If you suffer an injury on someone else's property due to an unsafe condition, the experienced Florida premises liability lawyer team at Taylor, Warren, Weidner, Hancock & Barnes (TWWHB) is ready to fight for the compensation you deserve. As trusted Florida premises liability attorneys, we help victims pursue justice after a slip and fall, a retail store incident, or any other premises liability accident caused by a property owner's negligence.
Property owners in the Sunshine State have a legal duty of care to keep their premises reasonably safe for the people they invite onto their grounds. Under Florida law, including Florida Statutes § 768.075, when a business or homeowner ignores a hazardous condition and allows a dangerous condition to persist, they can be held financially responsible for the harm that follows.
Most slip and fall incidents occur at a place of business (grocery stores, gas stations, city parks, etc.). When this occurs, the business or property owner may be responsible for your injuries if the owner did not take reasonable measures to provide a safe environment for you. However, if you slip and fall at a private residence, you may have a claim against the homeowner if he or she did not meet their duty to provide a safe environment for you.
Our premises liability lawyers represent clients injured at a grocery store, hotel, apartment complex, restaurant, parking lot, or private residence. Whether you suffered minor bruises or a catastrophic injury with long term consequences, you deserve a premises liability attorney who takes your case as seriously as you do.
TWWHB's personal injury lawyers work to recover compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and future care costs. We negotiate aggressively with insurance companies that routinely undervalue legitimate claims, and we are fully prepared to take your case to trial when a fair settlement is not offered. We offer a free consultation so you can discuss your rights without financial risk or obligation.
If you need a skilled premises liability attorney in Florida, our firm has the resources and courtroom experience to handle your premises liability claim from start to finish. Call TWWHB today to speak with an experienced Florida premises liability lawyer.
What Is Premises Liability?
Premises liability is the area of personal injury law that holds property owners and occupiers responsible when their negligence causes harm to lawful visitors. In Florida, the level of responsibility owed depends in part on why the injured person was on the property, whether as a business invitee, a licensee, or a trespasser. Regardless of the classification, owners generally must take reasonable steps to identify hazards, repair them promptly, and warn guests of hidden dangers they cannot immediately fix.
When a property owner fails to meet this standard, the injured visitor may have a valid claim for financial recovery. Proving such a claim typically requires evidence that the owner knew or should have known about the hazard, that the hazard caused the injury, and that the injury resulted in measurable damages such as hospital bills, lost income, or ongoing physical and emotional harm.
Examples of Slip and Fall Cases
For example, if you are walking in a grocery store and you slip on a spilled substance on the floor and suffer an injury, the storeowner may be responsible for your injuries. In addition, if a neighbor invites you over for dinner and as you are walking across the porch, you step on a rotten board and suffer an injury, you may be able to recover damages from the homeowner if he or she knew the board was rotten and was a danger. These are just a few examples among many.
If have fallen and injured yourself on someone else's property, you may have a slip and fall claim. You should take measures immediately to document your damages, seek medical treatment, notify the property owner, and contact a slip and fall attorney to make sure you protect your claim.
Types of Premises Liability Cases We Handle
TWWHB represents clients across Florida in a wide range of premises liability matters. Common cases include slip and fall incidents on wet floors, broken staircases, uneven sidewalks, and defective escalators or elevators. We also handle swimming pool drownings and near drownings, negligent security claims involving assaults on unsafe premises, dog bites and animal attacks, falling merchandise in retail stores, inadequate lighting in parking lots and stairwells, and injuries caused by poorly maintained apartment buildings or rental properties.
Every case is different, and the value of a claim depends on the severity of the injury, the clarity of the evidence, and the available insurance coverage. Our attorneys investigate each incident thoroughly, preserving surveillance footage, interviewing witnesses, and retaining qualified experts when the facts demand it.
Common Injuries in Premises Liability Accidents
Serious falls and other property incidents can produce a wide range of harm. Clients come to us with broken bones, torn ligaments, concussions and traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, neck and back injuries, lacerations requiring surgery, internal injuries, and in the most tragic cases, wrongful death. Many of these injuries require extended rehabilitation, and some leave victims with permanent disabilities that affect their ability to work, enjoy daily activities, or care for their families.
When injuries carry long term consequences, it is critical to work with a legal team that understands how to value future damages. TWWHB partners with medical experts, vocational specialists, and economists to present a complete picture of what the injury has cost you and what it will continue to cost you in the years ahead.
Document Damages and Seek Medical Treatment
Even if you do not know yet whether the property owner is responsible for your injury, you should take steps to document your injuries and seek medical treatment. Notify the property owner immediately or as soon as possible of your injuries. If it is possible to take or obtain photos of the area where you fell, showing the condition that caused you to fall, that could be very helpful for your case, but it is often the condition (a spill or broken board, for example) is cleaned up or remedied immediately after the fall.
Either way, you should take photos and document your injuries, to both your body and personal property, if any (a watch broken in the fall, for example), and seek medical treatment. Schedule and make your appointments and keep records and receipts of expenses you incur (co-pays, prescriptions, medical supplies, etc.) while treating your injuries. If you have a claim against the property owner, it will likely be handled by his or her homeowner's or business property insurance company—if the property is insured as most properties are. You will want detailed evidence of your damages so you can recover everything you are entitled to from the insurance company.
Compensation Available in a Florida Premises Liability Claim
Victims of premises liability accidents in Florida may be entitled to recover several categories of damages. These commonly include:
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current and future medical expenses
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lost wages and diminished earning capacity
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physical pain and emotional suffering
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rehabilitation and therapy costs
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out of pocket expenses related to the injury, and
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punitive damages (applied in rare cases involving particularly reckless conduct).
