What is Florida's law for slip and fall settlements?

Answer 1

Until recently, slip and fall law in Florida was somewhat favorable to injured plaintiffs. In the case of Owens v. Publix Supermarkets, 802 So.2d 315 (2001), the Florida Supreme Court set the previous standard for proving slip and fall accidents involving transitory substances on floors. The rule stated by the Owens Court was that "the existence of a foreign substance on the floor of a business premises that causes a customer to fall and be injured is not a safe condition and the existence of that unsafe condition creates a rebuttable presumption that the premises owner did not maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition." This effectively eliminated the need for a plaintiff to show that the property owner was aware that the substance was on the floor and failed to clean it up.

This is about to change. Governor Christ recently signed HB 689, which becomes effective July 1, 2010 as Florida Statute 768.0755. The new statute effectively overturns the Owens decision. Now an injured plaintiff will have to prove that something was on the floor that caused the fall, and that the property owner knew or should have known it was there and failed to take the necessary action to clean it up. This is certainly a much higher burden for slip and fall victims.

Although the law becomes effective July 1, 2010, there is some question as to whether it will impact injuries that occurred before the effective date of the law. In most situations, laws may only operate prospectively to affect incidents that occur after the effective date. There are, however, many instances when a law can directly impact cases arising before the law if effective. Certainly defense attorneys hired by the property owners will argue that the new law should be applied to cases filed after July 1, even if the fall was much earlier. These issues require careful analysis of complex areas of the law. If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident, but have not yet filed suit, you should speak with an experienced personal attorney to determine how the new law will affect your case.