Columbia Slip & Fall Lawyers

It can all happen so fast. One moment, a person is walking along, minding their own business. The next moment, they’re on the ground. Maybe the severity of the injuries is apparent immediately. Or, maybe it will take days and even weeks to manifest, as is common with back and neck injuries. They face medical expenses. They may face lost time at work. They face a loss of joy and perhaps even some mental trauma. What they need to do is call a Columbia, SC slip and fall lawyer who can help make their case and secure a fair settlement. 

Mann Blake & Jackson serves all of South Carolina from our Columbia office. Call today at (803) 525-1645 or contact us online to set up a consultation. 

Proving Breach of Duty in South Carolina Slip & Fall Cases

All personal injury cases require establishing that the defendant was negligent, and a basic part of negligence is demonstrating that a duty of care was owed the injured plaintiff and then breached. 

What constitutes a breach of duty? It happens when the defendant fails to exercise a reasonable standard of care. The state of South Carolina does not expect defendants, or anyone else, to be perfect. It’s understood that accidents do happen. It’s accidents that could have been prevented with some reasonable foresight or action that can result in lawsuits.

As an example, let’s say the injured plaintiff was out with their friends for an evening on the town in Five Points. They’re at a pub and drinks are spilled on the floor. The plaintiff slips and falls. Did the defendant—presumably the pub, in this example—breach their duty of care to their customers? 

It’s possible, but a lot of context will be required. Did anyone make the wait staff aware of the spill? How long did the spill linger before it was cleaned up? Was the injured plaintiff themselves acting responsibly?

If staff was notified, but the spill still lay on the floor an hour later, there’s a good chance the pub will be found to have breached its duty. But if the slip and fall happened just minutes after the spill occurred, there’s a good chance a court might find that the pub did not have a reasonable opportunity to clean it up. Of course, this might also depend on who caused the spill. Was it a staffer, who could have been expected to immediately clean it up? Or was it a patron, where the staff would have no reasonable way of knowing about the spill unless they were told. 

In the backdrop of all this is the comparative modified fault law the state of South Carolina uses in applying damages. That is, the fault of the injured plaintiff can be considered. Was the plaintiff intoxicated or otherwise acting inappropriately when the slip and fall occurred? If so, a jury might still find a breach of duty and might still award damages. But South Carolina law allows the jury to also assign a percentage of the blame to the plaintiff. 

If a plaintiff is found to be 35 percent responsible for their fall, then their share of the damages is reduced by that amount. For example, a $100,000 payout would be reduced by $35,000, meaning the plaintiff only collects $65,000.