JONES LAW GROUPYour Lawyers for Life! Personal Injury Law Firm in St. Petersburg
Reviewed by Bobby Jones, Personal Injury Attorney, Jones Law Group | Published | Updated
It feels like the simplest case in the world. You slipped on a wet floor at a Pinellas Park store, you were hurt, and it was their floor. Then the denial letter arrives, and you learn that Florida law does not work the way common sense says it should. Slip and fall claims are among the hardest injury cases to win in this state, because the law makes you prove the business knew about the hazard before you fell. A Pinellas Park slip and fall lawyer who understands that burden, and moves fast to meet it, is the difference between a paid claim and a closed file. At Jones Law Group, we have recovered more than $50 million for injured clients across Pinellas County and Tampa Bay, and we take these cases on contingency, so you pay nothing unless we win.
We build these claims from our office just south in St. Petersburg, and if yours has to be filed, it goes to the Pinellas County courthouse in downtown Clearwater, where we litigate. The first job is always the same: lock down the evidence that proves the store should have caught the danger, before that evidence is gone.
The obstacle is Fla. Stat. § 768.0755, the statute that governs slip and falls involving a transitory foreign substance, meaning a temporary hazard like a spill, a tracked-in puddle, or dropped produce. Under that law, proving you fell and got hurt is not enough. You must prove the business had knowledge of the hazard and did nothing about it.
Knowledge comes in two forms. Actual knowledge means an employee knew the spill was there, ideally because someone reported it or created it. Constructive knowledge means the hazard existed long enough that the business should have discovered and cleaned it, or that it recurred so regularly the business should have expected it. Constructive knowledge almost always turns on time: how many minutes was that puddle on the floor before you stepped in it? That single question is why surveillance footage, cleanup logs, and inspection records decide these cases, and why a fast denial from the store’s insurer is a negotiating move, not the final word.
What you do in the first few minutes often decides whether the notice element can ever be proven. Take these steps.
Afraid the store already deleted the footage? The faster a preservation letter goes out, the better your odds. Call (727) 571-1333 for a free consultation.
Pinellas Park is thick with the settings these falls come from. Grocery and big-box stores along US-19, Park Boulevard, and 66th Street produce spill and produce-floor cases. Restaurants and bars bring greasy kitchens and unmarked wet floors. The apartment complexes, parking lots, and garages across the city generate falls from broken pavement, missing handrails, and unlit stairwells, and Pinellas Park’s medical offices, pharmacies, and the Mainlands and other senior communities add falls involving older adults, who are hurt worse and heal slower. Each setting keeps its own maintenance records, and each has its own way of trying to dodge the blame.
Slip and fall is one branch of premises liability, the law that requires property owners to keep their premises reasonably safe. These are the cases we handle most for Pinellas Park clients.
The classic claim: a spill, a leak, or a freshly mopped floor with no warning sign. The whole fight is usually how long the hazard sat there before you found it.
Cracked tile, torn carpet, unmarked steps, and abrupt surface transitions cause falls the owner often knew about for months, which points toward actual knowledge.
Dim stairwells, missing handrails, and code violations turn ordinary stairs into a hazard, a recurring problem in apartments, hotels, and parking garages.
In warehouse-style stores, overloaded or poorly stacked shelving sends products down onto customers, a premises claim that involves no fall at all.
Potholes, wheel stops, oil slicks, broken curbs, and unlit ramps in lots and garages produce some of the most common and most disputed premises cases.
Convinced the business will never admit fault? They rarely do on their own. Proving it is our job. Call (727) 571-1333 for a free case review.
Value depends on your injuries, the strength of the notice evidence, and the available insurance, so no honest lawyer quotes a number up front. Florida sorts damages into two categories. Economic damages cover medical bills, future care, lost wages, and reduced earning capacity. Non-economic damages cover pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life.
One factor weighs especially heavy in these cases: your own share of fault. Florida uses modified comparative negligence, so if the business argues the hazard was open and obvious or that you were distracted, it can trim your recovery, and bar it entirely if you are found more than 50% at fault. For a fuller breakdown, see our guide on average slip and fall settlements in Florida and our two-year deadline guide.
Jones Law Group is led by attorney Bobby Jones, a U.S. Air Force veteran and Stetson Law graduate with more than 20 years of personal injury practice in Tampa Bay. We have recovered over $50 million for injured clients and hold a 4.9 rating on Google. Because slip and fall cases live or die on evidence that erases itself, we move immediately to preserve video and records, and because we work on contingency, we only get paid when you do. We try these cases at the Pinellas County courthouse in downtown Clearwater when an insurer will not deal fairly. See everything we handle on our Pinellas Park personal injury lawyer page.
Under Florida Statute § 768.0755, you must prove the business had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition and failed to correct it. Constructive knowledge usually means showing the hazard existed long enough that the business should have found it, or that it recurred often enough to be foreseeable.
They are harder than most people expect, because the law requires proof that the business knew or should have known about the hazard. Simply falling and being injured is not enough. Strong cases are built on surveillance video, incident reports, and cleanup logs, which is why acting quickly to preserve that evidence matters so much.
You may still have a claim, though it is harder. Go back and report the fall in writing as soon as possible, collect any photos or witness details you have, and speak with a lawyer quickly so surveillance footage can be preserved before it is recorded over.
Often yes. Florida uses modified comparative negligence, which reduces your recovery by your share of fault and bars it only if you are found more than 50% responsible. Businesses routinely argue the hazard was open and obvious, so how fault is framed carries real weight.
Generally two years from the date of the fall, under Florida Statute § 95.11 as amended by HB 837 in 2023. Because the decisive evidence fades within days, it is best to act long before that deadline approaches.
Jones Law Group works on a contingency fee: no up-front cost, no hourly bill, and a fee only if we recover money for you. The initial consultation is free.
If a hazard the business should have fixed put you on the ground, do not let a quick denial end it. Tell us what happened in a free consultation, with no obligation and no fee unless we win.
Jones Law GroupDisclaimer: This page is for general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The $50 million figure reflects total amounts recovered for clients over time, not a promise about any individual case. If you have a specific legal question, contact a licensed Florida attorney.
Speak with us before time runs out! In Florida, you have a limited window to file a personal injury case, so speak to an Attorney today.
Call our personal injury law office directly at (727) 512-9847
Jones Law Group is a dedicated personal injury lawyer in St. Petersburg, FL, serving the Tampa Bay area since 2006. Our experienced attorneys specialize in car accidents, slip and fall cases, employment law disputes, construction law issues, and overtime wage claims, fighting for maximum compensation on a contingency fee basis. Contact us for a free consultation to discuss your case.
Call our personal injury law office at (727) 512-9847
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