In order to collect damages in a slip and fall case, your slip and fall attorney must be able to prove that someone was negligent. There are many laws governing slip and fall cases. Generally, property must be maintained in a reasonably safe condition. The party who is responsible for maintaining the property is not necessarily the owner of the property. The responsible party is the owner unless this responsibility has been shifted to someone else through a contract.

An example of this might be a tenant, if the lease states that the tenant assumes responsibility for maintenance of the property.

One of the factors necessary to prove that a party was negligent in a slip and fall case is to show that the party received notice that the property was in a defective condition. There are two forms of this notice:

• Actual notice: If the party responsible for maintaining the property actually received written notice or was told about the defect, or created the condition and failed to fix it within a reasonable time, that party may be found responsible for your slip and fall injury.
• Constructive notice: If the defective condition that caused your fall existed for a long period of time and the party responsible for maintaining the property should have known about it and failed to fix it in a reasonable time, then that party may be found responsible for your slip and fall injury