Slip And Fall

Slip and fall law is a subset of personal injury law. Slip and fall law governs the liability when an individual slips and falls and suffers injuries as a result to a dangerous condition on the property. When the accident occurs on government property, federal slip and fall law applies. Otherwise, state slip and fall law applies. State slip and fall law varies, but the common elements are the same -- personal injuries and negligence.

The premise of slip and fall cases is negligence. A negligent act must have caused the accident before the victim can file a claim to recover damages. Negligence means a person or an entity failed to perform an act in a reasonable manner expected in certain circumstances. Proving negligence is not an easy task that is left to the hands of the victims. Rather, victims are encouraged to hire a slip and fall law attorney to determine whether there was a negligent act that caused the accident to happen in the first place. A slip and fall victim cannot pursue a personal injury claim if there is no negligence on the part of another party. Proving intent could also elevate the case from simple negligence case to a felony or misdemeanor.

All parties who are possibly responsible for a slip and fall accident must be identified prior to the filing of a suit. The identification of responsible parties may not be very obvious at times and non-identification of certain possible responsible parties could mean lesser recoveries for the victim. Slip and fall laws hold store owners, tenants, and building owners responsible for any negligent act that causes harm to the public. State law also hold responsible insurers to these parties. It is important to seek the aid of slip and fall law attorneys prior to the filing of any slip and fall cases as they know how to use the law to the plaintiff's advantage and use the law so that plaintiffs are rightfully compensated. Slip and fall attorneys would also be knowledgeable as to who to name as responsible parties, saving the victim from any possible regret for not suing in the future. Like all personal injury cases, slip and fall cases are subject to statute of limitations. