Restaurant and Bar Slip and Fall Lawyer in Louisville

• Spilled drinks, food and ice, especially near drink stations and bars
• Grease and water tracked from the kitchen
• Wet restroom floors and leaking sinks
• Freshly mopped floors with no warning sign
• Torn mats, uneven flooring and loose tiles
• Dark steps, platforms and outdoor patios. See stairway falls.
• Icy entrances and parking lots in winter. See parking lot slip and falls.

In a business fall, Kentucky’s Supreme Court held in Lanier v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 99 S.W.3d 431 (Ky. 2003), that once a customer proves a foreign substance or dangerous condition on the floor caused the fall, the burden shifts to the business to show it used reasonable care.

Kentucky property owners owe customers and other invited guests a duty to keep the premises reasonably safe and to fix or warn about hazards they know about or should find with reasonable care. Since Kentucky River Medical Center v. McIntosh (2010) and Shelton v. Kentucky Easter Seals Society (2013), an “open and obvious” hazard usually doesn’t end a case on its own; it is weighed when fault is compared. Kentucky uses pure comparative fault: your share of fault reduces your recovery but doesn’t bar it (KRS 411.182).

• Burns from hot food, drinks or tableside cooking. See burn injuries.
• Food poisoning. See food poisoning.
• Assaults where security was lacking. See negligent security.
• Crashes caused by an overserved customer. See dram shop claims.

1. Get medical care. Tell the provider exactly how you fell.
2. Ask the manager to write an incident report, and ask for a copy (they may refuse; write down the manager’s name).
3. Photograph the floor, the substance, the lighting and the lack of warning signs.
4. Get names and numbers of witnesses, including other diners.
5. Keep your shoes and clothing as they are.
6. Don’t give a recorded statement to the restaurant’s insurer before getting advice. See recorded statements.

Our full guide: what to do after a slip and fall in Kentucky.

Medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and future care. Most restaurants carry liability insurance for customer injuries. See the Kentucky slip and fall settlement guide.

Most other Kentucky personal injury claims, including falls on someone’s property, must be filed within one year (KRS 413.140). Use our statute of limitations calculator.