Slip and fall lawyer.

What you have to prove against a merchant

Louisiana Revised Statute 9:2800.6 governs falls in stores and other merchant premises. The injured person has to prove that a condition on the premises presented an unreasonable risk of harm that was reasonably foreseeable, that the merchant either created the condition or had actual or constructive notice of it before the fall, and that the merchant failed to use reasonable care. Constructive notice means the condition existed long enough that the merchant should have discovered it. Proving that time element is the center of most of these cases.

That is why the evidence matters so much. Store surveillance, sweep logs, incident reports, the identity of the employee who was nearest, and photographs of the floor taken within minutes of the fall all show how long the hazard was there. Most retailers overwrite video on a short cycle, so a written preservation demand has to reach the store at once.

Apartments, landlords and other property owners

Falls that happen at an apartment complex, a private home or a non-merchant business are judged under Civil Code articles 2317.1 and 2322, which hold the owner or custodian responsible for a defect in the thing or building when the owner knew or should have known of it and could have prevented the harm with reasonable care. The lease and the maintenance history usually decide who that owner or custodian is.

Fault and the deadline

Defendants in fall cases almost always argue that the hazard was open and obvious or that the injured person was not watching. Under Civil Code article 2323 a person found fifty-one percent or more at fault since January 1, 2026 recovers nothing, so that argument has to be answered with facts. For falls on or after July 1, 2024, Civil Code article 3493.1 allows two years to file suit.