Orlando Slip-and-Fall Lawyer

You fell on someone else’s property, and you’re hurt, and the question now is whether this is worth pursuing. The answer usually turns on whether the property owner knew about the hazard, or should have. An Orlando slip and fall lawyer can help investigate that, because key evidence may be in the property owner’s control.  Give DWK Law a call at (407) 244-3000 to request a free consultation.

How our team at DWK Law handles an Orlando slip and fall case

While you’re getting treatment, somebody has to ask the property owner for the incident report and the video. Our Orlando personal injury lawyers do that in the first days, because store footage gets overwritten on a loop.

Premises cases get decided on documents the other side controls. Prying them loose takes an investigator and often an expert, both paid for long before a settlement exists. DWK Law funds that work rather than asking you to. The firm also limits how many new clients it takes, which is why a slip and fall case here gets the same attention as a case worth more.

A fall at a theme park or a hotel raises the same notice question as a fall in a grocery store, with a larger legal department on the other side. Our theme park injury page covers how those claims differ.

DWK Law is a Central Florida law firm that has been practicing since 1989, out of a single office in Orlando. Slip and fall claims sit inside premises liability, which is its own area of personal injury law with its own proof requirements. You work with an attorney, not a case manager, and we work on a contingency fee basis, so you pay no attorney’s fees or costs unless compensation is recovered.

Premises liability verdicts and settlements

Our premises liability case results include a $3 million recovery and a $500,000 recovery. Settlement values track the specific injuries and losses in each case, so past results don’t predict what any new slip and fall case is worth.

What our valued clients say

★ ★ ★ ★ ★
“Bill Ruffier and DeDe O’Dair treated my case with such care and kept me informed on the progress. They made a most unpleasant time in my life bearable, and I am truly grateful for them!” —Jane 

★ ★ ★ ★ ★
“I have had Mr. Ruffier represent me for several years. He made sure I knew what was going on at all times and explained everything in detail. I trust this company and will work with them whenever needed.” —Roseann 

★ ★ ★ ★ ★
“From start to finish, they demonstrated top-tier legal acumen, sound judgment, and exceptional responsiveness. Their professionalism, clear and consistent communication, steady guidance, and invaluable emotional support throughout a very challenging period made a decisive difference. I recommend their services without hesitation and with the highest confidence.” —Shamene 

What causes most slip and fall accidents?

Most slip and fall accidents are caused by a walking surface that changed, and nobody flagged it. Most slip and fall accidents come down to something spilled, something broken, or something left where people walk:

• Liquid spills and freshly mopped floors
• Torn carpeting and damaged flooring
• Broken steps or missing handrails
• Poor lighting
• Cables and clutter in walkways
• Uneven thresholds and parking lot drop-offs

Which one hurt you matters more than it sounds. A spill is a transitory foreign substance under Florida law and carries its own proof requirement. Torn carpet is a permanent condition and falls under ordinary premises liability rules instead. Photograph the surface before anybody cleans it up, and write down what it looked like while it’s fresh. That record is the first thing a trip and fall lawyer in Orlando will want when you open an insurance claim.

What injuries do slip and fall accidents cause?

More than people expect. Falls are the leading cause of preventable nonfatal injuries treated in emergency departments, at 35% of the total in 2023, and they rank second among preventable injury deaths, according to the National Safety Council. The slip and fall injuries we see most often:

• Broken bones, especially wrists and hips
• Soft tissue injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
• Internal bleeding
• Face and dental injuries
• Joint damage
• Wrongful death, in the most serious fall accidents

Fall injuries, including brain trauma and spinal damage, can take months to show their full extent. A fall that heals can still leave chronic pain or permanent limits behind, and that part of the injury case is often worth more than the medical bills from the first month.

What to do after a slip and fall accident

Four things, in roughly this order.

Report it to the property

Tell a manager before you leave, so an official record exists. Ask for a copy of the incident report. If they won’t give you one, note who you spoke to and when.

Get medical care

See a doctor the same day if you can. A physician can find the injuries adrenaline is hiding, and the record created that day is what ties your injuries to the fall. Keep every bill and discharge instruction.

Document the scene

A claim needs evidence, so be sure to document the scene: Take photos of the hazard from several angles, along with the surrounding area and your shoes. Get names from anyone who saw it.

Call a personal injury attorney

A slip and fall attorney can send a preservation letter to the business before the footage is overwritten. 

How do you prove a property owner was negligent?

