Murray Slip and Fall Lawyer

Murray is an older, compact city with a busy commercial core. A regional mall, decades-old strip centers along State Street, a major hospital campus and rental housing near the TRAX stations all sit within a few miles of each other. Aging concrete, patched parking lots and building entrances that handle heavy foot traffic are behind many of the fall claims that come out of Murray.

Murray City lists failure to remove snow among the problems its code enforcement staff respond to (Murray City FAQs). A complaint to the city does not decide who pays for your injury, but a record of earlier complaints about the same property can help show the owner knew the walk was being left icy.

Making a Murray Fall Claim

There is seldom a police report after a fall. The case rests on showing a dangerous condition, that the owner or manager knew or reasonably should have known about it, and that it is what took you down.

At a large retail property, the mall owner, the individual store and a maintenance vendor may each control different surfaces, so exactly where you fell matters. Note the store name or the nearest entrance, ask for an incident report, and send a written request that any video be kept before it is overwritten.

How Utah Defines an Owner's Duty

The duty owed turns on the reason you were on the property:

• Customers and residents are owed regular inspection, and hazards must be repaired or clearly marked.
• Guests at a private home should be told about dangers the host knows exist.
• Trespassers are owed considerably less.

A defense that the hazard was plain to see can reduce a recovery, but it is not automatic. If the owner could expect shoppers to use that entrance or walkway regardless, the owner still had to do something about it.

Fault is shared. Utah Code § 78B-5-818 bars recovery unless the combined fault of the defendants exceeds yours, and it reduces the award by your percentage. Insurers in Murray cases often focus on shoes, shopping bags and whether you were hurrying to catch a train.

Time limits. Most claims against private owners must be filed within four years. For a fall on Murray City property, including city sidewalks and Murray Park, or on UTA property at Murray Central, a written notice of claim is due within one year (§ 63G-7-402). Our statute of limitations page explains each deadline.

Where Murray Falls Happen

Fashion Place at 6191 South State Street and the retail strips along State Street, where wet entrances, spilled drinks, uneven curbs and icy parking rows are the recurring issues.

The Intermountain Medical Center campus and the medical offices around it, where patients and visitors who may already be unsteady walk long distances through garages and across plazas. A fall there is a claim against a private owner.

Public places such as Murray Park, home to the Murray Park Amphitheater at 495 East 5300 South, and the platforms at Murray Central station, where public ownership means the one-year notice. For a vehicle crash, see our Murray car accident page; for other injuries, our Murray personal injury page.

Hazards Behind Murray Falls

Cracked and lifted concrete in older lots, worn stair treads, parking-garage ramps that ice over, entry mats that curl at the edges, poor lighting behind strip centers, and roof leaks that leave standing water inside stores.

Common Injuries

Falls often cause wrist, ankle and hip fractures, shoulder tears, spinal injuries and concussions. Murray is home to Intermountain Medical Center on Cottonwood Street, a Level I trauma center, so serious fall injuries are often treated right here in the city.

Recoverable Losses

• Bills and income: ER and surgical costs, rehab, prescriptions and time lost from work.
• Personal harm: pain, limits on daily life and the strain of a long recovery.
• Future needs: ongoing treatment and lost earning power when an injury lasts.

Arguments the Owner's Insurer Makes

Expect claims that the spill was new, that another tenant controlled the area, or that you were not looking where you walked. Sweep logs, video, weather records and a written incident report push back. A Murray fall lawsuit is filed in Third District Court for Salt Lake County, at the Matheson Courthouse, 450 South State Street, or the West Jordan courthouse on Redwood Road. Our Utah slip and fall guide and the steps of a Utah injury case explain more.