A Kansas City Slip and Fall Lawyer Can Help Obtain Compensation

Property owners are potentially responsible if someone slips and falls on their property because of a dangerous condition on the property. Some people mistakenly believe that if they fall and hurt themselves on someone else’s property, they have the right to sue the property owner. That is not always the case: certain conditions must be present in order to have a valid slip-and-fall claim.

At Yonke Law LLC, our Kansas City premises liability lawyer can help you determine whether you have a premises liability claim after a slip-and-fall accident, and we will fight to get you the compensation you need.

We have more than 20 years of experience handling these cases for clients throughout the area of Kansas City, Missouri, and our Kansas City slip and fall attorney will use this experience to fight for your interests.

A man who has slipped and fallen down stairs due to the negligence of a property owner and needs a Kansas City slip and fall lawyer.

Unsafe Conditions Leading to a Slip or Fall Accident

First of all, there must be an unsafe condition on the property. Slipping, or tripping, due to clumsiness will not suffice. The following could be considered unsafe conditions:

  • Wet flooring
  • Cracked/uneven sidewalks
  • Ice and snow
  • Debris that creates an uneven walking surface

The law does not necessarily require property owners to make their property perfectly smooth, and free from debris, at all times. The law says property owners have to keep their property reasonably safe. For example, if there is a snowstorm, a property owner is not expected to make the sidewalk bare and dry; rather, the property owner needs to make the property reasonably safe under the circumstances.

Notice

If a property owner does not know about a dangerous condition, the owner may not be responsible for accidents that occur because of it. Property owners are allowed a reasonable amount of time to become aware of unsafe conditions. For example, if someone knocks over a jar of pickles at the grocery store and a person immediately slips and falls on the pickle juice, the property owner is not likely going to be responsible.

Warning

Sometimes property owners cannot eliminate unsafe conditions. In these instances, the property owner can often get around liability by putting up warning signs. For example, you have probably seen signs at a store that let you know a floor has been recently mopped. The property owner cannot do much to make the water dry any faster, but the owner can warn people of the unsafe condition.

Your Responsibility

Believe it or not, the law expects people to be cautious. If you can clearly see an unsafe condition and choose to encounter it anyway (when you had a safer option), you probably will not have a valid slip-and-fall claim to bring to a Kansas City slip and fall attorney.

Summing It Up

In sum, you may have a valid slip-and-fall claim if the following are true:

  • You fell and were injured due to an unsafe condition on someone’s property.
  • The property owner knew about the unsafe condition or should have known because it had been there so long.
  • There was no warning of the unsafe condition.
  • You were not aware of the unsafe condition, or if you were aware, there were no safer options.

Contact Yonke Law LLC ∙ We Offer Free Case Evaluations

If you or a loved one has been injured in a slip-and-fall accident, call our Kansas City slip and fall lawyer at Yonke Law LLC at (816) 221-6400 or email us to schedule a free consultation to speak with one of our experienced personal injury attorneys today.