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Faith, Ledyard & Faith, PLC dba Faith Law
Faith, Ledyard & Faith, PLC dba Faith Law

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  4.  » How knowledge of a defect can impact a slip-and-fall case

How knowledge of a defect can impact a slip-and-fall case

Slip-and-fall accidents can result in catastrophic injuries. When an Arizona resident takes a tumble due to a dangerous property condition, they may find themselves facing serious personal and financial stress due to their accident-related losses. Depending on the facts of their case, their losses may be compensable as damages in a personal injury lawsuit.

This post does not provide any legal advice and all slip-and-fall victims can choose to contact personal injury attorneys of their choice. An attorney can explain the unique circumstances of their client’s case and can help them develop a strategy to become whole.

Claims arising from slip-and-fall accidents often focus on the negligence of the property owner. One critical factor in a property-based personal injury case can be what, if any, knowledge the property owner had of the dangerous property condition before the accident occurred.

Actual or constructive knowledge of a property defect

There are different circumstances under which a property owner may be found to have knowledge of a dangerous property condition. They may have actual knowledge of the defect if they created it themselves, or if they discovered it during an inspection of their property. They may also be found to have constructive knowledge of property defects. Constructive knowledge of a defect arises when a property owner should have known about a defect through the exercise of reasonable care of their property. A long-existing defect may also be considered known to a property owner if a reasonable property owner would have discovered it during their course of ownership of the property.

The role of knowledge in a slip-and-fall case

When it can be shown that a property owner had actual or constructive knowledge of a property defect and did nothing to fix it before allowing others to enter onto their property, a victim may have the beginnings of a case for their personal injury losses. Personal injury claims based on negligence involve evaluations of how reasonably allegedly negligent parties acted and what they did in response to their knowledge of dangerous circumstances. Further information on these important personal injury law topics should be sought from knowledgeable Avondale-based attorneys.

 

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