Slip and Fall / Premises Liability Demand Letter - Alabama

DEMAND FOR SETTLEMENT - PREMISES LIABILITY / SLIP AND FALL

STATE OF ALABAMA

[FIRM NAME]
Attorneys at Law
[Street Address]
[City, Alabama ZIP]
Telephone: [Phone]
Facsimile: [Fax]
Email: [Email]
Licensed in the State of Alabama

DATE: [Date]

VIA CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
AND FIRST-CLASS MAIL

[Claims Representative Name / General Counsel]
[Property Owner / Management Company / Insurance Company Name]
[Street Address]
[City, State ZIP]

RE: PREMISES LIABILITY DEMAND - SLIP AND FALL
Our Client: [Client Full Name]
Date of Incident: [Date of Fall]
Location of Incident: [Full Address of Property]
Property Owner: [Property Owner Name]
Claim Number: [Claim Number, if assigned]

Dear [Recipient Name]:

This firm represents [Client Name] ("Claimant") for injuries sustained on [Date of Incident] at premises owned and/or controlled by your insured/client, located at [Property Address] in [City], Alabama. This letter constitutes our formal demand for settlement.

I. ALABAMA-SPECIFIC LEGAL FRAMEWORK

A. Statute of Limitations

Alabama Code Section 6-2-38(l) generally requires an action for injury to the person not otherwise specifically enumerated to be filed within two (2) years after the claim accrues. Do not calculate the filing deadline from this template alone: accrual, tolling, the claimant's status, and special rules for a public or other specially protected defendant must be reviewed. Counsel should calendar the earliest potentially applicable deadline.

B. Contributory Negligence - CRITICAL WARNING

Contributory negligence is a complete defense to an Alabama negligence claim when its elements are proved. It is not a defense to a separately supported wantonness claim. Golden v. McCurry, 392 So. 2d 815, 817 (Ala. 1980). The demand should address the claimant's knowledge, appreciation of the danger, and conduct using the actual evidence rather than asserting that every minor act is necessarily a bar.

Our client was entirely free from fault. As detailed below, our client exercised reasonable care at all times and in no way contributed to this incident.

C. Premises Liability Classification of Entrants

Alabama determines a premises possessor's duty from the entrant's status and the nature of the visit. Joseph v. Caritas of Birmingham, No. SC-2025-0389 (Ala. May 8, 2026).

1. Invitees
An invitee enters for a purpose that confers a material or commercial benefit on the owner or occupier. An invitee is owed reasonable care to keep the premises safe or, if a dangerous condition exists, a sufficient warning that permits the danger to be avoided through ordinary care. Joseph, No. SC-2025-0389.

The demand should establish the material or commercial benefit and identify the person or entity that possessed or controlled the relevant area.

This form assumes the supported conclusion that our client was a business invitee. A licensee or trespasser claim requires a different duty analysis and Alabama counsel's revision.

D. Notice Requirements Under Alabama Law

For a transient foreign substance, investigate whether the defendant had actual notice, whether the condition remained long enough to support constructive notice, or whether the defendant was delinquent in discovering and removing it. Richardson v. Kroger Co., 521 So. 2d 934, 935-36 (Ala. 1988). The notice analysis differs when the defendant or its employees created the condition, so the demand must identify the supported theory.

Actual Notice: [Identify reports, employee observations, prior complaints, work orders, or admissions showing knowledge of the specific condition.]

Constructive Notice or Delinquent Inspection: Evidence may include:

• The appearance of the substance (dirty, tracked-through, dried)
• The length of time the condition existed
• Prior incidents at the same location
• Inadequate inspection procedures

E. Open and Obvious Danger Doctrine

An invitee-duty claim generally concerns hidden or nonobvious hazards. Whether a hazard is open and obvious is an objective inquiry: would it be apparent to and recognized by a reasonable person in the invitee's position? Walter v. Branch Hays Farm SC Associates, LP, No. SC-2025-0160 (Ala. Feb. 27, 2026). Openness and obviousness is often fact-dependent. For lighting cases, the Alabama Supreme Court distinguishes total darkness in unfamiliar surroundings from partial or poor lighting that could mislead a reasonable person; the lighting and path the owner provided and expected the invitee to use matter. Joseph, No. SC-2025-0389.

