You deserve to walk safely in any building. When property owners fail to maintain level flooring surfaces, your normal stride can turn into a painful fall with lasting injuries. North Carolina law requires property owners to keep their premises reasonably safe for visitors, and uneven floors represent one of the most common yet preventable hazards.
At Horton & Mendez, our Charlotte premises liability lawyers bring unique insights from years of working inside multi-state insurance companies. This experience gives us strategic advantages when building your case and anticipating the defense tactics you will face.
What Constitutes Uneven Floor Liability in Charlotte
Property owners across Charlotte have legal duties to maintain safe walking surfaces. Your case depends on proving the property owner knew or should have known about dangerous floor conditions.
Uneven floors create liability when height differences exceed normal expectations. Small variations might not qualify, but significant irregularities that cause falls often do. You should document any height differences, missing tiles, warped flooring, or transition strips that created your fall.
Property owners cannot simply claim ignorance about dangerous conditions. They have ongoing duties to inspect their premises regularly. When floors develop problems over time, reasonable property owners should discover and fix these hazards promptly.
Common Types of Uneven Floor Hazards
Charlotte properties contain numerous flooring hazards that property owners must address. Your fall might have resulted from several dangerous conditions:
- Raised carpet edges or loose flooring materials that create trip hazards
- Broken or missing floor tiles that leave gaps or raised surfaces
- Warped wooden floors that bow upward or create uneven walking surfaces
- Improperly installed transition strips between different flooring types
These hazards appear in retail stores, office buildings, restaurants, and residential properties throughout Charlotte. You should take photographs immediately after your fall to preserve evidence of the dangerous condition. Your case becomes stronger when you can show the exact hazard that caused your injuries.
Weather conditions sometimes worsen existing floor problems. Rain can cause wooden floors to warp more severely, while humidity might lift carpet edges higher. Property owners remain responsible for addressing weather-related floor hazards that endanger visitors.
Proving Your Charlotte Premises Liability Case
Your success requires establishing four key legal elements under North Carolina premises liability law. Property owners owed you a duty of reasonable care as their visitor. They breached this duty through negligent maintenance of their flooring. This breach directly caused your fall and resulting injuries.
Evidence collection starts immediately after your accident. Take photographs showing the uneven floor condition from multiple angles. Measure any height differences if possible. Document the lighting conditions that might have made the hazard less visible.
Witness statements strengthen your case significantly. Other visitors might have noticed the dangerous floor condition before your fall. Employees could provide testimony about how long the hazard existed. You should collect contact information from anyone who saw your accident occur.
Medical documentation proves your injuries resulted from the fall. Seek immediate medical attention even for seemingly minor injuries. Some injuries develop symptoms gradually, and early medical records establish the connection between your fall and your injuries.
North Carolina’s Contributory Negligence Impact
North Carolina follows pure contributory negligence under North Carolina General Statute § 1-139. This legal standard creates an all-or-nothing situation for your case. Any fault attributed to you completely bars recovery, regardless of the property owner’s negligence level.
Insurance companies know this harsh rule and use it aggressively. They will scrutinize your actions before the fall, looking for any behavior they can characterize as careless. You might face claims that you should have seen the obvious hazard or were walking too quickly.
Our Charlotte personal injury lawyers vigorously defend against these contributory negligence arguments. We know the tactics insurance companies employ because we used to work for them. Your case requires aggressive advocacy to prevent any fault attribution that would destroy your claim entirely.
Property owners sometimes argue that reasonable people would have noticed and avoided the floor hazard. We counter these arguments by highlighting inadequate lighting, distracting environments, or the subtle nature of the dangerous condition that caused your fall.
Types of Injuries from Uneven Floor Falls
Falls on uneven floors can cause serious injuries that require extensive medical treatment. Your body naturally tries to catch itself during a fall, often resulting in multiple injury types:
- Wrist and arm fractures from attempting to break your fall
- Hip and pelvis injuries from landing hard on your side
- Head trauma and concussions occur when you strike the ground
- Back and spinal cord injuries from twisting during the fall
Older adults face particularly severe risks from uneven floor falls. Brittle bones break more easily, and healing takes longer. You should never assume that your injuries are minor simply because you can walk afterward.
Insurance Company Tactics We Know Well
Our experience working for multi-state insurance companies gives us unique insights into their strategies. We know how they evaluate premises liability claims and the techniques they use to minimize payouts.
Insurance adjusters often rush to take recorded statements from accident victims. They ask leading questions designed to elicit admissions of fault or minimize injury severity. You should avoid giving detailed statements without legal representation present.
Quick settlement offers frequently appear before you fully understand the extent of your injury. These offers seem generous initially, but rarely cover your long-term medical needs and lost wages. Insurance companies hope to resolve claims before the true injury scope becomes apparent.
Surveillance investigations are common in premises liability cases. Insurance companies might monitor your activities to contradict your injury claims. You should remain consistent in describing your limitations and avoid activities that appear to contradict your reported injuries.
Areas We Serve in Charlotte
Our legal team represents uneven floor accident victims throughout the Charlotte metropolitan area. We handle cases in numerous zip codes across Mecklenburg County:
- 28202, 28203, 28204, 28205 covering downtown and South End neighborhoods
- 28206, 28207, 28208, 28209, including Myers Park and Dilworth areas
- 28210, 28211, 28212, 28213 encompassing South Charlotte and Ballantyne
- 28214, 28215, 28216, 28217 serving West and North Charlotte communities
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We also represent clients in surrounding areas, including Gastonia, Huntersville, Matthews, and Mint Hill. Your location within our service area does not affect the quality of representation you receive.
Contact Us Today
Your case deserves immediate attention while the evidence remains fresh and witnesses remember details clearly. Contact our Charlotte personal injury lawyers at Horton & Mendez today to discuss your accident and learn how we can help you pursue the compensation you deserve.
