Miami Slip and Fall Attorney

Reviewed by Mike Redondo, Founding Attorney, Redondo Law, P.A. • Updated October 2026

Redondo Law helps people who were hurt in slip and fall and trip and fall accidents on someone else’s property. If you fell at a store, restaurant, hotel, condo, parking garage or anywhere else in Miami or the rest of Miami-Dade County, a Miami slip and fall lawyer can help you find out who is responsible and deal with the property owner’s insurer while you heal.

The consultation is free, and you pay no fee unless we win. Our phones are answered 24/7, and our staff is fully bilingual (Se habla español). You can meet us at our office at 2828 Coral Way, by phone or by video. If you cannot travel, we come to you.

Slip and fall vs. trip and fall

People use the two phrases loosely, but they describe different accidents. A slip and fall happens when your foot loses grip on the floor. Think of water by a freezer case, grease near a kitchen, a spilled drink, a grape in the produce aisle or a freshly mopped floor with no warning.

A trip and fall happens when your foot catches on something and you pitch forward. Common causes are a raised sidewalk slab, a broken step, a torn carpet, a loose mat, a cord across a walkway or a parking lot wheel stop you could not see.

The difference matters because Florida law treats them differently. A fall on a spilled substance inside a business is covered by a specific statute. A trip on a defect in the property itself usually falls under general premises liability rules. Either way, the core question is the same: did the owner know, or should it have known, about the danger and fail to fix it or warn you?

Where slip and fall accidents happen in Miami

In Miami-Dade, the same kinds of places come up again and again. Afternoon rainstorms are common for much of the year, and water tracked in from outside makes many of them more dangerous.

Grocery stores and big-box stores

Falls in supermarkets and big-box stores often involve leaking coolers and freezer cases, spilled drinks, broken jars, grapes and other produce on the floor, freshly mopped aisles with no sign, and rainwater at the entrance. Whether the store actually inspected its aisles is often the heart of the case.

Restaurants and bars

Restaurants and bars in Brickell, Wynwood, downtown and along Calle Ocho are busy, crowded and often dim. Grease near the kitchen, spilled drinks and ice near the bar, wet restroom floors and slick outdoor patios after a storm all cause falls.

Hotels, pools and Miami Beach resorts

Hotels on Collins Avenue and across Miami Beach have pool decks, wet tile lobbies, outdoor stairs and walkways to the beach. Water and sunscreen make smooth surfaces slick. Falls in hotel bathrooms and on poorly lit paths are also common. Learn more on our Miami Beach injury page.

Condos and apartment buildings

In condos and apartment buildings, we often see broken or uneven stairs, dark stairwells and hallways, missing handrails and wet lobbies. When an afternoon rain hits, residents and delivery workers walk in dripping, and a marble or tile lobby can turn slick in minutes. Depending on who controls the area, the claim may be against the condo association, a property management company, a landlord or a cleaning contractor.

Parking lots and garages

Parking areas bring potholes, cracked concrete, wheel stops, oil spots, slick ramps and poor lighting. If you were attacked in a garage rather than injured in a fall, see our negligent security page.

Shopping malls

Big malls such as Dolphin Mall, Aventura Mall and Dadeland Mall draw large crowds. In any busy mall, food court spills, wet restroom floors, escalators and rain tracked in at the entrances can cause falls. One question in a mall case is who controls the spot where you fell: the mall owner, a store tenant or a cleaning company.

Cruise terminals and cruise ships

Falls happen in the terminals and on board, on wet pool decks, stairs, outdoor walkways and buffet floors. Federal maritime law can apply, and your ticket contract may set shorter notice and filing deadlines and choose where you must sue. See our cruise ship injury page.

Sidewalks, parks and government property

Some falls happen on property owned by a city, Miami-Dade County or the state, such as a public sidewalk, a park, a bus stop or a government building. These claims follow different rules under Florida Statute 768.28. You must give written notice to the agency before you can sue, and the law caps the damages you can recover. It is not always clear who owns a sidewalk or a strip of pavement, so we sort that out early.

