Virginia Premises Liability and Fall Claims

Premises claims we handle in Virginia

Property injuries are rarely just a "slip and fall." The cases we take in Virginia include:

• Falls on spilled liquid, produce, or debris in grocery stores, big-box stores, and restaurants
• Broken or uneven stairs, loose handrails, and torn carpet in apartment buildings and offices
• Falls in dark stairwells, garages, and walkways where lighting was out
• Furniture, fixtures, and shelving that were not secured and gave way
• Elevator, door, and gate malfunctions
• Falls on ice and snow in parking lots and at building entrances
• Injuries in apartments caused by a landlord's failure to make repairs, including heating and fire-safety failures

What duty does a Virginia business owe its customers?

In Virginia, a business owes its customers, called invitees, the duty to use ordinary care to keep the premises reasonably safe, to remove within a reasonable time hazards it placed there or knew or should have known others placed there, and to warn of unsafe conditions it knew or should have known about that the customer did not (Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. v. Parker, 240 Va. 180 (1990)). The owner is not an insurer of your safety, but it cannot ignore conditions a reasonable inspection would catch.

Virginia also recognizes that a customer may assume the premises are reasonably safe and, without knowledge or warning of a danger, is not required to be on the lookout for it (Fultz v. Delhaize America, Inc., 278 Va. 84 (2009)). That principle matters when the defense says you should have been watching the floor.

Why notice decides most Virginia fall cases

If the business did not create the hazard, you must prove it had actual or constructive notice of it in time to fix it or warn you. In Winn-Dixie, the Supreme Court of Virginia threw out a jury verdict for a shopper who slipped on a bean in the produce aisle because nothing showed how long the bean had been on the floor; it was as likely that another customer dropped it an instant earlier. The Court also declined to adopt the "method of operation" theory some states use to relieve shoppers of proving notice when a store's display method makes spills foreseeable.

That is a demanding standard, and it is why we move fast in Virginia fall cases. Constructive notice is usually proved with the store's own records and video:

• Surveillance video showing when the hazard appeared and how many employees walked past it
• Floor sweep logs, inspection checklists, and cleaning schedules
• Incident reports and prior complaints about the same area
• Maintenance and work orders for leaking coolers, roofs, or ice machines
• Employee testimony about how often the area was checked

When the owner or its employees created the hazard, for example by mopping without a sign or stacking boxes in an aisle, the question of notice largely falls away, because the owner's duty covers hazards it placed there itself. We look first for evidence of who caused the condition.

Does an "open and obvious" hazard defeat a Virginia claim?

Not automatically. In Virginia, an owner does not have to warn about a dangerous condition that is open and obvious to a reasonable person, and a plaintiff hurt by such a condition must show something outside herself that prevented her from seeing it or excused her failure to notice it (Fultz v. Delhaize America, Inc., 278 Va. 84 (2009)). The distraction has to be unexpected and substantial; a bare claim of distraction is not enough.

But the Court in Fultz reversed summary judgment for a grocery chain where a shopper tripped over a metal bar beside an ATM after her young grandson suddenly moved away. Reasonable people could differ on whether she acted reasonably, so the case belonged to a jury. The Court also repeated that a pedestrian's failure to look down is not contributory negligence as a matter of law in every case. We build the record on what was happening around you: crowds, carts, displays designed to draw the eye, glare, and children.

Who is responsible for snow and ice in Virginia?

Under Virginia's storm-in-progress rule, a business or landlord may wait until a storm ends, plus a reasonable time afterward, before clearing ice and snow from outdoor entrances, walks, and steps (Amos v. NationsBank, N.A., 256 Va. 344 (1998)). Whether that duty had arisen when you fell is a question of law for the judge, and the injured person carries the burden of proof.

These cases are won with timelines. We obtain certified weather records to pin down when precipitation actually stopped, and then compare them with the property's snow contracts, salting logs, and photos. Many winter falls happen hours or days after a storm, on refrozen melt from piles placed next to walkways or from downspouts that drain across sidewalks. Those are not storm-in-progress cases at all.

What repairs does a Virginia landlord have to make?

Virginia's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act requires a landlord to comply with building and housing codes affecting health and safety, keep the premises fit and habitable, keep common areas shared by two or more units clean and structurally safe, maintain electrical, plumbing, heating, and other facilities and appliances, including elevators, in good and safe working order, and supply heat in season (Va. Code § 55.1-1220(A)). The statute makes the landlord liable for a tenant's actual damages proximately caused by the landlord's failure to exercise ordinary care in meeting those duties (§ 55.1-1220(B)).

For tenants, that means a collapsed stair, a broken common-area light, or a long-reported heating failure can support a claim. We gather repair requests, emails, texts, and code-enforcement records to show the landlord knew and did not act.

Falls on public property in Virginia

If you fell on a city sidewalk, in a county building, or in a public park, different rules apply. A written notice of claim must reach the locality's attorney, chief executive, or mayor within six months (Va. Code § 15.2-209), and sovereign immunity may limit or bar the claim. In parks, recreational facilities, and playgrounds, a Virginia city or town is not liable for ordinary negligence, only for gross negligence, and counties receive that same protection on top of their broader immunity (Va. Code § 15.2-1809). Our page on injury claims against Virginia governments explains these rules.

Contributory negligence in Virginia property cases

A fall claim in Virginia is lost if the owner proves your own negligence was a proximate cause of the fall (Williams v. Harrison, 255 Va. 272 (1998)). Expect questions about your shoes, your phone, whether you had been there before, and whether you were carrying something that blocked your view. Answer them truthfully, but let us handle the conversation with the insurer; a casual "I wasn't looking" in a recorded statement is the kind of admission that ends Virginia cases.

Damages and deadlines

An injured person can recover medical expenses, lost income, and compensation for pain, limitation, and disfigurement. Hip fractures, wrist fractures, and head injuries from falls often require surgery and months of rehabilitation, especially for older adults. The filing deadline is generally two years from the date of the fall (Va. Code § 8.01-243(A)), but the evidence that proves notice, especially video, is often overwritten within days or weeks.

Evidence checklist after a fall on someone else's property

• Photos of the exact spot, the hazard, the lighting, and any warning signs (or their absence), taken before anything is cleaned up
• Your shoes and clothing, kept as they were
• The name of the manager you reported the fall to and a copy of any incident report number
• Names and phone numbers of witnesses and employees who responded
• For apartments: your lease, repair requests, and every message to management about the problem
• For ice falls: the date and time of the fall and when you last saw precipitation
• Medical records and bills from the first visit forward

We represent people injured on property throughout Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, and Prince William County. Read more about Virginia personal injury law, or compare the rules in D.C. and Maryland on our premises liability page.

Related reading

• Slip-and-fall cases in Virginia: why notice wins and loses
• Open and obvious in Virginia premises cases
• Winter slip-and-falls in Virginia and the storm-in-progress rule
• Snow, ice, and Virginia landlords: who is responsible
• You signed a waiver before you got hurt in Virginia: can you still sue?
• DMV Injury Guide: gathering evidence while it still exists
• DMV Injury Guide: preserving documents and records

Responsible attorneys: Ryan C. Posey and Jacob M. Lebowitz. Posey Lebowitz PLLC, 3221 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007.