Every year many people suffer severe injuries from slip/trip and fall accidents.  Often, wet floors, changes in elevation, faulty and absent warnings and flawed walkways make people victims of slip and trip and fall accidents.  Assuming the fall happened on property owned or controlled by another, the law generally allows the injured party to recover compensation for injuries and damages caused by neglect.  For example, when a business owner chooses to construct a speed bump within a parking lot where patrons are known to walk, the bump must be distinguished from the surrounding pavement.  Most commonly, the bump is painted a bright, solid color or at least striped with paint in order to warn patrons of its presence.

In a recent case, a woman was traversing a parking lot near the entrance to a laundromat when she was caused to fall by an unpainted, unstriped speed bump.  Because of the property owner's neglect, the paint on the surface of the bump had been allowed to fade and completely disappear in most places.  The victim sustained serious injuries including a broken nose, loose teeth and fluid in her knee requiring extensive medical treatment.  Not 100 feet away and within the same parking lot, another speed bump was in fact better maintained and white stripes remained intact across its surface.

Should the property owner be held liable for the failure to warn?