F. Special Defendants and Claims

Identify the premises owner and operator before sending the demand. A municipal tort claim generally must be presented within six months after accrual under Ala. Code Section 11-47-23. Ala. Code Section 11-93-2 limits qualifying local-government judgments for bodily injury or death to $100,000 for one person and $300,000 in the aggregate when more than two persons have claims from one occurrence. Those provisions do not create liability and should not be described as a general "Alabama Tort Claims Act." Claims involving the State, a State agency, a county, a municipality, a public authority, a landlord, or an independent contractor require separate immunity, notice, control, and deadline analysis.

II. PRESERVATION OF EVIDENCE - LITIGATION HOLD NOTICE

YOU ARE HEREBY DIRECTED TO IMMEDIATELY PRESERVE ALL EVIDENCE relating to this incident and the subject premises, including but not limited to:

• All surveillance video footage from the date of incident (interior and exterior cameras)
• Surveillance footage from 48 hours before and after the incident
• Incident/accident reports prepared by employees or management
• Witness statements taken at the time of incident
• Maintenance logs and repair records for the area of the fall
• Inspection records and checklists for the date of incident and prior 12 months
• Cleaning schedules and logs
• Prior complaints regarding the hazardous condition
• Prior incidents or falls at the same or similar location
• Work orders and maintenance requests for the area
• Photographs of the incident location
• Written policies and procedures for maintenance, inspection, and safety
• Training records for employees responsible for premises safety
• All communications regarding the incident
• Insurance policies applicable to this claim

Please suspend routine destruction for evidence reasonably related to this claim. The availability of any sanction, evidentiary inference, or separate third-party spoliation claim depends on the facts and governing Alabama law; this notice does not state that any particular remedy will automatically follow.

III. STATEMENT OF FACTS

A. The Premises

The incident occurred at [Property Address], which is [describe property type - e.g., "a retail shopping center," "a grocery store," "a restaurant," etc.]. At all relevant times, [Property Owner Name] owned, operated, maintained, and/or controlled the subject premises.

B. The Hazardous Condition

On the date of the incident, a dangerous and hazardous condition existed on the premises, specifically:

[DESCRIBE THE HAZARDOUS CONDITION IN DETAIL]

C. The Incident

On [Date of Incident], at approximately [Time], our client was lawfully present on the premises as a business invitee when [describe the fall in detail].

D. Notice - Actual or Constructive

[Choose applicable theory:]

Actual Knowledge: Your insured had actual knowledge of the hazardous condition because [describe evidence of actual knowledge].

Constructive Knowledge: The hazardous condition existed for a sufficient length of time that your insured, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have discovered and remediated it. Evidence of constructive notice includes:

• [Evidence of duration - e.g., "The substance had a dried, dirty appearance indicating it had been present for an extended period"]
• [Evidence of inspection failures]
• [Prior complaints or incidents]

IV. LIABILITY ANALYSIS

A. Duty of Care

As a business invitee, our client was owed the duty Alabama law assigns to an invitee. Your insured had a duty to:

1. Keep the premises in a reasonably safe condition
2. Inspect the premises to discover dangerous conditions
3. Warn of or remedy any dangerous conditions
4. Use reasonable care to protect invitees from foreseeable hazards

B. Breach of Duty

Your insured breached its duty of care by:

• Failing to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition
• Failing to conduct reasonable inspections to discover the hazard
• Failing to warn of or remedy the dangerous condition
• [Additional specific breaches]

C. Contributory Negligence - Inapplicable

We specifically address and reject any claim of contributory negligence:

• Our client was exercising reasonable care at all times
• Our client had no reason to anticipate the dangerous condition
• The hazard was not open and obvious
• Our client's attention was reasonably directed [elsewhere - describe]
• Our client had every right to expect the premises would be maintained in a safe condition

There is no evidence that our client contributed to this incident in any way.

