What if There Were No Warning Signs When I Fell?

You may assume that you are safe to navigate through someone else’s premises if there are no posted warning signs that indicate otherwise. But still, you may unexpectedly experience a slip and fall. You may wonder whether these are enough grounds to sue a property owner. Well, please follow along to find out what you can do if there were no warning signs when you fell, and how a proficient Miami slip & fall lawyer at the Law Offices of Gonzalo Funes, PA, can help you utilize this fact effectively in your claim. 

Is it considered negligent not to post warning signs?

Under Florida law, property owners are expected to know about potentially hazardous conditions on their premises. Beyond discovering it, they should take reasonable precautions so that a welcome visitor does not get unnecessarily injured by encountering it. Such precautions may entail blocking access to the general area, or most notably, posting a warning sign in its vicinity. Therefore, in your premises liability claim, you may argue that a property owner acted negligently in failing to warn about a danger with proper signage. 

Of note, Florida law may not exactly require that warning signs be posted for hazards that are deemed “open and obvious.” This may be an insurance company’s attempt to dismiss your claim or minimize your payout. However, you must not let this discourage you from fighting for monetary damages. This is because you can still argue that if these dangers were so blatant, a property owner should have possessed actual knowledge of them. And further, they should have known that they would eventually cause harm if left unaddressed. 

How do I prove there were no warning signs when I fell?

You can claim that there was no warning sign posted at the site where you fell, but without material proof, it may be your word against the property owner’s. This is why you must do your due diligence in documenting the scene before you walk away from it. For one, you must take photos and videos of the hazard that caused your accident, along with the surrounding area, to indicate a lack of signage. Then, when speaking with law enforcement, medical professionals, and insurance providers, your provided statements must be carefully consistent. 

Later on, your lawyer may obtain a court order to acquire surveillance camera footage of your accident. This video may show in black and white that there were no warning signs. Then, they may help you track down eyewitnesses, frequent visitors, or workers of the premises, who may testify that the dangerous conditions existed for a considerable amount of time. Therefore, this may help your argument that the property owner held constructive knowledge of the hazard, in that it existed long enough or occurred regularly enough for them to have addressed it. 

To get started on gathering this essential evidence, employ the legal aid of a talented Miami-Dade County injury lawyer from the Law Offices of Gonzalo Funes, PA. No matter what part of the process you are at, we will meet you there without any hesitation.