Governor Charlie Crist signed House Bill 689 into law yesterday which changes the burden of proof for injured parties in slip and fall cases.  As of July 1, 2010 it will now be more difficult for injured persons to recover damages for slip and fall injuries.

The current slip and fall law in Florida is derived from the 2001 Supreme Court of Florida decision Owens v. Publix Supermarkets, Inc., 802 So.2d 315 (Fla. 2001).  This ruling held that the presence of a liquid or dangerous substance on a floor was sufficient to show that the business establishment did not keep the premises in a safe condition for customers.  In effect, an injured party only had to prove that the substance existed and resulted in an unsafe condition which caused injury.

The new slip and fall law mandates that if a person slips and falls on a substance in a business establishment, the injured person must prove that the business establishment actually knew of the dangerous condition and should have done something to fix it.  In other words, the injured person must now prove that the substance on the floor was there long enough that the business establishment should have known about it, or that the condition occurred regularly enough that the business establishment should have expected the unsafe condition.

If you have any questions about this new law or how it will impact your slip and fall claim, please contact our office and speak with one of our attorneys.  You deserve to know your rights.