Miami Slip and Fall Premises Liability Attorneys
Miami is one of the top tourist destinations in the world, and it’s no wonder. There’s the trendy nightlife, bustling shopping districts, plush resorts, year-round sporting events and festivals, miles of beaches, and so much more. There is no limit to what you can see and do here, but what happens if you get hurt in a slip and fall, trip and fall, or some other accident on someone else’s property? When is a slip and fall the property owner’s fault, and how do you prove it? If you weren’t visibly injured with cuts and bruises or broken bones, how do you prove that you were seriously hurt?
Bringing a successful premises liability case against a property owner isn’t easy. Property owners and their insurers have many ways to get out of liability by saying the accident wasn’t their fault, the accident victim was to blame, or the person wasn’t truly injured. Expert assistance is most often needed to hold the negligent party responsible and get the right amount of compensation that reflects the full amount of their liability to you.
Abraham Law Group is a boutique civil litigation law firm in Miami that focuses on insurance claims. If you’ve been hurt in a slip and fall or other premises liability accident as a tourist, visitor or resident in Miami, our firm can help you get the medical care and financial compensation you need to deal with the harm you have suffered. We deal with insurance companies every day, and we know how to hold them accountable and get them to pay what they owe. Call Abraham Law Group after a slip and fall or other premises liability accident in Miami.
Types of Miami Premises Liability Claims We Handle
Property owners have a legal duty to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition, and they can be held responsible for accidents, or even intentional actions like robberies or assaults, that occur on their premises because of their negligence. In Miami, some of the most common premises liability accidents include the following:
- A slip and fall because of a wet or slippery surface from a food or drink spill or because rainwater or ocean water got tracked into the store and not cleaned up
- A trip and fall because of a tripping hazard, such as misplaced floor mats, turn rugs, broken steps, unmarked steps, broken or missing handrails, or objects on the floor
- Drownings at swimming pools that were overly crowded, unsupervised, or improperly secured
- Struck by merchandise falling from shelves
- Elevator or escalator malfunctions
- Assaults, including sexual assaults, because of negligent security at a parking garage, nightclub, resort or apartment complex, such as poor lighting, broken locks, lack of security cameras, nonworking security gates or lack of bouncers or security guards
Duties of Property Owners in Florida
Florida’s premises liability law imposes different duties on property owners depending on the legal status of the accident victim as an invitee, a licensee, or a trespasser. These legal terms are explained below.
Invitee
An invitee is someone who is invited onto the premises by the property owner. Customers at a grocery store, restaurant, bar or shopping mall are all invitees. They are there because the property owner wants them there for the owner’s benefit. For this reason, property owners owe their highest duty of care to invitees. This duty includes periodically inspecting the premises for safety and cleaning up any spills, picking objects off the floor, and otherwise removing or repairing any slipping or tripping hazards found to exist. Any danger should be corrected promptly, or the owner should put up a warning until the problem can be fixed.
Licensee
This is someone who has a right to enter the premises to conduct their business. A licensee could be a delivery person, vendor, salesperson, utility worker, postal carrier, repair person, etc. The property owner’s duty to a licensee is somewhat lesser than the duty owed to an invitee. Property owners should warn licensees about any known danger on the property, but they might not be liable to licensees for unknown dangers, even if they could have discovered the hazard through inspection.
Trespasser
A trespasser has no legal right to be on the property. This includes people breaking into the property after hours, staying in a store after it has closed, or entering areas that are clearly marked as off-limits, employees only, or no trespassing. Property owners generally aren’t liable to trespassers if they slip and fall or trip and fall on the premises, so long as the owner didn’t set a trap or create some hazard for the purpose of harming a trespasser.
Abraham Law Group Can Help You With Your Miami Premises Liability Insurance Claim
After a slip and fall, trip and fall, or other premises liability accident, the property owner and their insurance company are likely to claim that the hazard was open and obvious and could have been avoided, but the accident victim was negligent in not watching where they were going. If the danger was a temporary condition like a spill, they’ll say the owner didn’t have a reasonable time to discover it or fix it before the accident happened. They might also challenge the injuries claimed by the accident victim.
The attorneys at Abraham Law Group have years of experience working for and against insurance companies. We know what it takes to prove a case of premises liability, negotiate a reasonable settlement, or litigate the case in court to a jury. We deal with insurance claims every day, and we can help you with your Miami premises liability claim.
If you or a loved one has been hurt in a slip and fall in Miami, call Abraham Law Group for a free case evaluation at 786-224-4555. There’s no fee until after we recover compensation for you.
