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Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents

snow and ice on stairs in winter

Slips, trips, and falls kill tens of thousands of people across the United States each year. The majority of these accidents are preventable, caused by someone’s negligence. Slip and fall accidents can be avoided if premises operators follow proper safety precautions to keep their property safe for guests. Read on for some of the more common hazards that lead to slip and fall accidents, and call a dedicated Lancaster premises liability lawyer if you or a loved one has been hurt in a slip and fall in the Antelope Valley.

Wet floors

Slippery floors are the bread-and-butter of slip and fall claims. Wet floors can be caused by a spill, either left by an employee or created by a customer but undiscovered by negligent store staff. They can be left when someone cleans or waxes a floor and forgets to place a cautionary sign. Wet floors are also often caused by weather conditions outside a store or other business. Guests and customers track rainwater into the entryway of a business and the staff and supervisors fail to adequately monitor for new dangers. Wet, slippery floors seriously injure thousands of people across the country every year.

Loose objects or wiring

Many people trip and fall over objects left on the floor in stores or on construction sites. The loose objects may be equipment, inventory, or even personal belongings. Many people also trip over loose, unprotected wiring connecting machinery to power sources, especially at construction worksites. Even at a department store, however, a wire connecting a vacuum cleaner or carpet cleaner to an outlet can pose a significant tripping hazard for unwary guests.

Uneven floors

Many trip and fall accidents occur when a store, home, or other business has uneven flooring. There may be a sudden height change in the middle of the floor without proper signage, or a brick or floorboard may have come loose creating a risk of a person stubbing their toe and losing balance.

Inadequate lighting

Many slip and fall accidents occur in isolated spaces where there is not adequate lighting to see any hazards. A guest may be walking in a staircase, a hallway, a storage room, or any other location where a light has either gone out or there was not sufficient lighting to begin with. They are liable to trip over any objects or even fixtures such as stairs that they are unable to see due to the lack of lighting.

Loose flooring

In addition to uneven flooring and sudden height changes, many slip and fall accidents are caused by loose flooring. Victims may slip on unsecured carpets or rugs, or they may trip when a loose floorboard or brick causes them to lose stability.

Broken railings

Some of the most dangerous falls happen from higher surfaces. When a railing or handrail in a staircase, scaffolding, or banister breaks due to disrepair, guests are in serious danger of falling from a height or rolling down the stairs and incurring serious injury.

If you or someone you care about has been injured on someone else’s property in California, talk to a compassionate and experienced Lancaster premises liability attorney about pursuing a claim for damages by calling the Kistler Law Firm at 661-206-6990.

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