Under What Circumstances Can I Sue for a Slip and Fall?

Use these links to jump to different sections:

• Comparative Negligence for Slip and Fall Accidents
• Make Sure You Meet Legal Deadlines
• A Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You Get Justice

Under Mississippi law, property owners and property occupiers owe a duty of care to customers and other permitted guests.

This duty of care requires these parties to ensure reasonably safe conditions on their premises. Among other things, this means preventing and removing dangerous slipping and tripping hazards.

You may have slip and fall accident claim against a business or property owner if your accident was caused by an unreasonable safety hazard, such as:

• Wet floors due to uncleaned leaks or spills
• Tattered carpets/rugs
• Loose cords or wires strung through walkways
• Broken floorboards or stairs
• Lack of lighting in stairwells

Comparative Negligence for Slip and Fall Accidents

Notably, Mississippi is a comparative negligence state for slip and fall cases.

To hold a business or property owner liable, you must prove that their negligence—failure to take due care—contributed to your accident. In turn, a defendant may try to reduce their share of the liability by countering that your improper actions, such as being in a part of the property where you were not allowed or running in a hallway, also contributed to the slip and fall accident.

“The fact that Mississippi is a true comparative negligence state is actually a benefit in that a defendant can still be found negligent for whatever percentage of negligence they are responsible for, regardless of any negligence on the part of the plaintiff,” says Rocky Wilkins, a personal injury attorney at law firm Morgan & Morgan in Jackson.

“If Mississippi was a contributory negligence state, any negligence on the part of the plaintiff would be a bar to recovery.”

Make Sure You Meet Legal Deadlines

Under MS Code § 15-1-49, a slip and fall accident injury lawsuit is subject to a strict 3-year statute of limitations.

Any legal claim must be filed within three years of the date of the fall accident—otherwise, the case will be automatically dismissed.

A Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You Get Justice

Mississippi has complex premises liability laws. For this reason, it is imperative that you seek professional representation as soon as possible after a slip and fall accident. An attorney will help you gather the evidence and information that you need to prove liability.

You deserve compensation for the full extent of your damages. Money may be available for: medical bills, rehabilitative care, lost wages, pain and suffering, and disability/disfigurement.

If you or your loved one was injured in a slip and fall accident, contact an experienced Mississippi personal injury attorney for legal advice and support. Many slip and fall lawyers provide free consultations to learn about your situation and let you know if you have a good fall claim.

“A lot of potential clients think they cannot recover because the business won’t admit any wrongdoing,” says Wilkins. “Before taking the defendant’s word, you should talk to a lawyer because there are several ways to prove that a business did something wrong.”

If you’d like to learn more information about personal injury lawsuits and premises liability claims, please see our overviews on personal injury law and premises liability law.