Imagine walking through a store, office building, or apartment complex, focused on your day. Suddenly, your foot catches on something unexpected—a raised tile, a dip in the floor, or a warped wooden plank. In an instant, you lose balance, hit the ground hard, and feel pain shoot through your body. What just happened?
Slip and fall accidents caused by uneven flooring happen more often than people realize. These accidents can lead to serious injuries, including broken bones, head trauma, and long-term mobility issues. What’s worse, they are often preventable. Property owners are legally responsible for keeping their premises safe, but many fail to fix hazards before someone gets hurt. For expert advice and to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve, consult a Bakersfield slip and fall lawyer.
This guide will discuss everything you need to know as someone who has sustained an injury in a slip and fall accident due to the floor’s unevenness.
What Is Uneven Flooring?
Uneven flooring is exactly what it sounds like—any surface that isn’t level. It might not seem like a big deal initially, but even a small bump or dip can be enough to send someone tumbling. You might not even notice the hazard until it’s too late.
Uneven flooring can manifest in various forms: cracked concrete, loose carpeting, raised thresholds, or even tiles that have settled unevenly over time. According to a report by the National Safety Council (NSC), one of the primary causes of tripping hazards is differences in the floor’s elevation (1/4 inches or greater). These discrepancies might seem trivial until you are the one falling because of them.
The biggest problem? Uneven floors don’t always come with warning signs. You expect the ground beneath you to be stable. A simple step can turn into a painful fall when it’s not. And if that happens, you deserve to know who is responsible and how to claim compensation for your losses and damages.
Common Causes of Uneven Flooring
Understanding what leads to uneven flooring is one of the first things you should do when considering filing a claim for a slip and fall accident. Here are some of the most frequent culprits behind uneven surfaces:
- Settling foundation: The ground beneath buildings can shift over time, causing the foundation to settle unevenly. It often results in floors that dip or rise in various spots, particularly in older structures or those built on less stable soil.
- Water damage: Leaks from pipes, roofs, or exterior flooding can weaken the subfloor, leading to swelling, warping, or rot. This degradation can create uneven areas as the floor materials lose their integrity.
- Wear and tear: Regular use, especially in high-traffic areas, can wear down flooring over the years. It can cause tiles to crack, carpets to stretch unevenly, or wooden planks to buckle or gap.
- Poor installation: If the initial flooring installation was not done correctly, you might find tiles that aren’t level or subflooring that wasn’t properly flattened before laying the new floor, leading to immediate or developing unevenness.
- Subfloor issues: Beneath your visible flooring lies the subfloor, and if this layer isn’t flat or has structural issues like sagging joists, the floor above will reflect these problems.
- Temperature changes: Certain materials like wood expand and contract with temperature fluctuations, which can cause unevenness, especially if there’s inadequate room for expansion or if the flooring isn’t properly acclimated to the environment before installation.
Each of these causes contributes to an unsafe walking surface and can also be evidence of negligence if a property owner has failed to address known or foreseeable issues. If your accident was due to one of these common causes, it might strengthen your case when seeking compensation for injuries.
Who Is Responsible for the Floor’s Unevenness?
When it comes to ensuring the floors are safe and even, responsibility generally falls on the shoulders of property owners and managers. Here’s who you should look at when assessing liability for an uneven floor:
Property Owners
Whether it’s a private home, commercial building, or rental property, the owner is primarily responsible for maintaining the premises. It includes regular inspections to identify and rectify hazards like uneven flooring. Neglecting to do so can be considered negligence, especially if the owner was aware of the issue or should have been aware through routine maintenance checks.
- Example: Imagine visiting a historical museum where the floors have not been maintained over the years. You trip on a noticeably uneven section of the marble floor in the main exhibit hall, resulting in a wrist fracture. The property owner, responsible for the overall upkeep of the building, can be liable for neglecting to repair or warn about known dangerous conditions.
Property Managers or Landlords
In scenarios involving leased or rented spaces, the management or landlord has a duty to ensure the property is safe for tenants and visitors. They are often responsible for ongoing maintenance, which should include checking for and correcting uneven flooring.
- Example: You rent a commercial space in a shopping center where you operate your café. A tenant before you left the floor with some tiles raised due to previous water damage, and the property manager, aware of this, did not fix it before your lease began. If you or a customer slip on this uneven flooring, the property manager could be held accountable for failing to ensure the premises were safe before leasing it.
Business Operators
Operators must keep their premises safe for retail stores, restaurants, or any business open to the public. It includes immediate cleaning or fixing of obvious hazards and regular assessments to prevent issues like uneven floors.
- Example: A local supermarket where you are shopping has a section near the checkout where the flooring has become uneven over time due to heavy carts being dragged across it daily. The business operator might be liable if you trip, fall, and sprain your ankle here. They have a duty to inspect and maintain their business premises, especially high-traffic areas.
Construction and Maintenance Teams
If recent work has been done, those who installed or repaired the flooring might bear some responsibility, especially if the unevenness results from substandard work or materials.
