Oregon Slip and Falls
Foreign Substance
If you were injured within the last two years in Oregon due to a slip and fall due to a foreign substance, call (503) 238-1010 for an attorney evaluation of your slip and fall case on a contingency fee basis.
Slipping on a Foreign Substance
Merely being injured on the property of another does not necessarily mean you have a right to recover compensation for your injuries. To recover for injuries due to a slip and fall, you have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that someone’s negligence, other than your own, caused you to slip and fall. In Oregon, if a foreign substance on another person’s property caused you to fall, you must prove one of the following to recover for your injuries:
1) The substance was placed there by the business and/or property owner and/or their agents or employees; or
2) The business/property owner knew the substance was there and failed to use reasonable care to remove it; or
3) The substance had been there so long that the business/property owner should have discovered and removed it. See UCJI 46.12.
If you could prove a business owner or one of their employees spilled a liquid on the floor and you slipped and this caused you to slip and fall, the business would be liable. However, if another customer moments prior to your arrival spills a liquid on the floor and you fall on the liquid before staff from the business has a chance to become aware of the spill, the business most likely would not be found liable for your injuries from the fall. If you knew the identity of the customer who spilled the liquid, you may have a case against the person who spilled the liquid for failing to warn or clean up the mess. A lawsuit against another customer who causes you injury may or may not make business sense, depending on whether the person you are suing has insurance or sufficient assets.
If another customer spills a liquid and there is evidence the liquid been there an unreasonable amount of time, you would most likely prevail because the business/property owner should have previously discovered mess and cleaned it. An example of evidence showing the passage of time would be if the liquid had a chance to partially dry or become sticky.