Coral Gables is a beautiful city with busy shops, popular restaurants, and historic hotels. But it is also a place where many slip and fall accidents happen. A wet floor in a restaurant on Giralda Avenue,or a slippery pool deck at the Biltmore Hotel can cause broken hips, bad back injuries, or head trauma. These injuries can change your life, and the property owner should pay for your medical bills and recovery.

Florida's 2023 tort reform reduced the slip and fall statute of limitations to 2 years for incidents after March 24, 2023 (HB 837, F.S. 95.11). Surveillance footage is overwritten in 24-72 hours. Claims against the city or county (like for a broken sidewalk) require a written notice much sooner. Call us to start the process. Call now — the first action is a litigation hold letter sent the same day.

Florida Statute 768.0755 — How to Win Your Case

To win under Florida Statute 768.0755, you must prove the business knew about the danger, or should have known. This means the spill or hazard must have been on the floor long enough that a careful business should have found it and cleaned it up. Security camera footage is the best way to prove how long the hazard was there.

Most of the time, employees do not see the slip and fall happen. To win, you must show how long the hazard was there, and that the business was not checking the floors often enough. The business will usually show a log sheet claiming they checked the floors every 30 minutes. We know how to show that these logs are often incorrect.

Three Ways We Beat the "Floor Check Log" Excuse

Businesses in Coral Gables — like Publix, Sedano's, shops at Merrick Park, and Giralda Avenue restaurants — will try to show inspection logs to prove they checked the floors. We beat this excuse in three ways:

  • 1. Surveillance footage analysis

    The most decisive evidence. If a spill appears on camera at a specific timestamp and the fall occurs later with no employee response in between, the inspection log is impeached regardless of its stated frequency. We subpoena surveillance footage immediately — most properties overwrite footage within 24 to 72 hours.

  • 2. Prior incident reports

    If prior falls or hazard complaints at the same location are on record, the business cannot credibly argue it had no notice of a recurring condition. We request every incident report and customer complaint. A single prior complaint about the same wet floor or cracked surface changes the liability calculus entirely.

  • 3. Building Code & Industry expert testimony

    A grocery store with a known produce section moisture problem has a higher inspection duty than a general retail space. A pool area at the Biltmore carries different standards than a hotel corridor. CHG Lawyers retains experts who establish that the property's maintenance program failed the applicable standard.

Evidence Window Closing Soon

Surveillance footage retention at most Coral Gables commercial properties is 24 to 72 hours. We act today.

Call (305) 501-8021

Florida's 2023 Tort Reform — Comparative Fault

Under Florida's new law (HB 837), if you are found to be more than 50% at fault for the accident, you get nothing. Insurance companies will try to blame you. They will claim you were looking at your phone, ignored "wet floor" signs, wore the wrong shoes, or were running. We gather key evidence immediately to beat these arguments.

Why Choose CHG Lawyers

  • Local firm at 2525 Ponce de Leon Blvd — We know the layout of the Biltmore, how the shops at Merrick Park are run, and how the city maintains its sidewalks.
  • We send evidence saving letters on day one. Getting store security videos before they are deleted in 24 to 72 hours is the most important step to win your case.
  • We check every responsible party. We investigate the store owner, the property manager, and the city at the same time. Having more than one target means more sources of insurance money.
  • Bilingual Representation — English and Spanish.
  • Contingency Fee — No upfront costs. No fees unless we win your case.