When someone gets injured on another person’s property, they may want to seek compensation. An example of this could be if you were in a local store and you slipped and fell. You only slipped because there was a wet spot on the tile floor, making it increasingly slick, but it was not marked with any warning signs.
However, the property owner may tell you that they had no idea that the dangerous condition existed. They certainly would’ve cleaned it up and rectified it if they did. They claim that they can’t be held responsible for something they had no idea was a problem in the first place, so they weren’t acting negligently. Can they make this claim?
How long did the condition exist?
It is possible for a property owner to make this claim. There are situations in which they could not realistically have kept someone from danger. If one customer creates a spill and the next customer coming down the same aisle slips and falls, all in a span of 60 seconds, there was no real alternative outcome.
However, the property owner can be liable for injuries if the dangerous condition existed for a long enough period of time that they should have known about it. For example, maybe the slick spot on the floor was caused by a pipe that had been leaking for months. Even if the property owner claims they didn’t know about the leak, they were still acting negligently because they should have had a better understanding of the condition of their own property.
Financial compensation may be necessary after serious injuries. Take the time to look at all of your legal options.
