Slippery or Wet Floors

Slips and falls on wet or slick floors are a fairly common event. Such accidents can occur at a residence, in a commercial establishment, or inside of a public building. Installation of a uniquely slick flooring material in a heavy foot traffic area can be an actionable design flaw. Floors which become dangerously slick when mopped, floors which become wet as the result of a leak, or water intruding onto the floor can all result in a hazardous and unsafe situation for anyone walking on the surface. Property owners and janitorial services have a duty to mark or warn of such hazardous when working on the floor or when they are aware that the surface is slick or slippery. Failure to properly warn of a dangerous condition can result in liability for the injuries incurred in a fall.

Should the floor become slick or slippery due to a condition not caused by the owner such as rain or a spill, the owner has the duty to make a reasonable effort to protect the public from such events. If notified of the condition, immediate steps must be taken to correct the condition. However since the owner may not be notified, the owner must conduct business in a reasonable way to provide a plan of inspection to reasonable determine a condition which might be expected to occur. For example, operators of a grocery store can reasonable expect that customers will cause spills and that they might not report it to an employee in the store, therefore causing a dangerous condition to exist. In that instance the store owner has a responsibility to have an inspection plan in place that will allow him to discover the spill in a reasonable period of time and thus take steps to warn or to correct it.   

At Carlson, Meissner, Hart and Hayslett our attorneys have represented many clients in Florida over the past 30 plus years who have fallen and been injured on slick or wet floors.”
 

The personal injury attorneys at Carlson, Meissner, Hart & Hayslett, P.A., are fighting for our clients rights in personal injury cases in Clearwater, Tampa, Bradenton, Spring Hill, Pinellas, Pasco, New Port Richey, Manatee, Hillsborough and Hernando Counties in Florida. 

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