Florida’s slip and fall law for businesses: Fla. Stat. 768.0755

Falling in a store does not make the store responsible by itself. Florida has a special rule for falls on a “transitory foreign substance” in a business. That phrase means something that is not supposed to be on the floor, like water, a spilled drink, grease or a piece of fruit. Under Florida Statute 768.0755, you must prove the business had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition and should have taken action to fix it.

Actual knowledge

Actual knowledge means the business knew. An employee saw the spill, caused the spill, or was told about it by another customer, and nothing was done in time.

Constructive knowledge: what “long enough” means

Constructive knowledge means the business should have known. One way to show it is that the substance was on the floor long enough that staff using ordinary care would have found it. There is no set number of minutes in the law. It depends on the facts. Clues that a spill sat for a while include dirt, footprints or cart tracks through it, dried edges, melted ice, and video showing people walking past.

Conditions that happen again and again

The second way to show constructive knowledge is that the condition happened regularly, so the business could foresee it. A cooler that leaks every week, a roof that drips at the entrance every time it rains, or an ice machine that always puddles are examples. Past incident reports, repair requests and complaints can prove the pattern.

Trip and fall and other premises hazards

Not every fall involves a spill. Many cases involve a problem with the property itself. These are not “transitory foreign substances,” so the 768.0755 rule does not decide them. Instead, general premises liability rules apply: an owner must keep the property reasonably safe and warn of dangers it knows or should know about. Hazards we see include:

• Broken or uneven stairs, including loose treads, crumbling edges and steps of different heights.
• Uneven floors, raised tiles, torn carpet and curled mats.
• Poor lighting in stairwells, hallways, garages and walkways.
• Missing or loose handrails on stairs and ramps.
• Cracked sidewalks, potholes and wheel stops in parking areas.
• Cords, boxes and stock left in walkways.

In these cases, repair records, work orders, tenant complaints and photos of how long the condition existed can show the owner knew or should have known.

Slip and fall evidence, and why video disappears fast

Slip and fall cases are won or lost on evidence, and much of it does not last. The spill gets mopped, the step gets repaired and witnesses leave.

Video is the biggest concern. Many stores, hotels, malls and garages have cameras, but many systems record over old footage on a regular cycle. If nobody asks the business to save it, the video can be gone within days or weeks. When we take a case, we quickly send a letter telling the owner to preserve the evidence, including:

• The incident report the business filled out.
• Surveillance video of the fall and of the hours before it, which can show how long a hazard was there.
• Photos of the hazard, the area around it, the lighting and any warning signs.
• Your shoes and clothes. Keep them as they are. The other side may blame your footwear.
• Witness names and phone numbers, including employees who came to help.
• Cleaning and inspection logs, sometimes called sweep logs, which show when anyone last checked the area.
• Your medical records, starting with your first visit after the fall.

Common slip and fall injuries

A hard fall can cause serious harm. Injuries we often see include:

• Hip fractures, which often need surgery and long rehab.
• Wrist and arm fractures from trying to catch yourself.
• Knee injuries, including torn ligaments and broken kneecaps.
• Back and neck injuries, including herniated discs.
• Head injuries, from concussions to traumatic brain injuries.
• Shoulder injuries, cuts and deep bruising.

Falls are especially dangerous for older adults. A broken hip can mean surgery, weeks in rehab and a loss of independence. People on blood thinners face added risk from a blow to the head. A claim can include medical bills, future care, lost wages, and pain and suffering. If a fall takes a life, the family may have a wrongful death claim.

Comparative fault and the “open and obvious” argument

Florida uses modified comparative negligence. If you are found more than 50% at fault for your own fall, you generally recover nothing. At 50% or less, your recovery is reduced by your share of fault. Here is a simple hypothetical: if a jury finds you 20% at fault, your award is cut by 20%.

So the owner’s insurer has every reason to blame you. Expect arguments like these:

• Your shoes. They may say your sandals, heels or worn soles caused the fall.
• Your phone. They may say you were looking at a screen, not at the floor.
• The warning sign. They may say a wet floor sign or cone was out and you ignored it.
• “Open and obvious.” They may say the hazard was so easy to see that you should have avoided it.

