crucial evidence for your personal injury lawsuit. Recognizing that your fall claim could hinge on proving the conditions at the time of your fall, take photos or video immediately to preserve evidence. The experienced fall lawyers at Cohen & Juda, P.A. can assess the evidence required to prove your slip and fall case during your free consultation.

Where Does a Slip and Fall Incident Commonly Occur?

As fall lawyers know, these accidents can take place in various locations, including:

  • Parking lots
  • Shopping malls
  • Grocery stores
  • Pool decks
  • Amusement parks
  • Restaurants
  • Outdoor locations including uneven sidewalks and driveways

What to Do After a Slip and Fall in Florida

After a slip and fall in Florida, taking the following steps is vital.

  1. Seek Medical Attention: Your health is your priority. Seek immediate medical help, even if your injuries appear minor to support your well-being and generate medical records that can serve as crucial evidence in your personal injury lawsuit.
  2. Report the Accident: Notify the property owner or the person responsible for its upkeep about the incident. If the fall happened at a business, file an official report and secure a copy.
  3. Document Everything: Take pictures of the accident scene, including the dangerous condition that caused your fall. While the details are fresh in your mind, write them down. It could serve as valuable evidence.
  4. Identify Witnesses: If there were any witnesses, collect their contact information because their statements can corroborate your account of the incident.
  5. Preserve Evidence: Keep the clothes and shoes you were wearing during the accident without washing them. They might be useful evidence.
  6. Request surveillance footage: If the accident happened in a store or other business, ask the owner, store manager or building manager for a copy of the surveillance footage.
  7. Do Not Give Statements: Don’t discuss the accident or your injuries with anyone except your personal injury attorney and your doctor. Anything you say can be used against you in your claim.

Premises Liability Law: How to Prove Negligence in a Slip and Fall Case

In pursuing a premises liability claim for a slip and fall incident, a victim must prove the property owner’s negligence. To be held legally responsible, a plaintiff must prove that the property owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition that caused the accident.

With the assistance of your fall accident lawyer, you must demonstrate the following:

  1. Duty of Care: The plaintiff must establish that the property owner/defendant owed them a duty of care — meaning they were obligated to maintain a safe environment. For example, a store owner owes a duty of reasonable care to prevent foreseeable harm to patrons. Duty of care generally applies when the injured party is lawfully on someone else’s property.
  2. Breach of Duty: Plaintiffs must demonstrate that negligent property owners breached their duty of care by failing to maintain safe conditions on the property, fix a known hazard, or neglected to adequately warn visitors about a dangerous condition.
  3. Causation: The plaintiff must prove that their injury was directly caused by the breach of duty of the liable party — if the liable party had fulfilled their duty of care, the accident would not have occurred.
  4. Damages: The plaintiff must show they suffered harm (medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc.) due to the injury.

What Type and How Much Compensation Can Fall Victims Pursue in Florida?

Many factors determine the type and amount of compensation slip and fall victims can pursue following an accident. Damages fall into two categories: economic and non-economic.

Economic Damages

A slip and fall victim could lose income due to an inability to work, either temporarily or permanently. They may also experience a decreased earning capacity if their injuries limit their ability to perform specific job functions.

The types of economic damages you may be able to recover for a slip-and-fall accident include:

  • Medical bills
  • Lost wages and future earning capacity

Non-economic Damages

After a fall accident, a victim could suffer from mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life. The trauma of the accident and the stress of dealing with the aftermath can lead to conditions like depression and anxiety. In Florida, a victim of a slip and fall accident can seek compensation for these damages through a personal injury lawsuit.

Types of non-economic damages you may be able to recover include:

  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress
  • Loss of enjoyment of life

Statute of Limitations for a Florida Slip and Fall Case

In 2023, Florida passed tort reform, which reduced the statute of limitations for personal injury cases from four years to two years. With the enactment of tort reform, the majority of personal injury cases, including slip and fall cases, must be filed within two years of the date of injury.

This law also changed the doctrine of pure comparative negligence to a modified comparative negligence system. Under this system, if a jury determines that a plaintiff is more than 50 percent responsible for their injury, they are not eligible to recover damages.

Don’t Waste Time With Anyone Else. Call Us First, And We Will Help You Seek Fair And Just Compensation.

Do I Need An Experienced Attorney to Pursue A Fair Settlement for My Fall Accident and Injury?

After your accident, shouldn’t the negligent property owner be held liable for your suffering and injuries? When pursuing injury claims for slip and fall accidents, the legal services of a knowledgeable and experienced fall lawyer are invaluable for many reasons. A slip and fall lawyer has the skill and competency to successfully navigate the complexities of Florida’s premises liability law, statute of limitations, insurance company involvement, and settlement negotiations.

Working with a slip and fall lawyer protects your rights and safeguards against unexpected events, such as if the insurance company refuses to make a fair offer. With your best interests in mind, a slip and fall lawyer can handle all the legal aspects of your case, while you focus on your recovery.

Cohen & Juda, P.A. Will Represent You Personally on a Contingency Fee Basis in Your Slip and Fall Personal Injury Case

When choosing a slip and fall lawyer, knowledge and experience matter. At Cohen & Juda, P.A., our dedicated fall lawyers have been representing clients personally for more than 25 years. Understanding the complexities of slip and fall claims, we will  work tirelessly to investigate your accident, gather evidence, and build a strong case to pursue fair compensation for your injuries. This may include coverage of medical bills, lost wages, and compensation for pain and suffering. We work on a contingency fee basis, so there’s no cost to you until we win or settle your case.

Don’t wait to seek legal help. Florida has a statute of limitations on personal injury claims, which means there’s a limited window of time to file a lawsuit. Contact us today for a free consultation.  Let us review your case and discuss your legal options.  We’re here to fight for you every step of the way.  Call us at (954) 424-1440 or complete our online form. We know accidents don’t wait for weekdays — neither do the right lawyers. We are available to you 7 days a week.

We will represent you personally.

Frequently Asked Questions

Statute Of Limitations For Personal Injury In Florida

Florida law has different statutes of limitations which affect the amount of time you have to file your claim. The time limits are based on the type of case you have. The law has recently changed. We encourage you to contact an attorney immediately to find out how the Statute of Limitations may affect your negligence, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect or wrongful death claim.

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