Slip and fall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Slip and fall, in United States tort law, is a claim or case based on a person slipping (or tripping) and falling. It is a tort, and based on a claim that the property owner was negligent in allowing some dangerous condition to exist that caused the slip or trip.
Property owners generally have two basic defenses to Public liability slip and fall claims:
- The first defense is that they were not negligent. For example, the owner may claim that the banana that a patron slipped upon had been dropped on the floor only moments ago by another patron, and that, in the exercise of due diligence, a typical store owner acting with reasonable care would not have had time to discover the danger and take steps to mitigate the danger.
- The second and more typical defense is that the person who was injured was at fault. For example, the owner may claim that any reasonable patron, exercising due diligence for his or her own safety, would see a banana on the floor, and take those steps necessary to avoid slipping on it.
Because of a general perception that slip and falls are at least partly the fault of the person injured, slip and fall injuries are usually worth less than injuries from other types of torts.
For slip and fall investigations, the incident walking surface slip resistance can be measured. The surface can be tested to identify if it is above or below accepted levels of slip resistance thresholds. [4][1]
Special instruments are available to measure slip resistance. For example, The English XL Slip Meter, also known as a VIT (Variable Incidence Tribometer) is a portable "slip tester", designed to test the coefficient of friction or "slip index" on various walking surfaces, level or incline (even steps), under dry and wet (or otherwise contaminated) conditions by mimicking certain pedestrian bio-mechanical parameters. The objective measurements that can be analyzed and compared with "normal" walking forces and industry standards regarding flooring slip resistance. [5] [6][2] [3]