In plain terms, the open and obvious argument says, “You should have seen it.” But an obvious hazard does not always let the owner off the hook. An owner may still have a duty to fix a dangerous condition, not just to warn about it. Often it becomes a fight over how much fault each side carries. Facts answer it: Where was the sign, really? Was the lighting good enough to see the spill? Were displays or crowds pulling your eyes away from the floor?

What to do after a slip and fall in Miami

How a slip and fall claim and lawsuit work

Many slip and fall claims settle without a trial, but you should know the path. Here is how a case usually moves, in plain terms.

• Free consultation. We hear what happened and tell you honestly whether we see a claim.
• Investigation. We send preservation letters, request video and logs, talk to witnesses and find out who controls the property.
• Treatment. You focus on getting better while we track your bills and records.
• Claim. When your treatment picture is clear, we present a claim to the owner’s insurer with the evidence and your damages.
• Lawsuit. If the insurer will not make a fair offer, we file suit before the deadline, usually in Miami-Dade County.
• Discovery. Both sides exchange records and take depositions.
• Mediation and trial. Most cases go to mediation, a settlement meeting with a neutral person. If the case does not settle, it goes to trial.

You make the key decisions, including whether to accept any offer. We explain each step as it comes.

Why choose Redondo Law as your slip and fall attorney

When you hire a slip and fall attorney, you should know who is working on your case. Mike Redondo personally oversees every case. Before founding Redondo Law in 2019, he spent six years at Holland & Knight defending major corporations in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. He knows how corporate defendants and their lawyers build a defense, and he uses that knowledge for injured people now.

Our staff is fully bilingual, so you can talk about your case in English or Spanish. Phones are answered 24/7, which matters when video may be erased within days. You can see our case results.

Slip and fall help in Miami Lakes, Doral and Hialeah

We help fall victims across Miami-Dade, including Miami Lakes, Doral and Hialeah. Our only office is at 2828 Coral Way in Miami, and clients in these areas can meet us by phone, by video or in person. If you live in or near Doral, see our Doral injury page. Hialeah readers can visit our Hialeah injury page.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have a slip and fall case?

You may have a case if you were hurt because the owner knew or should have known about a dangerous condition and did not fix it or warn you. For spills in a business, Florida requires proof of actual or constructive knowledge. The consultation is free.

How much is a slip and fall case worth in Florida?

No lawyer can honestly tell you in the first phone call, and no one can promise a result. Value depends on how serious and lasting your injuries are, your medical bills and lost wages, the evidence of fault, any share of fault placed on you, and the insurance available.

How long do I have to file a slip and fall lawsuit in Florida?

For most falls that happened on or after March 24, 2023, you have 2 years to file a lawsuit. Falls on government property require written notice first and have damage caps. Falls on a cruise ship may have much shorter deadlines in the ticket contract. Do not wait, because video can disappear in days.

What if there was a wet floor sign?

A sign does not end the case. It matters where the sign was, whether you could see it, and whether it was close to the actual hazard. A cone at one end of a long aisle may not warn anyone about a spill at the other end. A sign also does not excuse a business from cleaning up a spill it knew about.

Who pays for a slip and fall injury?

Usually the property owner’s liability insurance pays a claim, not the owner personally. If a store tenant, management company or cleaning contractor controlled the area, its insurer may be involved too. While the claim is pending, your own health insurance or Medicare may pay your medical bills.

Do I need a slip and fall lawyer near me?

You need a lawyer who knows Miami-Dade property owners, courts and how local businesses defend these claims. Our office is at 2828 Coral Way in Miami, and we serve clients across the county. You can meet in person, by phone or by video, and if you cannot travel, we come to you. Our bilingual staff answers the phone 24/7.

If you or a loved one was hurt in a fall anywhere in Miami-Dade, call (305) 908-6778 or contact us online for a free consultation with a Miami slip and fall attorney.