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Premises Liability & Slip & Fall

Premises Liability Attorneys Litigate Slip & Fall Cases in Tampa, FL

Accomplished Accident Lawyers Hold Negligent Landlords Accountable

Premises liability is the area of the law that makes landlords responsible for hidden hazards on their property that injure lawful visitors. At Sessums Law Group, our experienced injury attorneys take an aggressive approach to slip and fall accidents and other premises liability claims. Our legal team draws on more than 72 years of accident litigation to build a compelling case for full, fair compensation. With close, personal attention to every detail of your case, we take the worry out of the legal process so you can concentrate on getting well again.

Common Venues for Premises Liability Cases in Tampa

Tampa is a lively community of about 360,000 people with a variety of amenities to enjoy. Sports fans can take in a Buccaneers game at Raymond James Stadium, see the Rays play ball at Tropicana Field or the Lightning skate at Amalie Arena. If you prefer the arts, you can take in a stage show at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, the Tampa Theatre, the Gorilla Theatre, or the MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre. The city features a variety of quality restaurants and bustling shopping areas. But besides being places of enjoyment, all of these venues are the types of sites where premises liability accidents often occur.

If you suffer a slip and fall at the theatre, cinema, a sports facility, a restaurant, or a shopping mall, seek medical attention immediately, and contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Premises liability cases are notoriously hard to prove, and any delay on your part could allow crucial evidence to be lost.

What You Must Prove to Win a Slip and Fall Injury Claim

As with auto accidents and other injury or wrongful death claims, a plaintiff in a premises liability claim must prove various elements of the case by a preponderance of the evidence:

  • Duty — Historically, the law assigned landlords different duties of care depending on whether the injured party was a business client, a social guest, or a trespasser. Today, the landlord’s duty of care is virtually the same toward anyone who has a lawful right to be on the property. The landlord has must be reasonable in discovering hazardous conditions hidden on the property and either warning visitors or removing the hazard. The only duty a landlord has toward an adult trespasser is to refrain from causing intentional harm. However, a landlord has a higher duty to child trespassers if there is an “attractive nuisance” (such as a swimming pool) that might lure children onto the property where they could be hurt.
  • Breach — A plaintiff must prove the landlord was not reasonable. Depending on the circumstances, this could mean the landlord gave inadequate warning about the hazard, didn’t know about the hazard when he should have known, or was too slow in removing it.
  • Causation — The fact that a hazard exists and is hidden must lead directly to the plaintiff’s injuries. Landlords are generally not responsible for “open and obvious” hazards because a reasonable visitor will avoid dangers they can plainly see. Likewise, the landlord is not responsible when a clumsy visitor falls on a perfectly safe staircase.
  • Damages — The injury event, such as a slip and fall, must directly cause the plaintiff’s injuries. If a visitor fell and broke an ankle, the landlord could be liable for all losses related to the injury, but not for food poisoning the visitor got at the hospital. The visitor could argue that “but for” the slip and fall he wouldn’t have been in the hospital, but the food poisoning would have an intervening cause, negligence in the hospital kitchen, for which the hospital would be responsible.
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Our Settlements & Verdicts

Sessums Law Group, P.A. Attorneys Take Pride in Delivering Exceptional Results for Our Valued Clients

Our top priority is to devise customized legal strategies that are tailored to the unique legal needs of our clients, no matter how simple or complicated their situations, might be.

  • $6,000,000.00 Recovery Fraud Civil Action

    Sessums Law Group, P.A. successfully recovered $6,000,000.00 for a client in a fraud civil action.  Prior to the client’s divorce, the client negotiated and executed an agreement with his wife’s boyfriend that sought that the boyfriend would have no contact with the client’s wife.

  • $2,740,000.00 Wrongful Death Hit/Run of Motorcyclist

    Representation of the plaintiff hit from behind on his motorcycle by a driver who was allegedly drunk at the time of the accident.  Sued the defendant; the bar that the defendant had been drinking and the defendant’s employer.

  • $1,929,000.00 Verdict Real Estate Deficiency

    Representation of estate in real estate deficiency claim resulting in joint and several liability verdict against various doctors and chiropractors.

  • $1,000,000.00 Settlement Collision

    Representation of estate in an automobile and tractor trailer collision that resulted in multiple deaths.

  • Confidential Settlement Amount Medical Malpractice

    Client was burned with a hot pack after delivering her son via Cesarean section.

  • Confidential Settlement Amount Nursing Home Negligence

    Representation of the Personal Representative of the Estate of the patient who died due to negligent care while in the care of the nursing home.

  • Confidential Settlement Amount Trolley Accident

    Representation of passengers who were enjoying a sight- seeing tour aboard a trolley when the trolley was hit by a bus. The passengers suffered soft tissue injuries.

  • Confidential Settlement Amount Hit & Run

    Sessums Law Group was recently successful in settling a case for a hard working Polk County man whose hit and run accident resulted in a need for a knee replacement.  The defendant argued that our client had caused the accident.  We were able to prove through expert accident reconstruction testimony that the accident happened as our client testified despite the minimal damage involved.

  • Confidential Settlement Stolen Property

    Client’s vehicle was burglarized and her engagement and wedding rings stolen. The perpetrator pawned the stolen items to a local pawn shop. The pawn shop ignored the hold order from the police department and sold the engagement and wedding rings. After suit filed for the Plaintiff, a confidential settlement was reached with the pawn shop for the value to our client of her stolen rings.

Florida Attorneys with Proven Expertise, Devoted to Exceptional Service

"Our firm believes in the integrity of the needs of the each client we represent. We are passionate about obtaining the maximum results allowable under the law for each client."

- Mark A. Sessums