When you enter into or onto another person’s property, the owner of the property is responsible for making sure that you are safe. This does not mean that the property owner is necessarily tasked with protecting you from yourself, but it does mean that the premises must be kept free of hazards that could lead to a slip and fall or a trip and fall. If the owner fails to keep the property safe and you are injured as a result, you may be able to collect compensation under the principles of premises liability.

Recovering damages after a slip and fall injury will require you—with the help your attorney—to prove four basic elements:

A Duty of Care

When you legally enter onto property owned by another person or entity, the owner of the property assumes a certain level of responsibility for keeping you safe. The degree of responsibility depends on why you are on the property, but unless you are trespassing, you have the right to assume that the property will be reasonably free of hazards that could cause you to slip and fall. Unfortunately, not all property owners are as vigilant as they should be, and thousands of people are injured in slip and fall accidents each year.

Invitees and Licensees

There are two types of visitors that are generally offered protection under Connecticut’s premises liability laws. The first category consists of invitees who, as the name suggests, are on the property by implied or express invitation by the property owner. Perhaps the most common example of an invitee is a customer at a retail store. Invitees are afforded the highest level of responsibility by the property owner.

Any type of fall can result in catastrophic back, neck, and spinal injuries. Sadly, many such accidents are caused by the carelessness or inattentiveness on the part the part of the victim. Rather, they occur due to the actions or negligence of the property owners.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that there were more than 28 million emergency room visits due to unintentional injuries in 2014—the most recent year for which full statistics are available. Many of these were slip and fall accidents which can incur hefty medical bills and thousands of dollars in lost wages for injured victims. It is important to note, however, that if you slipped and fell on someone else’s property, the owner or occupier of the property may be liable for your injuries and the resulting expenses.

Determining Liability

For the second time in less than a year, a claimant has successfully sued a Connecticut municipality for injuries caused by unsafe sidewalk conditions. The most recent decision was handed down by a Superior Court jury, finding that the City of Bridgeport had been negligent in maintaining a safe sidewalk, and awarding the woman more than $416,000 in damages.

Dangerous Negligence

According to reports, the 69-year-old woman and sister had been walking on a public sidewalk in Bridgeport when she tripped over a portion of the walkway that was raised as much as two inches. As a result of her subsequent fall, the woman broke her left arm, requiring substantial surgery to repair, along with a number of other more superficial injuries. Her lawsuit also claimed that she was left with limited strength and mobility, which has greatly impacted her everyday life.