Premises liability laws give you the right to seek compensation for accident-related financial losses, including but not limited to medical bills, if you get injured in an accident caused by dangerous conditions at a place of business where you are a customer. The classic example of a premises liability case is when a customer slips and falls on the wet floor of a supermarket, but other cases involve customers being struck by falling objects or falling from ziplines at amusement parks. One family even sued an amusement park when an animatronic baby dinosaur struck a young girl with its arm as it hatched out of an egg. 

If you are a business licensee and the accident was preventable, you have a strong case for a premises liability claim. What if the dangerous conditions are on public property, though? It is also possible to file a premises liability claim against a public entity, but as the many people injured on the decrepit sidewalks of Spokane know, it isn't always easy. If you got injured in an accidental fall on a Spokane sidewalk, contact a Spokane slip and fall accidents lawyer.

Bureaucratic Feedback Loop Enables Sidewalks to Stay Broken

In 2022, Maryann Bouttou got injured when she fell on an uneven sidewalk near a parking lot as she walked from her car toward a theater where she was going to see the play. She filed a premises liability lawsuit against the city of Spokane as well as Diamond Parking, the owner of the parking lot. In March 2024, the city of Spokane paid her a $100,000 settlement. The Spokesman-Review website did not indicate the outcome of Bouttou's lawsuit against Diamond Parking.

Sidewalks in Spokane exist in a legal tesseract that can make it confusing and time-consuming for people who get injured due to sidewalks in disrepair to get adequate compensation for their injuries. On the one hand, the sidewalks are public property. On the other hand, it is the responsibility of businesses open to the public to maintain the sidewalks that pass in front of their businesses. The city can impose fines on businesses that fail to repair sidewalks that have noticeably uneven surfaces, but in practice, years often go by before the sidewalk gets fixed, and sometimes nothing happens until after someone gets injured and files a lawsuit.

Of course, if you are the one who got injured, it is not your job to figure out who is responsible for paying to repair the sidewalk. You have the right to file a premises liability lawsuit against both the city of Spokane and the business that controls the portion of the sidewalk where your accident happened.

Contact West Law Office About Trip and Fall Accident Cases

A personal injury lawyer can help you if you get injured in an accidental fall on a public sidewalk in front of a business in Washington state. Contact West Law Office in Spokane, Washington, to find out more about your legal options.