D. Causation

The dangerous condition was the direct and proximate cause of our client's injuries. But for your insured's negligence, our client would not have fallen and would not have sustained the injuries detailed herein.

V. INJURIES AND MEDICAL TREATMENT

A. Summary of Injuries

As a direct and proximate result of the fall, our client sustained the following injuries:

[LIST INJURIES]

B. Medical Treatment

Emergency Treatment:
[Describe emergency care]

Follow-Up Treatment:
[Describe ongoing treatment]

Current Status and Prognosis:
[Describe current condition and prognosis]

VI. DAMAGES

A. Medical Expenses

Future Medical Expenses: $[Amount]

B. Lost Wages

C. Pain and Suffering

[Describe pain and suffering]

D. Summary of Damages

VII. SETTLEMENT DEMAND

Based upon the clear liability of your insured, the severity of our client's injuries, and the substantial damages incurred, we hereby demand:

$[DEMAND AMOUNT]

This demand will remain open for thirty (30) days from the date of this letter, expiring on [Expiration Date].

The enclosed evidence supports the demand and addresses the anticipated contributory-negligence and open-and-obvious defenses. Any evaluation should be based on the documented condition, notice or creation theory, lighting and visibility, warnings, inspection evidence, and our client's conduct.

VIII. DOCUMENTATION ENCLOSED

• Complete medical records and bills
• Photographs of the incident location
• Photographs of injuries
• Incident report (if obtained)
• Employment records and lost wage documentation
• [Additional documentation]

IX. CONCLUSION

The evidence establishes clear liability on the part of your insured. Our client was a business invitee who was entirely free from fault. Your insured's failure to maintain safe premises caused our client's serious injuries.

We urge prompt attention to this matter.

Respectfully submitted,

[FIRM NAME]

By: _________________________________
[Attorney Name]
Alabama State Bar No. [Number]
Attorney for [Client Name]

ENCLOSURES: As noted above

cc: [Client Name]
File

ALABAMA-SPECIFIC PRACTICE NOTES

• Contributory Negligence: Plead and prove the facts bearing on the claimant's knowledge, appreciation, visibility, route, footwear, warnings, and conduct. Do not use comparative-fault percentages.

• Wantonness and Punitive Damages: Wantonness means conduct carried on with reckless or conscious disregard for others' rights or safety. Punitive damages require clear and convincing proof under Ala. Code Section 6-11-20 and are subject to Section 6-11-21's claim-specific limits, exceptions, and CPI adjustment. Do not include punitive damages from ordinary-negligence facts alone.

• Notice Theory: For a transient foreign substance, select and support actual notice, constructive notice, or delinquent inspection. If the defendant created the condition, state the supporting facts instead of forcing the claim into a foreign-substance notice formula.

• Open and Obvious: Apply the objective reasonable-person standard from Walter and the fact-sensitive lighting analysis from Joseph. Do not rely on generic "distraction" or "no alternative route" exceptions without Alabama authority tied to the facts.

• Special Defendants: Determine the exact legal entity before calculating notice periods, immunities, caps, or venue. Municipal presentment under Section 11-47-23 can expire before the general two-year limitations period.

VERIFICATION SOURCES

• Alabama Legislature, current Code viewer: Ala. Code Sections 6-2-38, 6-11-20, 6-11-21, 11-47-23, and 11-93-2 (accessed July 12, 2026).
• Alabama Appellate Courts Public Portal, Joseph v. Caritas of Birmingham, No. SC-2025-0389 (Ala. May 8, 2026).
• Supreme Court of Alabama, Walter v. Branch Hays Farm SC Associates, LP, No. SC-2025-0160 (Ala. Feb. 27, 2026).
• Golden v. McCurry, 392 So. 2d 815 (Ala. 1980).
• Richardson v. Kroger Co., 521 So. 2d 934 (Ala. 1988).