Personal injury means that a person has been harmed. Under the law, another person may be responsible for causing or failing to prevent that harm.

Included in this definition are slip and fall accidents. In most cases, the person who slips and falls sustains some kind of injury or harm due to the accident. Depending on where the incident occurred, there is a legal concept known as “premises liability”. This means that the person who owns or maintains the property is legally responsible.

However, slipping and falling does not always mean a personal injury case is in order. The injured person must prove that the accident occurred due to the property owner’s negligence.

1. There was a preventable, dangerous condition that led to the slip and fall. For example, a broken step in a flight of stairs, liquid spilled on the floor, or potholes in the ground.

2. The owner had knowledge of that condition, and failed to correct it. If the owner had no knowledge, the condition had been in place long enough that the owner had a duty to know and correct it. For example, if someone spills something in a grocery and you slip on it the next day, you can argue that the owner should have known about the spill and cleaned it since it was there overnight.

3. The person who slipped and fell sustained damages as a result of the accident.

To have a solid personal injury case, the above elements should be present.