A slip and fall accident occurs when a person loses their footing on a slippery or wet surface and falls. Examples are a wet floor in a grocery store, ice on a sidewalk, or an oily surface in a parking garage. A trip and fall occurs when a person catches their foot on an obstacle or uneven surface like a raised sidewalk crack, a loose floor mat, a broken step, or a cluttered aisle.
Both types of accidents fall under premises liability law. When a property owner’s failure to maintain safe conditions causes a slip or trip and fall, the injured person may be entitled to compensation.
The mechanics are different, but the legal framework is the same. In a slip and fall, the surface provides insufficient traction such as ice, a wet floor, a greasy surface, or a recently waxed floor without adequate warning. In a trip and fall, something interrupts the person’s foot or path such as raised edge, a pothole, a protruding nail, debris on the floor, or an uneven transition between surfaces.
In practice, both types of cases require proving the same thing: the property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition and failed to fix it or adequately warn visitors.
Common causes include:
Slip and fall accidents happen in a wide range of settings, including:
Every property owner, whether a national retailer, a local business, or a government entity, has a legal duty to maintain reasonably safe conditions for visitors.
To succeed on a slip and fall claim in Kansas or Missouri, you generally need to establish:
The most contested element is typically knowledge: did the owner know the hazard existed? The attorneys at MRH injury law investigate thoroughly by reviewing maintenance logs, employee schedules, incident reports, and surveillance footage to establish that the condition had existed long enough that the owner should have addressed it.
Building a strong slip and fall case involves gathering evidence that shows the hazard existed, the owner was on notice, and the owner failed to act. This typically includes:
Time is critical in these cases. Surveillance footage is often overwritten within days. Hazardous conditions get fixed. Witnesses move on. Contacting an attorney immediately after your fall gives us the best chance to preserve the evidence needed to prove your case.
“We didn’t know about it” is the most common defense in slip and fall cases and one we are prepared to challenge. Property owners are held to the standard of what they should have known, not just what they actually knew. If a spill sat on the floor for 45 minutes before you fell, the owner may be liable even if no employee saw it happen.
We dig into cleaning and inspection schedules to show how long the hazard was present. We look for prior complaints, similar incidents, and maintenance records that reveal the owner’s awareness. We also retain experts when necessary to demonstrate that a reasonable inspection program would have caught the hazard.
You may still be entitled to compensation even if you share some responsibility. Kansas and Missouri both use comparative fault rules:
Missouri uses pure comparative fault: You can recover compensation regardless of your percentage of fault, though your damages are reduced by your share of responsibility.
Kansas uses modified comparative fault: You can recover as long as you are less than 50% at fault. If you are 50% or more at fault, you cannot recover any damages.
Insurance companies routinely attempt to shift blame to injured victims by claiming they were distracted, wearing improper footwear, or ignoring warning signs. Our attorneys challenge these tactics and work to assign fault accurately.
Yes. Parking lots are part of a property owner’s premises and are subject to the same duty of care. Common parking lot hazards that lead to claims include standing water, ice and snow, potholes, uneven pavement, faded pedestrian markings, and poor lighting.
Parking lots maintained by cities or municipalities involve government property, which has different notice requirements and shorter deadlines than private property claims. If you fell on a public sidewalk or city-maintained lot, contact an attorney immediately.
Slip and fall accidents can cause serious, life-altering injuries, including:
Some injuries are not immediately apparent. Symptoms of concussions, herniated discs, and internal injuries can take days to appear. This is why seeking medical attention immediately after any fall is critical both for your health and for your legal claim.
MRH Injury Law pursues every form of compensation available to you, including:
How much you recover depends on the severity of your injuries, the strength of the liability evidence, whether the responsible party can pay, and where your case must be filed. Read more about the top 5 things that affect case value.
Settlement values vary widely based on the severity of injuries, the strength of liability evidence, available insurance coverage, and the jurisdiction. Minor falls with soft tissue injuries may settle for a few thousand dollars. Cases involving broken hips, spinal injuries, traumatic brain injuries, or surgery can result in settlements or verdicts of hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.
Insurance companies make low early offers hoping victims will accept before understanding the full cost of their injuries. MRH Injury Law does not push for quick settlements. We take cases to trial when needed, and insurance companies know it, which is why they typically offer more when we are involved.
An experienced attorney can evaluate your specific situation and give you a realistic picture of what your case may be worth. Contact us for a free consultation.
In Missouri, the statute of limitations for slip and fall personal injury claims is generally five years from the date of the accident. In Kansas, it is generally two years.
There are important exceptions. Claims against government entities including a city, county, or state agency often have much shorter notice deadlines, sometimes as little as 90 days from the date of injury. Failing to meet these deadlines can permanently bar your right to recover.
Contact an attorney as soon as possible. Beyond legal deadlines, evidence disappears fast: surveillance footage gets overwritten, hazards get repaired, and witness memories fade.
We have a proven track record with slip and fall and trip and fall cases and we take them to trial. Insurance companies know our firm, and when they see us coming, they typically offer more money earlier in the process.
In our 40+ years of combined experience, we’ve learned that these accidents are often preventable and that property owners, not victims, are usually responsible. Retailers spend enormous amounts of money designing displays that pull your eyes away from the floor, then blame you when you slip in their aisle. We see through that, and we fight back.
We are not a high-volume firm. We take cases we believe in and invest real time and attention into each one carefully reconstructing scenes, working with investigators, and building the strongest possible case before we ever enter settlement negotiations.
MRH Injury Law works on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing upfront, and we only get paid if we recover compensation for you. Our financial interests are fully aligned with yours. We don’t succeed unless you do.
In our 40+ years of combined experience, we’ve learned that someone else is usually responsible when you’re hurt on their property. We dig deep to find out who by hiring investigators, conducting depositions, recreating scenes, and retaining industry experts.
We frequently take cases rejected by other law firms and settle them for millions of dollars. We are not a high-volume churn-and-burn firm. We take cases we believe in and invest significant time and attention into each one.
If you were injured in a fall on someone else’s property, you may have a claim even if you’re not sure the owner did anything wrong, and even if other attorneys have turned you down. MRH Injury Law frequently takes cases rejected by other firms and settles them for significant compensation.
Use our “Do I Have a Case?” tool or contact us for a free initial consultation.
Connect with compassionate people and aggressive litigators. We will help you uncover your best case and maximum compensation.
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