After an injury on someone else's property
A visit to a hotel, restaurant, store, or other Fort Lauderdale property can end with an injury and conflicting explanations. Miller & Jacobs reviews the condition, who controlled the area, and what evidence may show responsibility. The fact that an injury happened on a property is the beginning of the inquiry, not automatic proof that its owner must pay.
Your consultation is free. No attorney fee is owed unless compensation is recovered for you. The written fee agreement explains fees and costs.
Reported Recoveries for Injured Clients
Combined Legal Experience
Combined Jury Trials Across Their Careers
Experienced Trial Attorneys
Preserving the scene
Medical attention and safety come first. If it can be done safely, photographs and basic location details may preserve information after a spill is cleaned, an item is repaired, or the area is rearranged. You should not enter a restricted area or recreate a hazard.
Take available photographs of the condition, lighting, nearby warnings, and the approach to the area. Keep the original files. A close-up alone may not explain where the hazard was or whether it could be seen before the incident.
Ask how to report the injury and retain the report number or copy if provided. Note staff names and witness contacts. A business incident report may be useful but is not necessarily an admission of fault or the complete account of what occurred.
Surveillance, inspection logs, maintenance records, and earlier complaints may be held by the business or another entity. The exact time and area help target requests. A lawyer can assess preservation steps before routinely retained recordings or records are lost.
Duty and notice
Property cases can involve a temporary spill, a structural defect, an unsafe fixture, or another danger. We examine the duty owed in the circumstances, the defendant's control, and the evidence connecting the condition to the injury.
The condition
For a slip on a transitory foreign substance in a business establishment, section 768.0755 requires proof of actual or constructive knowledge. Evidence that it existed long enough, or occurred regularly, may support constructive knowledge. The rule is specific to that setting.
The duty
A damaged stair, loose railing, or other condition may require a different analysis. Service records, repair history, and who controlled the area can matter. Do not assume that the statutory test for a spilled substance decides every type of property injury.
The dispute
A warning's location and adequacy can be disputed, as can the visitor's ability to perceive the condition. Preserve the facts around it. A cone or sign does not by itself answer every duty, causation, or comparative-fault question.
An injury on property does not by itself prove negligence. The condition, legal duty, notice, control, and connection to the injury must be assessed.
When the visit ends but treatment continues
A return trip should not lose the incident history.
Save receipts and documents showing necessary travel, missed work, and treatment. Describe how the injury affects ordinary activity. Those details can support an individual account of loss without relying on a standard settlement formula.
Property control
Ownership, operation, maintenance, and contractor roles can be separated. We review who had responsibility for the area and the work involved. Each potential claim needs a supported connection between that role, the unsafe condition, and your injury.
Follow the evidence
A free consultation
Call 954-465-8733 for a free consultation about the condition, missing records, and any insurer proposal. You can start with photographs and the incident details. The written agreement explains fees and costs if the firm accepts the claim.
Losses and timing
Treatment records, restrictions, earnings evidence, and an accurate account of daily limitations can help explain the consequences. The claim also needs timely review of its legal theory and the parties involved.
Keep provider names, bills, follow-up recommendations, payroll records, and restrictions. Explain prior conditions honestly. The evidence should show how the incident caused or worsened an injury and how that change affected work or daily life.
In covered negligence cases, Florida comparative-fault law reduces recovery for a claimant's share and bars it above 50%. Phone use, footwear, visibility, and warnings may be raised. Each allegation needs assessment against the event's actual evidence.
Many current Florida negligence claims have a two-year limit under section 95.11. Government property, other claim types, and particular circumstances can change the requirements. Our Fort Lauderdale injury overview provides broader claim guidance.
What the injury changed
If you leave Fort Lauderdale after being injured, keep the property name, exact location, incident number, and contact information. Obtain necessary care and give later providers an accurate account of the event. A change of address does not replace the evidence from the original scene.
The categories below are possibilities, not a valuation or promise of recovery. The evidence and law determine what may be sought.
Past and reasonably anticipated medical care related to the injury, including follow-up and rehabilitation.
Missed work, reduced earnings, or an affected ability to earn, where supported by the facts.
Physical pain and the loss of ordinary activities that the injury has caused, assessed in the context of the claim.
The people behind the firm
Partners Mark J. Miller and Rick S. Jacobs serve Fort Lauderdale clients from the firm's Pompano Beach office. Your consultation can address the evidence, the applicable claim, and the decisions ahead.
PARTNER
Mark's biography describes work in insurance defense and prosecution before his plaintiff-side practice. That background informs the firm's evaluation of liability disputes and insurance positions.
Meet Mark →
PARTNER
Rick's biography describes his service as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami-Dade County and his trial work. Read the published background for details of his professional experience.
Meet Rick →Our South Florida office is at 1600 S Federal Highway, Suite 1101, Pompano Beach, FL 33062. Call 954-465-8733 before visiting.
Questions before you call
The same answer will not fit every store, hotel, apartment, or shared space. These are starting points for your own facts.
No. The claim requires the applicable duty, a breach, causation, and legally recognized loss. Control, the visitor's circumstances, the type of condition, and available evidence matter. An injury on the premises does not by itself prove that the owner or operator was negligent.
That issue may require circumstantial evidence, including the condition's appearance, recordings, inspections, witness accounts, or evidence of recurring incidents. Florida's business-spill statute permits particular ways of proving constructive knowledge. Lack of a precise time does not replace the need for supported evidence.
Possibly. Tell us where and when the injury happened, which entity operated the property, and where you are receiving care. Living elsewhere does not automatically prevent a local claim. Preserve booking records, incident details, photographs, and the later treatment history.
Not automatically. Its placement, visibility, timing, and adequacy may matter, along with other duties and the claimant's conduct. A sign is evidence to evaluate in context. It does not conclusively determine liability or the percentage of responsibility.
Understand whether the offer requires a release, what claims it covers, and whether treatment or other losses remain unresolved. A small payment can have broader legal consequences if tied to settlement documents. Save the proposal and consider a review before signing.
A slip and fall is one type of premises case. Other cases can involve structural defects, fixtures, security, or different hazards. The business-spill notice statute does not govern every premises incident. The condition and legal theory determine what must be established.
