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Fort Myers Accident Lawyer Randall L. Spivey achieved a settlement for a woman who suffered injuries when she tripped and fell while visiting a Lee County outdoor shopping mall.  While walking on the sidewalk, the shopper’s foot struck an uneven lifted slab on the concrete sidewalk.  The plaintiff suffered significant injuries in the fall after striking her face and hands on the concrete.  The injuries were so severe that the plaintiff had to be taken to the emergency room.  Unfortunately, these injuries and accidents are very common and well known to shopping mall management, but often the malls fail to do regular preventative maintenance and at least warn of the hazards.  In this particular case, the hazard was large enough that a person could catch his or her foot on the uneven slabs, yet small enough that it was not readily seen by shoppers, especially when their attention is drawn to stores and shopping displays meant to attract shoppers’ attention. 

Fort Myers Accident Lawyer Randall L. Spivey has litigated these types of cases his entire career.  In this particular case, despite the serious injuries from the fall, the mall refused to provide a reasonable offer to compensate the plaintiff for her injuries before a lawsuit was filed.

Fort Myers Accident Lawyer Randall L. Spivey filed a lawsuit on the plaintiff’s behalf.  The mall denied liability and asserted it was not negligent and blamed the plaintiff for her fall.  Randall L. Spivey was able to win the case through investigation and depositions which showed that the uneven sidewalk where the plaintiff fell was a tripping hazard and that the mall had actual notice of the hazard as indicated by the marks discovered on the concrete slab that showed it had been previously ground down because it was a tripping hazard. 

Under the law, a premises owner, like the mall, has a non-delegable duty to maintain the premises in a safe condition and to warn of perils on the premises.   A premises owner’s non-delegable duty to maintain premises in a safe condition is a well-established principle of law recognized throughout Florida.  An owner or a party in possession or control of property may contract out of the performance of its non-delegable duty to an independent contractor, but it cannot contract out of its ultimate legal responsibility for the proper performance of its duty by the independent contractor; the party in possession or control is always responsible for the proper performance of this non-delegable duty, whether performed by himself, an employee, or an independent contractor.  In other words, even if a property owner delegates some responsibilities like maintenance to a third party, it cannot delegate its legal responsibility to maintain the premises in a safe condition.

Trip and fall injuries can result in very serious injuries.  It is important to hire an experienced Fort Myers Accident Attorney familiar with premises liability law who will stand up for you and who is experienced in litigating trip and fall cases like Fort Myers Accident Lawyer Randall L. Spivey.  

Should you or a loved one be injured because of the negligence of another, please contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. We are available to assist you 24/7, and there are no costs or attorney fees until we receive a monetary recovery for you.

Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by just one percent (1%) of Florida attorneys.  He has handled over 2,000 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida.  For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., in Lee County at 239.337.7483 or toll-free at 1.888.477.4839 or by email to Randall@SpiveyLaw.com  Visit Spivey Law.com for more information.  You can contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. in Charlotte County at 941.764.7748 and in Collier County at 239.793.7748.