A woman recently filed a lawsuit against the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. According to the filing, the reason for the lawsuit is a school tour in 2015 during bad weather caused her to fall and fracture her wrist. Although the woman tried to reschedule the visit due to the bad weather, she was told by the dean of admissions that the tour she was going on with her son needed to happen that day. This resulted in her slipping and fracturing her wrist while walking up wet stairs.
One of the reasons that people often seek compensation for these types of cases is the injuries can cause significant pain and ongoing issues. In this specific case, the filing explains the woman has needed “ongoing medical treatment due to the injury and several complications.”
When is There Liability in a Slip and Fall Accident?
Slips and falls happen far too often. In many cases, the only person responsible for this accident is the one who fell. However, there are other times when someone else is liable for the injuries that arise from a slip and fall accident. The line separating these two categories from each other can be very thin. The reason is liability boils down to whether the owner of a property acted carefully so that visitors were not likely to slip or trip, as well as whether the person who fell was careless in not seeing or avoiding the thing he or she fell on.
While there are plenty of grey areas within those parameters that may require a lot of exploration, slip and fall accidents that involve liability generally fall into one of three scenarios. The first is the owner of a premises or an employee “must have caused the spill, worn or torn spot, or other slippery or dangerous surface or item to be underfoot.” The second is either of those parties “must have known the slippery or dangerous material or object was underfoot and done nothing about it.”
Finally, an owner can be held liable for a slip and fall accident if that individual or their employee “should have known the slippery or dangerous material was on the floor, stair, or ground because a reasonable person taking care of the property would have discovered and removed or repaired it.”
Discuss a Slip and Fall Accident with a Houston Personal Injury Attorney
There are a lot of elements that go into determining who is liable in a slip and fall accident. Given how much factors can differ from one case to the next, the best way to find out the right course of action for your specific situation is to meet with a personal injury attorney in Houston. Through a free consultation, you’ll be able to get an attorney’s expert opinion on whether or not you have a valid claim. Since Texas laws have strict guidelines about the window for when a personal injury claim can be made, it’s important to look into this issue with a Houston personal injury attorney as soon as possible.