Our Alexandria Law Firm Helps People Seriously Injured in Slip and Fall Incidents

Experienced Lawyers to Represent and Speak For You

Slip and Fall, also known as Trip and Fall, injuries require proving that the person/entity responsible for the premises failed to provide a reasonably safe premise and knew or should have known of the hazard (i.e. was negligent) before the person tripped or slipped to either eliminate the hazard (clean up the spill) or warn about the hazard (i.e. watch your step).

For example, landowners across the nation are obligated to clear potentially hazardous ice and snow from their property. When a property owner fails to do so, uncleared walkways can easily lead to slip-and-fall injuries. For particularly vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, these falls are debilitating and can be life-threatening.

Here in Virginia, landlords and operators of commercial establishments are required by law to remove snow and ice from entrances and the common spaces of their property within a reasonable time after the snow has stopped. Those property owners who do not timely or properly remove snow and ice as required by law, are needlessly putting at risk every person who enters their property. Such careless property owners are rightly accountable for the slip and fall and trip and fall injuries occurring on their property which were preventable.

By way of example, in cases involving serious injuries caused by slips and falls on snow and ice, premises liability lawsuits filed against private and commercial property owners who fail to clear ice or snow often involve one or more of the following ways in which owners act carelessly:

• failing to remove snow and ice in a timely and/or proper manner
• failing to use best practices and protocols during snow removal such as plowing and piling snow according to maps and plans
• failing to hire competent snow removal contractors
• failing to monitor weather reports for expected snow fall or the thaw and refreeze cycle and plan and treat accordingly
• failing to monitor and react accordingly to slippery conditions
• failing to post warnings or signs about the hazardous condition
• failing to be knowledgeable of and comply with national snow removal industry standards and practices

Important issues to be addressed when considering such cases are whether the injured person was watching where they were going (the contributory negligence defense) or assumed the risk (saw that the floor was wet but choose to walk across it anyway).

So, as is true in most other types of personal injury claims and cases, what those who are hurt may believe is a simple, straight forward matter, can be legally challenging and best handled by lawyers experienced in handling such cases and the issues involved. Some of the many trip and fall and slip and fall cases that Curcio Law has handled in the past include:

• Wet floors
• Faulty carpet installation
• Unsafe handrails
• Poor lighting
• Crumbled concrete steps
• Parking lot pothole
• Obscured post hole
• Uneven steps
• Untreated parking lot ice
• Untreated sidewalk ice

Statute of Limitations

In all personal injury cases, it is critical to comply with the controlling statute of limitations. Statutes of limitations are time limits placed upon the ability to pursue a legal right that you have. The statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Virginia is two years from the date of the incident. That means that the claim must either be settled or a lawsuit filed in court within this two-year window. If the claim is not settled and a lawsuit is not filed within two years from the date of injury, the claim is forever time-barred and cannot be pursued.

In addition to statute of limitations, claims against governmental entities, such as a city or county, may require that a notice of the claim in proper form be provided within a time period significantly shorter than the two years governing the filing of a timely lawsuit. For example, the Virginia Tort Claims Act requires that written notice of a personal injury claim against the Commonwealth must be provided within 1 year of the date of injury.

Notice of a personal injury claim against a city or county entity must be provided within six months of the date of injury. As it is common for slip and falls to occur on property owned or managed by a governmental entity, is critical for a person injured on such property to promptly consult an attorney experienced and well-versed in handling such cases and are knowledgeable of the special provisions governing such claims and cases, as are the attorneys here at Curcio Law.

If you have suffered a serious injury in a trip and fall on someone else’s property and would like to discuss whether you are legally entitled to be compensated for your injuries please contact us.