Charleston Slip and Fall Injuries

In Charleston and across South Carolina, a slip and fall or a trip and fall or a premises liability claim arises generally when a patron of a business falls in a store or a commercial piece of property due to a hazard which the owner of the property either knew or should have known was a potential hazard and failed either to remove the hazard or warn of it.

The standard example of a scenario resulting in a slip and fall is when a patron of a grocery store falls on a foreign object or a substance on the floor that the store owner either knew or should have known, was present and failed to either warn patrons or remove the hazard. The resulting Charleston slip and fall injuries can take a physical, emotional, and financial toll on individuals. Because of this, if you have sustained an injury as the result of slipping and falling, you should contact a determined personal injury lawyer who can fight for you.

Common Injuries

The most common Charleston slip and fall injuries are orthopedic injuries and or head injuries. In a slip and fall accident, an individual might end up with broken bones or sprained ankles or head injuries. Contusions and sprains are subjectively diagnosed which means those types of injuries do not generally show up on film, MRI, or x-rays. Generally, they do not warrant an attorney’s involvement, but a head injury that is permanent or a brain injury is significant and long lasting and warrants an attorney’s involvement.

Injury Misconceptions

Most people in the general public assume that if a person is injured on another person’s property, then the owner of the property is liable to the person who is injured and that is not true at all. They are very tough cases and it requires proof that the owner of the property either knew or should have known that there was a hazard and they either failed to remove the hazard or failed to warn of it. Simply getting injured on someone else’s property is not sufficient to establish a claim for a slip and fall case.

There is a common misconception that if a person is injured on the property, especially of a business, that the business simply is liable for the injuries and that is just not correct. It is a difficult burden of proof proving that a store owner either knew or should have known that a hazard existed.

For example, if a potential plaintiff or claimant slips on a grape in a grocery store, it can be difficult to prove that the store owner either knew or should have known that the grape was on the floor and that is a difficult burden of proof. Liability is never a slam dunk in a premises liability case or a slip and fall case.

Role of a Lawyer

Charleston slip and fall injuries are difficult to deal, and the cost of treating those injuries can be even harder to bear. If you have slipped and fallen as the result of someone else’s negligence, you have options. A Charleston slip personal injury lawyer will be well-versed in personal injury law and can guide you through the trial process. By hiring a tenacious local lawyer, you are ensuring that you have someone who can fight for you.