Man Files Lawsuit After Slip and Fall Incident at Florida Rest Area
A rest stop is supposed to be a place to relax during a long drive. Instead, it ended up causing a man to suffer serious injuries. He is now filing a lawsuit.
A Georgia resident alleges he suffered serious injuries after using a rest area along the Florida Turnpike in Sumter County and slipping on the steps of a temporary restroom. On August 8, 2023, the man stopped at a rest plaza in Wildwood, Florida, where a trailer was serving as a makeshift bathroom amid ongoing construction.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed August 6 in the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Sumter County, there was a “trailer serving as a temporary restroom” at the rest step due to “ongoing construction.” The man stepped onto metal steps that led to the temporary facility when his feet slid out beneath him. He grabbed a side railing to break his fall but still incurred “significant injuries,” according to the lawsuit.
The man’s attorneys allege the defendants, which include Areas USA, Inc., Visit Florida, Inc., and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), failed to maintain the site in a safe condition. They claim the defendants neglected to clean and inspect floors and stairs, failed to warn of water or grime hazards, and did not provide adequate staffing or training to prevent unsafe conditions under circumstances of heavy foot traffic.
The man is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 (excluding legal costs), citing ongoing pain, medical expenses, lost earnings, and permanent impairment. He claims these damages were caused by the defendants’ “carelessness and negligence.”
Key Factors in Florida Slip and Fall Cases
Liability in slip and fall cases are based on the following:
- Actual or constructive knowledge. The injured person must show the property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition. This is one of the biggest hurdles in Florida cases. Actual knowledge means the owner or employee saw the hazard or created it. Constructive knowledge means the hazard existed long enough that it should have been discovered, or it happened regularly (like repeated spills), making it predictable.
- Failure to maintain the property. Owners and operators must keep their premises reasonably safe. A pattern of poor maintenance strengthens a plaintiff’s claim. Liability may arise if they failed to:
o Clean floors or walkways.
o Inspect for hazards.
o Repair broken floors, uneven surfaces, or worn-down steps.
o Manage spills or weather-related risks.
- Failure to warn. Lack of warning signage is a common basis for lawsuits. If a dangerous condition can’t be fixed immediately, owners must provide adequate warnings, such as:
o “Wet floor” signs.
o Barricades.
o Verbal warnings.
- Comparative negligence. Florida follows modified comparative negligence. A plaintiff’s award is reduced by their percentage of fault but if the injured person is more than 50% at fault, they recover nothing.
Contact Us Today
Slips and falls are common accidents. They can happen in a number of ways. Sometimes property owners are negligent, but not always.
Who is liable for your injuries? A Bradenton slip & fall lawyer from Cahall Law Firm can assess your case and gather evidence. To schedule a consultation with our office, call (941) 281-2019 or fill out the online form.
Source:
villages-news.com/2025/08/22/driver-using-turnpike-rest-stop-in-sumter-county-sues-fdot-over-slip-and-fall/
