Witnesses are extremely important in a Florida slip and fall case. In the state of Florida, you have to prove that a property owner had either actual or constructive knowledge of a dangerous condition or defect. So, under the actual requirements, if you have a witness…Let’s say an employee of a store that says that they knew about the condition, they just weren’t doing anything about it. Then, that witness can be very critical in showing actual knowledge.
Under constructive knowledge, it goes to show that if the condition was there long enough that if they exercised themselves reasonably prudently or had exercised normal precautions, they would have come across the dangerous condition, then that can also go to show their negligence. If you have a witness who says that they came across the spill and the store didn’t do anything about it, and another witness says that they came across 15 minutes later and the spill was still there, those things can add up to show the constructive knowledge. So that’s why witnesses are so important.