How Warning Signs Impact Slip and Fall Claims

Answer:

There are times when clients ask us whether a personal injury claim for a slip and fall can still be made if a warning sign was placed in the area. The answer is it’s possible. When a premises owner is aware of a dangerous condition on their property, they have the obligation to warn people who are on their property, for legitimate purposes, of that potential danger. That is the purpose of putting out a warning sign in the area where a business, such as a grocery store, has water or some kind of liquid on the floor— to alert the customers that there is a potential danger there.

Having a warning sign out makes a much more difficult case to pursue than if there has been no indication. However, there are situations in which a recovery can still be made when there was a sign out. If the sign was not obvious enough or was hidden in some way so that the person couldn’t see it before they reached the dangerous condition, that can negate the fact that the sign was out in the first place. It also could be an issue if the sign is out, but it’s not clear what type of danger it addresses. The most important thing to do if you’ve encountered this type of situation is to quickly hire an attorney who is experienced with these types of matters so that we can investigate these types of claims and preserve all evidence. In these types of claims with businesses, there’s often video footage of the incident. It’s important to make sure you have that footage preserved to show exactly what happened. If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall matter of any sort, please contact us as soon as possible, so we can begin preserving evidence and investigating the claim, so that we can position your case as good as possible.