The specific amount you may recover depends on the facts of your case, and a member of our legal team is happy to review your situation during a free consultation.
Types of Damages You Can Recover In a Slip and Fall
- Past medical bills
- Future medical bills
- Lost wages
- Loss of future income
- Out of pocket costs
What to Do After a Premises Liability Accident
The steps you take immediately after an injury can significantly affect your claim. When possible, report the incident to the property owner or manager and ask that a written report be filed. Seek prompt medical attention, even if your injuries feel minor at first, because some conditions worsen over time. Take photographs of the hazard, the surrounding area, and any visible injuries.
Always gather contact information for anyone who witnessed what happened. Save the clothing and footwear you were wearing, and avoid giving recorded statements to insurance adjusters before speaking with a lawyer.
Most importantly, contact a Florida premises liability attorney as soon as possible. Florida imposes strict deadlines for filing these claims under Florida Statutes § 95.11, and recent changes to Florida law, specifically House Bill 837 (2023), have shortened the time available to file a lawsuit.
Is the Property Owner Responsible For Your Injury?
Determining whether the property owner is responsible for your injury will depend on several factors surrounding the situation that caused you to fall. There are many conditions that could make a property dangerous but that may not make the owner liable for injuries caused by those conditions. For example, if some slippery fluid like water, snow, soap, or oil suddenly falls to the floor and the owner is not aware of it. However, if there was a condition on the property that the owner was aware of (the rotten board on the porch, for example), and he or she did not take measures to warn against the danger, block the area off, or otherwise protect people invited onto the property from injury that could be caused by the danger, the owner could be liable.
Liability Will Usually Depend on the Following Factors
Generally, whether the homeowner will be responsible for your injury will depend on the following factors:
- Whether the homeowner caused the spill or otherwise dangerous condition;
- Whether the homeowner knew of the dangerous condition but did nothing about it; or
- Whether the homeowner should have known of the dangerous condition because a reasonable person taking care of the property would have discovered, repaired, cleaned, or otherwise remedied it.
Four Year Statute of Limitations
In Florida, the deadline for slip and fall cases is four years, and it begins to run from the date of the incident (the day you fell and injured yourself). A statute of limitations is basically a deadline, that if you do not meet, you lose your right to pursue your claim.
While four years may seem like a long time, often most accident victims are consumed initially with treating the injury that has turned their lives upside down. You are dealing with medical bills and appointments, trying to get back to work and get your life back to normal. It may be months before the thought of filing a slip and fall claim crosses your mind and, when you do, the property owner's insurance company will also spend a good bit of time handling, and perhaps trying to delay or deny, your claim. While time is passing you may not know that your right to sue for your injuries is ticking away.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a premises liability claim in Florida?
For accidents occurring on or after March 24, 2023, Florida generally requires injury victims to file a lawsuit within two years of the date of the accident. Older cases may be subject to a four year deadline. Because the exact deadline depends on the facts of your case, including any notice requirements that apply to claims against government entities, it is important to speak with a premises liability attorney promptly.
Do I still have a case if I was partly at fault for my own accident?
If you are found to be fifty percent or less at fault, you may still recover damages reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are found to be more than fifty percent at fault, you generally cannot recover. Insurance companies often try to inflate the victim's share of blame, which is one of many reasons to have an experienced attorney on your side.
What if my accident happened at a grocery store or retail business?
Slip and fall accidents at supermarkets and other retail establishments are governed in part by Florida Statutes § 768.0755, which requires the injured person to show the business had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition that caused the fall. Constructive knowledge can be proven by showing the condition existed long enough that the business should have discovered it, or that the condition occurred regularly and was therefore foreseeable.
How much does it cost to hire a premises liability attorney at TWWHB?
TWWHB accepts premises liability cases on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing up front, and we only collect a fee if we successfully recover compensation in your case. Your initial consultation is always free.
The property owner's insurance company has already offered me a settlement. Should I accept?
Early settlement offers are usually far less than a claim's actual value, because insurers hope injured people will accept quick money before understanding the full scope of their losses. Before accepting any offer, speak with a premises liability attorney who can evaluate whether the amount fairly reflects your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and future care needs.
What evidence helps prove a premises liability case?
Useful evidence may include surveillance video, incident reports, witness statements, photographs of the hazard, maintenance and inspection logs, prior complaints about similar conditions, and medical records documenting the injury. Our firm handles the evidence gathering for you.
Can I sue if I was injured on government property in Florida?
Yes, but claims against government entities involve additional rules, shorter notice deadlines, and statutory caps on damages. These cases require particular care, and you should contact a lawyer quickly if a city, county, or state agency is a potential defendant.
What if a loved one died in a premises liability accident?
Florida's Wrongful Death Act allows surviving family members to recover damages for the loss of a loved one caused by another party's negligence. Our attorneys handle these sensitive cases with care while pursuing full accountability against the responsible property owner or business.
Contact an Experienced Slip and Fall Attorney
At that point, the best thing you can do to make sure you protect your slip and fall claim and recover everything you are entitled to from the insurance company is contact a personal injury attorney experienced with slip and fall cases like our attorneys at Taylor, Warren, Weidner, Hancock & Barnes. The insurance company will begin gathering evidence immediately and may try to get information from you or others that will allow them to deny or underpay your claim. It is in your best interest to bring in an experienced injury attorney to protect your rights to a full recovery. If you have been injured in a slip and fall on someone else's property, contact us.