In a decision that will dramatically change slip-and-fall claims in the State of Florida, the state Supreme Court recently reversed precedent, placing the burden of proof in premises liability cases onto the shoulders of property owning defendants. Prior to the decision, plaintiffs had to prove that storeowners should have known a product that could result in injury was on the storehouse floor and that the owner failed to clean it up. Under the old rule, judges required evidence demonstrating that a dangerous product such as a banana remained on the floor for an extended period, a challenging task for injury attorneys.

Under the new high court decision, which extended from two slip-and fall cases involving Publix and U-Save supermarkets, the storeowner now must prove, through reports and surveillance equipment, that he took "reasonable care" to ensure that floors were hazard free. Attorneys say the decision will open the door for thousands of new slip-and-fall cases across the state.