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What is Needed to Win a Maryland Slip and Fall Case?

Slip and fall accidents happen every day, especially in the home and in certain industries where there is a risk of danger that is greater than others. Some incidents are truly accidents, while others are due to the negligence of someone else. When those slip and fall accidents occur on someone else’s, or another company’s, property, you may be eligible to receive compensation for your injuries. However, slip and fall cases can be challenging to will in some scenarios. This is why it is so important to contact a Maryland personal injury attorney right away.

Proving Slip and Fall Accidents

If you plan to sue someone for a slip and fall accident on their property, you must prove they were legally negligent. If there was a condition present that caused you harm, you have to show that the owner or manager knew about the condition. The condition in question has to be considered dangerous, and it had to be the direct cause of your injuries.

Your injuries from the fall cannot be related to any other problem that occurred. Without proving all the elements, you may not be able to present a successful case. The three main elements that will help you prove your case are liability, negligence, and responsibility/fault.

Duty of Care

With premises liability cases, the property owner has a duty to exercise care in situations where someone else could be injured. There are different duties of care depending on the relation between the property owner and the victim.

The owner has the highest level of duty toward an invitee. An invitee is someone invited to the premises, like a friend you have over for dinner or a customer in a store. The next is a licensee, who is someone that is on the property with permission when it is not somewhere that is open to the general public. A trespasser is someone who does not have permission to be on the property.

Negligence

Proving negligence requires showing that the property owner or manager did not act appropriately. If there was a hazard that existed long enough for the defendant to discover it and remove it, but failed to, that is negligence. If someone threw something on the floor just before you stepped on it, that is a hard argument to win. The defendant would not have had enough time to discover that.

Fault and Responsibility

This is the hardest hurdle to get over, especially in Maryland. Did you contribute to your injury in any way? Maryland is one of the few states that still follows the legal principle of contributory negligence. This means that if you are even one percent at fault, you are barred from recovery. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to have a Maryland personal injury attorney on your side.

Contact a Maryland Personal Injury Attorney Today

If you were injured in a slip and fall in Charles County, it is important to speak with an attorney sooner rather than later. This gives him or her the ability to collect evidence and prepare a thorough investigation. Contact the Law Offices of Robert R. Castro today at 301-870-1200 to schedule an initial consultation.

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