Why Stores Don’t Automatically Pay Bills After Trip and Falls

We frequently receive phone calls from people who are frustrated and facing thousands of dollars of medical bills after a slip and fall or trip and fall accident at a business.  The source of their frustration usually involved the refusal of the business to automatically pay the injured customer’s medicals bills.

“I was injured on their property, so they have to pay my bills, right?”

Many people are under the mistaken belief that just because an injury happens inside a business or on the business’ property, the business is responsible for paying any medical bills that arise.  This is simply not the case in Florida.

While some businesses unilaterally decide to carry Medical Payments insurance coverage (that will pay medical bills, regardless of proving fault), the vast majority of businesses today choose not to carry such coverage.   As a result, and under Florida law, a business cannot be made to pay ANY expenses for a customer (medical bills, lost wages, pain & suffering, etc.) UNLESS the customer can prove that the business was somehow negligent.

What a customer has to prove to receive compensation

In most premises liability cases the injured customer will have to prove that the business either created a dangerous condition or that a dangerous condition existed that the business knew or should have known about.  If a business creates a dangerous condition or allows a dangerous condition to exist on its property, the business owes a duty to either remove or reduce the danger or to warn the customer about it.

This can sometimes be very challenging for the customer, and is that main reason that folks who have been injured at businesses often hire us to represent them.

If you have any questions about getting your medical bills paid after a slip and fall, trip and fall, or other premises liability accident, call Winter Park personal injury attorneys Kim Cullen and Robert Hemphill at 407-565-7386.