Florida Lawyers Representing Parties Injured in Trip and Fall Accidents
Many businesses in Pensacola offer their guests and customer the convenience of parking in a lot. People generally walk through parking lots without concern, but if a lot needs to be properly designed or maintained, it can lead to trip and fall accidents. Falls often cause painful injuries, financial harm, and psychological trauma. Most falls are avoidable and only occur because property owners neglect their premises. If you suffered injuries in a parking lot trip and fall accident, you could recover damages from the owner of the lot, and you should contact an attorney to discuss your options. At Cardoso Law, PLLC, our seasoned Pensacola personal injury lawyers can advise you of your potential claims and gather any evidence that will support a favorable outcome. We have an office in Pensacola, representing parties in trip and fall cases in cities throughout Florida.
Factors That Lead to Parking Lot Trip and Fall Accidents
Generally, two types of issues lead to parking lot trip and fall accidents: unsafe designs and poor maintenance. Examples of hazardous designs can include inadequate lighting, which can make it hard for people to see where they are going, unguarded areas at the edge of a lot where people can easily fall, and uneven ground. Additionally, inadequate means of diverting water can cause erosion or decay, eventually leading to tripping hazards. People are likely to trip over poorly marked curbs or steps as well. Poor maintenance can include potholes, cracks, crumbling ground, and divots, creating fall hazards. People who lose their footing and fall in parking lots may sustain fractures and soft tissue injuries like sprains, strains, tears, lacerations, and contusions. In some instances, they may suffer severe harm like concussions or hemorrhaging.
Elements of a Lawsuit Arising Out of a Parking Lot Trip and Fall Accident
While some falls happen for reasons beyond anyone’s control, most trip and fall accidents in parking lots are usually brought about by carelessness. As such, people injured in such falls will assert negligence claims against the party that owns the lot.
Under Florida law, negligence comprises four elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages, and a plaintiff must prove each element to recover compensation. Generally, the burden imposed on property owners is to maintain their premises reasonably safe, to prevent people who lawfully enter the property from suffering harm. In other words, they must warn visitors of any known hazards they are unlikely to discover and alleviate harmful conditions. If a property owner knows that a parking lot is in disrepair or suffers from an unsafe design and fails to fix it, it may constitute a breach of the duty owed.
The third and fourth elements, causation and damages, are linked in that a plaintiff must show that the fall caused measurable harm and the defendant’s breach directly led to the fall. While the defendant’s actions do not have to be the sole cause of the fall, the plaintiff must show that the fall would not have happened but for the defendant’s breach.
Speak to an Experienced Pensacola Premises Liability Attorney
Property owners should maintain their premises reasonably safe, and that duty extends to parking lots. If you were hurt in a parking lot trip and fall accident, you may be owed damages, and it is advisable to speak to an attorney. The experienced Florida lawyers of Cardoso Law, PLLC, possess the skills and resources needed to achieve favorable outcomes, and if you hire us, we will work tirelessly on your behalf. Our office is located in Pensacola, and we regularly handle claims arising out of trip and fall accidents in Pensacola, Ferry Pass, Brent, Cantonment, Bellview, Century, Milton, Navarre, Gulf Breeze, West Pensacola, Jay, Crestview, Fort Walton Beach, and Niceville. We also help injured parties pursue premises liability claims in cities throughout Florida, including many in Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa Counties. You can reach us via the form online or at (850) 466-2073 to set up a conference.