You can prove negligence and comparative fault by showing four things, each with evidence behind it:

• The property owner owed you a duty to keep the premises reasonably safe
• They breached that duty by creating the hazard or leaving it unaddressed
• The breach caused your fall
• You suffered losses as a result

Florida Statute § 768.81 lets the defense argue you were partly responsible, which reduces your recovery by your share of the fault. Above 50%, you recover nothing. That rule gets raised in nearly every fall case, so ask a fall attorney in Orlando what yours needs to meet these personal injury law requirements. 

What “notice” means in an Orlando slip and fall case

Notice is the part most claims turn on, and it’s a burden that sits on you rather than the business. Under Florida Statute § 768.0755, a person who slips on a transitory foreign substance in a business establishment has to prove the business had actual or constructive knowledge of it.

Constructive knowledge can be proven two ways. Either the substance sat there long enough that a reasonably careful business should have found it, or that kind of spill happened with regularity and was therefore foreseeable. The second route is the one people miss. If the ice machine in the lobby leaks every weekend, the puddle doesn’t need to have been there an hour.

A missing wet floor sign is evidence, but it doesn’t replace the knowledge requirement, which is why the video and the cleaning logs matter.

Talking to the insurance company after a fall

Say as little as you can and don’t guess. An adjuster calling in week one is building a file, and what helps them most is an admission of fault or a recorded statement.

Insurance companies also tend to argue the hazard was open and obvious, meaning you should have seen it. A slip and fall lawyer in Orlando can answer that before it hardens into the insurance company’s position.

How a slip and fall claim moves forward

Three stages, and the first one is the longest.

Investigation

Your lawyer collects the incident report, the surveillance video, the maintenance logs, and any prior complaints about the same hazard. That last one is how constructive knowledge gets proven.

Demand

Once your treatment stabilizes, your lawyer sends a demand letter laying out what happened and what it cost you. Settling before you know your prognosis is how people end up short.

Negotiation

Most slip and fall cases settle. The ones that settle well are the ones where the insurer can see the file is ready for a courtroom.

How long do you have to file a slip and fall claim in Florida?

Two years from the date of the fall, under Florida Statute § 95.11(5)(a).

Two exceptions get stated wrong a lot, so here they are straight. Being a minor or becoming incapacitated usually doesn’t extend the deadline. Florida Statute § 95.051(2) says a disability doesn’t toll a limitations period except in the narrow situations the statute lists, and for a child that can include periods when no parent, guardian, or guardian ad litem exists, has an adverse interest, or is incapacitated to sue. 

A fall on a city or county sidewalk is the other one. Claims against a government body aren’t on a shorter clock in Florida; they’re on a different track. Florida Statute § 768.28 requires written notice to the agency within three years, then a waiting period until the claim is denied or six months pass, with four years overall. It also caps recovery at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident. More steps and a ceiling, rather than less time.

Frequently asked questions about slip and falls in Orlando

Do I have a case if I slipped but didn’t fall all the way to the ground?

Possibly. What matters is whether you were injured, not whether you hit the floor. Catching yourself hard on a railing can tear a shoulder, and a wrenched back from a near-fall is a real injury with real medical bills.

Can I file a claim if I slipped in a store but didn’t report it right away?

Yes, though it gets harder. The business will argue the delay means it didn’t happen there. Get medical attention, file a late incident report anyway, and tell your lawyer about the gap so it’s handled early rather than at a deposition.

What if I slipped on a substance I didn’t see, or one that had just spilled?

You can still bring a claim, but § 768.0755 requires proof the business knew or should have known. A spill seconds old is the hardest version of that, and the way through it is usually the regularity route: showing the same hazard kept happening in the same spot.

Can I still recover if I was wearing the wrong shoes or looking at my phone?

Possibly. Any fault assigned to you can reduce your recovery. Under § 768.81, your recovery drops by your percentage of fault, and above 50% it disappears. Footwear and phone use are the first two things the defense reaches for, which is a reason to talk to a lawyer before you talk to the adjuster.

Can I file a claim for a fall on a sidewalk or public property?

Yes, though a claim against a city or county runs on the government track: written notice within three years, a wait until the claim is denied or six months pass, and a cap of $200,000 per person. Those differences are worth getting in front of a lawyer early.

Will store surveillance footage be available for my claim?

Only if somebody asks in time. Many systems overwrite on a cycle of days or weeks, and once it’s gone, it generally can’t be recovered. A written preservation demand is what keeps it.

Talk to an Orlando slip and fall attorney

If you were hurt on someone else’s property in Central Florida, DWK Law will look at what happened and tell you honestly whether you have a claim. Our office is at 719 Vassar Street in Orlando, and we work on a contingency fee basis, so you pay no attorney’s fees or costs unless compensation is recovered.

Call (407) 244-3000  or contact us online to request a free consultation.