- Example: During renovations at an office building, the construction team was supposed to fix all uneven areas in the flooring. However, they missed a spot in the lobby where the floor now has a slight but significant lip due to improper installation. If an employee falls here, suffering injuries, the construction or maintenance team can be responsible for their negligence or poor workmanship.
Tenants
In some cases, especially in commercial leases where the tenant is responsible for certain upkeep, they might need to ensure their part of the property is maintained. However, this typically doesn’t extend to structural issues unless explicitly stated in the lease.
- Example: In a multi-tenant building, one tenant decides to DIY some floor repairs in their leased retail space but does a shoddy job, leaving parts of the floor uneven. If another tenant or customer visiting this store falls because of this, the tenant who performed the repairs can be liable. This is especially true if they didn’t inform or get approval from the landlord for such modifications, which might breach their lease agreement.
Ultimately, the law often hinges on the concept of foreseeability and duty of care. If an entity knew or should have known about an uneven floor and failed to address it, they can be held accountable. Consider speaking with a personal injury attorney who can help investigate your accident and determine who is liable.
Can You File a Claim for Slip and Fall Accidents Caused by Uneven Flooring?
If you have suffered injuries because of uneven flooring, you might be wondering if you are entitled to compensation.
The short answer? Yes, you can file a compensation claim, but only if you can prove someone else’s negligence, which, according to the American Bar Association (ABA), means failing to act in a manner a reasonable person would in similar circumstances.
Here’s what you need to know about filing your claim.
Premises Liability
Property owners or managers have a legal obligation to maintain safe premises. When they fail to address obvious hazards like uneven flooring, they can be held liable for any injuries that occur as a result. Uneven flooring is not just an inconvenience. It’s a genuine danger that can lead to serious injuries like sprains, fractures, or even traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls are responsible for nearly half of the hospitalizations related to TBIs.
When Can You File a Claim?
To file a claim successfully, several factors need to align:
- Duty of care: The property owner must have had a duty to keep the area safe. This is almost always the case for public places like malls, supermarkets, or office buildings.
- Breach of duty: You need to demonstrate that the property owner knew or should have known about the uneven flooring but failed to fix it. Lack of maintenance, repair negligence, or ignoring complaints can all point to this.
- Causation: Your injury must be directly linked to the uneven flooring. Did you fall because of that raised tile, or was it because you weren’t paying attention? This connection is critical.
- Damages: Finally, you must have suffered some form of harm to be entitled to compensation. This can be medical bills, lost earnings due to inability to work, pain and suffering, etc.
How Long Do You Have to File a Claim?
Remember, there’s a statute of limitations on how long you have to file a claim. This varies by state, but typically, you have between one to three years from the date of the accident. In California, for example, you have two years to sue the liable party, according to the official website of the Judicial Branch of California. Missing this window can mean losing your right to claim.
What If Your Claim for Compensation Is Unsuccessful?
So, you have filed a claim after a slip and fall, but it didn’t work out. Maybe the insurance company denied it, or the settlement offer was too low. What now? Don’t lose hope—filing a lawsuit can be your next step.
Sometimes, the evidence isn’t strong enough. Or the property owner argues they weren’t negligent. It can be a reason for taking your dispute to court.
If negotiations fall flat, you might want to consider filing a lawsuit. However, this would mean presenting your case to a judge or jury. It’s a chance to fight for what you deserve when other doors close.
But what happens in a lawsuit? Your slip and fall lawyer will file legal papers to start the process. They will gather more evidence (e.g., photos or witness statements) to build a more compelling case. Then, they will argue your side, showing how the uneven flooring caused your injury.
Keep in mind, however, that lawsuits take time and effort. And that’s something a competent lawyer will warn you about. There’s no guarantee you will win, but if you do, the payout can cover medical bills, lost earnings, and much more.
Feeling stuck after a denied claim? Filing a lawsuit might sound intimidating, but with a personal injury lawyer, it’s a clear path forward. Talk to your attorney and see if it’s time to escalate your fight for justice.
How Can an Attorney Help if You Were Injured in a Slip and Fall Accident?
Did you get hurt because of a fall? Here’s how a personal injury attorney can help out.
- They know the law: Slip and fall cases are tricky. An attorney understands your rights and the laws that protect you.
- They build a strong case: Did you gather all the evidence? If not, your lawyer will. They will look for witnesses, compile medical records, secure surveillance footage, and more.
- The deal with insurance: Insurance companies can be challenging. Your attorney will negotiate with them, aiming for the best settlement for you.
- They prove fault: Who’s to blame? Your slip and fall lawyer will work to show that the property owner (or another liable party) was negligent.
- They handle paperwork: Legal documents are confusing. Let your attorney manage them so you don’t miss any details.
- They fight for you: If your case goes to court, having a lawyer by your side means you are not alone. They will argue your case with professionalism and dedication.
Reach Out To A Slip and Fall Attorney
The path forward may seem daunting if you have suffered a slip and fall. But there is a glimmer of hope. A Bakersfield personal injury attorney is more than an ally—they are your dedicated advocate who can transform adversity into opportunity and obtain the compensation to which you are entitled under the law.