Who Is Responsible For Your Slip And Fall Injury In Alabama?

Jul 31, 2025 - Personal Injury by Cross & Smith

Personal injury law includes a concept known as premises liability. Premises liability sets out the rights and obligations of the parties when a person is injured on the property of another. Think about all of the ways that someone can be hurt on another person’s property: there can be swimming pool accidents, burn accidents, construction accidents, and others. But one of the most common premises liability accidents is slip and fall cases.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, falls are the leading cause of injury for people over age 65, with over 14 million adults reporting falls each year. Poor lighting and cluttered stairs and hallways are common causes of slips and falls. But the major source is uneven or wet surfaces. Freshly mopped floors, icy driveways, bunched up carpeting, and sidewalk cracks and potholes are all sources of slips and falls. These types of accidents happen at retail stores, in public buildings, at a neighbor’s house, or on a construction site. Many slips and falls are serious and can result in lacerations, broken bones, spinal injuries, and even death. 

Proving Liability for A Slip And Fall In Alabama

In Alabama, to prove that someone else’s negligence was the reason for your slip or fall, you must prove:

• The defendant had a duty to you
• That duty was breached
• The breach was the cause of your injury
• Your injury is compensable

Did the defendant have a duty to you? It’s important to note that the specific obligations of a property owner or occupier depend upon your legal status at the time of the injury. In other words, were you a trespasser, licensee, or invitee at the time of the accident?

An invitee is a person who is on the premises for the commercial benefit of the property owner or occupier. If you were at a baseball stadium or visiting your local home improvement store, you would be considered an invitee to the property.  The duty that the property owner or occupier owes you as an invitee is to use “reasonable care and diligence” to keep the property in a safe condition. If the property is unsafe, the owner must give sufficient warning of the dangers. This legal obligation extends to dangers that the owners and occupiers know or should have known about.  

A licensee is a person who is on the premises with permission from the owner or occupier for their own convenience, curiosity, or entertainment, such as a social guest. Owners and occupiers have a duty to correct or warn against dangerous conditions. However, owners and occupiers can only be held responsible for dangers they actually knew about.

A trespasser is a person who is on the premises without permission. Owners and occupiers have a duty to refrain from intentionally harming trespassers on the property. 

Here’s an illustrative example. 

It’s a beautiful autumn day, and Maria decides to visit John’s 10-acre property. While walking in John’s field, Maria trips and falls into a large hole and breaks her leg. Maria sues John for $20,000. John denies liability, claiming he didn’t even know about the hole. Is John liable for Maria’s injuries?

• If  Maria is a trespasser (e.g., Maria didn’t have permission to be on John’s land), John is not liable for Maria’s injuries because he didn’t intentionally injure her.
• If Maria is an invitee (e.g., John owns a commercial flower farm and Maria was on John’s property to pick and purchase some flowers), John is probably liable for Maria’s injuries because he should have known about the large hole. To determine whether a property owner should have known about a dangerous condition, courts will consider factors such as the duration of the dangerous condition on the property and the owner’s regular inspection practices for such conditions.
• If Maria is a licensee (e.g., Maria is a friend of John’s and stopping by for a visit), John isn’t liable for Maria’s injuries because John didn’t know about the hole.

Defenses To Slip and Fall Claims

Alabama has a number of defenses to premises liability claims, including slip and fall cases. These include:

• Contributory Negligence – Alabama has a particularly harsh contributory negligence rule. If you were at all responsible for your injury, even less than one percent, you will be barred from obtaining compensation from the defendant.
• Assumption of the Risk – The concept of assumption of the risk prevents you from suing an owner or occupier of the property on which you suffered a slip and fall if you assumed the risk of injury. You can be deemed to have assumed the risk if you have actual knowledge of the risk.
• Recreation Use – In Alabama, in most cases, owners and occupiers are not responsible for damages resulting from a slip or fall if the property is mainly used for recreational purposes such as hunting, fishing, climbing, trapping, or similar recreational activities.
• Open and Obvious Conditions – If your slip and fall injury was caused by an “open and obvious” condition, the owner or occupier is unlikely to be found responsible. 

If an owner or occupier is found to be liable for your injury, you may be entitled to three types of damages. Economic damages include lost wages, medical and rehabilitation costs, and other out-of-pocket expenses. Non-economic damages include money to compensate you for pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of companionship, and similar losses, which are often hard to quantify. In cases of intentional harm, you may also be entitled to punitive damages. 

Contact Cross & Smith, LLC Today

If you’ve been injured by the negligence of another party, either in a slip and fall or any other type of personal injury, you typically have two years from the date of the accident to bring a lawsuit. It’s important, therefore, not to delay in contacting a Tuscaloosa personal injury attorney. Here at Cross & Smith, we have years of experience and will help you get the compensation you deserve. Contact us today.