Florida Law Update - Section 768.0755, slip-and-fall caseS

On April 14, 2010, the Governor signed into law Section 768.0755, Florida Statutes, which places the burden of proof on a plaintiff in a slip-and-fall case to prove actual or constructive knowledge by the premises owner or operator of the existence of the transitory foreign substance that caused the fall.  Under the new law the plaintiff may prove constructive knowledge by circumstantial evidence by showing that either the dangerous condition existed for such a length of time that, in exercise of ordinary care, the premises owner should have known about it, or the condition occurred with regularity and was therefore foreseeable.  Consequently, plaintiffs in slip-and-fall cases now face a tougher burden of proof.