Personal Injury, Premise Liability, and Slip and Fall: What’s the Difference?
Written by Cooper & Friedman PLLC on January 10, 2024
Legal terms that are used to describe cases can be rather confusing and disorienting when two or more terms are used interchangeably. Premise liability and slip-and-fall cases are oftentimes used in this way. However, although they are connected, they are not the same! Instead, these terms – along with ‘personal injury’ – are more like nesting dolls: each is a subsection of another term.
Personal Injury
As the broadest term of the bunch, personal injury is a term that applies to cases having to do with any injury to a person’s body, emotions, or reputation. They do not not include injury to property. Personal injury cases can be brought to court on three grounds:
- Negligence
- Strict Liability
- Intentional Torts
Premise Liability
Premise liability falls under the second grounds of Strict Liability. Strict Liability means that the defendant is being held liable for causing harm to a person’s body, emotions, or reputation regardless of mental state or intent. However, the term ‘premise liability’ is still a very broad term, and can include:
- Slip and fall
- Elevator or stairway accidents
- Negligent security
- Fire safety and building code violations
- Inadequate lighting
- Falling objects
- Swimming pool accidents
- Dog bites or dangerous animal attacks
In order to be successful in any type of premise liability case, the prosecution will have to be able to prove three things:
- That the dangerous condition existed on someone else’s property
- That the property owner, property manager, or other person responsible for the property was negligent
- That because of the negligence, you sustained bodily, emotional, or reputational damage
Slip and Fall
The term ‘slip and fall’ refers to the specific kind of premise liability accident. This is where an individual receives an injury from slipping and falling on an uneven, slippery, greasy, icy, or other hazardous surface on the premise of the defendant. In order to win a slip and fall case, there are many factors that have to be considered – sometimes on a time frame. They are:
- Statute of Limitations
- Proof of Negligence
- Open and Obvious Doctrine
- Comparative Negligence
- Injury Timeline
- Evidence
Read more about these considerations in our blogs, “6 Factors to Consider for a Slip and Fall Case” and “Expanding Definitions: Comparative Negligence and the Open and Obvious Doctrine.”
Call Cooper and Friedman in Louisville, KY Today!
Personal injury, premise liability, or slip and fall, Cooper and Friedman are here to help. Whether you are unsure if your case falls under one of the three or you need assistance taking it to court, when you need a personal injury lawyer of any kind based out of Louisville, KY, Cooper and Friedman offer a free consultation call to start the process.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a slip and fall accident in the State of Kentucky and are in need of an experienced injury attorney, give the lawyers at the Cooper & Friedman law firm a call. The attorneys at Cooper and Friedman PLLC have over 50 years of combined experience defending the rights of premise liability victims. Contact us with questions you might have or schedule a free case consultation with an attorney by calling 502-459-7555 today.