Suing a Municipality For a Slip And Fall

Answer:

When it comes to slip and fall cases, we often get asked, “If I slipped and fell because of a defect in the sidewalk or in steps that the city or some other local government owns, can I even bring a claim against them?” The answer is, yes, potentially, although I have to add the caveat that anytime a local government, city government, state government is involved, there is a whole level of added complexity to the claim and the potential litigation. In Mississippi, as in most states, we have sovereign immunity. That’s an old legal theory passed down from way back before the United States was even its own country. It basically means that the sovereign— back then, the king— was immune. Now, what it has done by extension is that there are court rulings that say that the government cannot be sued, except for where the government allows or the people allow by law for the government to be sued. That has led to the creation of a whole body of law involving different immunities. We hear terms like qualified immunity, discretionary immunity, etc.— terms like that that all relate to this idea of sovereign immunity and whether or not in any given situation a local or state government can be sued and held liable for injuries or for various claims. The really short answer on a question about falls or injuries related to defect in sidewalks or curbs or steps that are on city, county, or state government property is that it really does depend. The only way that you’re going to figure that out is having competent legal representation who can really dig into the facts of your case and into the current law, and apply that to figure out whether or not there is liability and therefore a potential claim and compensation available on that injury from the local entity. The the law in Mississippi on this point is evolving, however. There was actually a state supreme court decision that came down in the last 10 to 15 years that updated the way that the courts analyze these cases. As a result of that, there is constantly, now in Mississippi, new rulings coming out that further refine what types of claims can or cannot be compensated for injury as the result of actions or inactions by government officials. It really gets fact-specific. It depends, sometimes, on the type of entity or type of conduct or purpose or function that they are serving. It also directly ties into whether or not other laws and regulations such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, for instance, apply to it. As you can tell, there are a whole lot of factors involved, and what would seem like a very simple question can become a pretty complex one pretty quickly. The bottom line is, if you’ve been injured as a result of a defect in a curb, in a sidewalk, in steps, etc., and that implicates a local or state government, you’ve got to have legal representation. You’ve got to have someone who actually has experience in those types of claims. Don’t delay. Reach out and get help. From there, you can get some answers. At Brad Morris Law Firm, PLLC, we do have experience in these types of claims. If you believe that you have been injured as the result of some type of negligence or malfeasance, in that regard, reach out to us. You can contact us through our website or call us by phone, and we will do our best to answer your questions, try to get you pointed in the right direction on your potential claim and just get you the help that you need.