Prerequisites to Pursuing a Slip and Fall Personal Injury Claim

davechurch
Nov 1
5 min read

Wet floor without a warning sign, a common slip and fall hazard in public spaces

Slip and fall accidents are common, but not every stumble leads to a successful legal claim. To pursue a slip and fall personal injury claim in Washington, certain prerequisites or conditions should be met. In other words, you need to establish specific elements to hold a property owner liable for your injuries. If you’ve slipped or tripped and are considering legal action, here’s what must be in place for your claim to move forward.

1. An Unsafe Condition Existed

First and foremost, there must have been a dangerous condition on the property that caused your fall. Common slip/trip hazards include:

Wet or slippery substances on the floor (spills, freshly mopped surfaces with no warning signs, ice or snow buildup).
Uneven flooring or pavement (potholes, broken tiles, frayed carpeting, raised sidewalk edges).
Obstacles in walkways (cords across aisles, clutter, merchandise fallen on the floor).
Poor lighting that prevents you from seeing hazards. Essentially, something that a reasonably careful property owner should have fixed or warned about. If you simply tripped over your own shoelaces or lost balance without any hazard present, there isn’t a basis for a claim. Prerequisite #1: Identify a specific dangerous condition that caused the fall.

Cracked or uneven pavement showing a hazardous walking surface that could lead to a fall

2. Actual or Constructive Notice

Next, you must show the property owner or occupier knew or should have known about the hazard and had a chance to address it. This is often the toughest prerequisite to establish:

Actual notice: The owner/employee actually knew of the problem. Perhaps they created it (e.g., an employee spilled a bucket of water and didn’t clean it up) or another customer reported the spill to staff before you fell.
Constructive notice: The hazard existed long enough or was so obvious that the owner should have discovered it with routine care. For example, a puddle in a grocery aisle that’s been there for 30 minutes without cleanup might be considered something the store should have noticed in that time through reasonable inspections. If a hazard appeared only moments before your fall (like another shopper dropping a bottle that shatters seconds before you walk through), the owner may argue they had no reasonable opportunity to find and fix it – thus no negligence on their part. Prerequisite #2: The owner had notice of the dangerous condition (or caused it) and failed to fix or warn in time.

Store aisle with cords or merchandise cluttering the walkway, representing trip hazards

3. You Were Lawfully on the Property

Generally, to owe you a duty of care, you must have been on the property legally (an invitee or licensee, as discussed earlier). If you were trespassing in a clearly off-limits area, the standards to hold the owner liable are much higher (they typically only can’t willfully harm trespassers). So:

Were you shopping in a store during business hours? Lawful – duty applies.
Were you visiting someone’s home as a guest? Lawful – duty applies.
Did you go into a “Employees Only” zone of a shop out of curiosity and slip? Possibly outside the scope of invitation – duty might be lesser. Prerequisite #3: Your presence was expected or permitted. (There are nuances, e.g., “attractive nuisance” for child trespassers, but generally, being where you’re allowed to be solidifies the owner’s duty to keep it safe.)

Dimly lit hallway making hazards hard to see, emphasizing the importance of proper lighting to prevent falls

4. Lack of Reasonable Care on Your Part (Comparative Fault Considerations)

While Washington’s comparative fault law doesn’t bar you from recovery if you were partly at fault, the strength of a slip and fall claim often hinges on showing you weren’t acting carelessly yourself. Expect the insurance company to ask: Were you distracted or disregarding an obvious hazard? Some prerequisites to a strong claim from your side:

You weren’t running, looking at your phone, or horsing around in a way that contributed significantly to the fall.
The hazard wasn’t open and obvious such that a reasonable person would have seen and avoided it. (This isn’t an automatic bar in Washington, but an “obvious” hazard can reduce owner liability if you saw it and chose to chance it.) This doesn’t mean you must be perfect – accidents happen in a split second. But if there’s video of you texting and not noticing a “Caution: Wet Floor” sign, expect your claim’s viability to diminish. Prerequisite #4: You exercised normal care but still fell victim to a hazard.

Employee walking past a spill, illustrating failure to address dangerous conditions on a property

5. Documented Injuries and Causation

Finally, to pursue a claim you need actual damages – typically an injury. It’s important to link the injuries directly to the fall:

Seek medical attention soon after the incident. A gap in treatment can raise doubts.
Ensure the incident is documented – report it to the store or property owner right away so there’s a record (incident report).
If possible, take photos of the hazard and your injuries. Having evidence of the unsafe condition (photos, witness statements, surveillance video) is a huge bonus and often a practical prerequisite for success. If it’s just your word against the owner’s and no one can see what caused you to fall, cases get harder to prove. Prerequisite #5: Solid evidence of your injury and that the fall caused it (and proof of the hazard itself).

Caution sign on a newly cleaned wet floor, an example of proper hazard notice by property owners

Additional Steps to Strengthen Your Slip and Fall Claim

Even if you have all the above elements, slip and fall cases can be challenging. To improve your chances:

Collect Witnesses: If anyone saw the fall or the hazard, get their contact info. Eyewitnesses can confirm the existence of the hazard and that you fell because of it.
Preserve Evidence: As mentioned, photos of the scene, the shoes you wore (to show they were appropriate and in good condition), and even the clothes if they got wet or dirty in the fall.
Consult an Attorney Early: A lawyer can help gather video footage (many businesses overwrite surveillance video after a short time), obtain maintenance logs, and possibly find prior complaints of hazards on the property.

Injured person being helped after slipping in a commercial property, signifying the aftermath of an unsafe condition

Church, Page & Gailan – Making Your Slip and Fall Case Stand on Solid Ground

At Church, Page & Gailan PLLC, we know what it takes to prove a slip and fall claim in Washington. Our attorneys will quickly evaluate whether the key prerequisites are met. If they are, we’ll get to work immediately, investigating the site of your accident and preserving crucial evidence. We know how to demonstrate a property owner’s negligence and defeat the “blame the victim” tactics often used in these cases. From documenting your injuries to establishing the owner’s knowledge of the hazard, our team covers every prerequisite element with precision.

Call to Action: Did you slip, trip, or fall due to a property owner’s negligence? Call Church, Page & Gailan PLLC at (509) 638-1414 for a free case review. We’ll assess whether your situation meets the criteria for a strong slip and fall claim and guide you through the next steps. Don’t let a painful fall trip up your finances – let us help you pursue the compensation you deserve.