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The Basics of Premises Liability and “Slip-and-Fall” Cases In Virginia

Storeowners and other organizations that invite members of the public onto their property have a duty to ensure that the premises, which they control, is safe for their visitors. When a property owner fails to use reasonable care in making their property safe for members of the general public, they may be held liable or accountable if someone is injured due to their negligent oversight.

Many premises liability cases are not as simple as receiving compensation merely because an injury occurred on someone else’s property. There are numerous additional factors that must be taken into consideration when assessing a premises liability or “slip-and-fall” case under Virginia law.

The first essential component of a premises liability case in Virginia is the damages element. Damages are the injuries or detriments that were sustained by an individual. Damages in a Virginia slip-and-fall case generally consist of physical injuries such as sprains, broken bones, head injuries or the like. However, a plaintiff who has suffered a physical injury may also have financial or monetary damages such as lost wages or medical bills that are directly related to the primary injury.

Once damages are established and identified, the plaintiff and his or her personal injury lawyer must show that a specific person or company is liable for the plaintiff’s damages or injuries. A person or business may be held liable if he or she owed a duty to another and failed to perform the duty. For example, storeowners have a duty to remove water or spills from the floor in a timely manner. They have this duty because they know that a patron of the store could slip on the wet surface and become injured if it is not cleaned up. If hours go by and the store failed to clean up the spill or warn customers of the dangerous condition, they may be held liable if a customer slips on the wet surface and becomes injured as a result of their negligence.

There are a few issues that can work against a plaintiff who is attempting to establish that a store or property owner is liable in a slip-and-fall injury. These issues are typically referred to as “defenses” by attorneys. One of the most common defenses that a potentially liable party may attempt to claim is that the thing that caused your injury was “open and obvious”. The Virginia courts have determined that storeowners will not be held liable for dangerous conditions that were out in the open and should have been noticed by the plaintiff. For example, this issue was discussed in the recent case of Fultz v. Delhaize America, Inc. In that case a woman was shopping in a grocery store when she tripped over a metal bar that was attached to the floor. The bar extended along the sides of an ATM machine. Its purpose was to force customers to stand directly in front of the machine so that other customers who were waiting in line could not view the user’s private banking information.

The court recognized that the metal bars were an “open and obvious” dangerous condition that the plaintiff should have seen. However, other dangerous conditions such as water, ice, holes, slippery rugs and other non-obvious conditions may result in liability for the property owner if they knew or should have known that such conditions were dangerous and they failed to fix or warn patrons of the condition.

If you have sustained an injury on property that is owned by a commercial business, government office or other organization that is open to the public, you may be entitled to receive compensation for your injuries. A Virginia personal injury attorney can assess your case and assist you through the legal process.

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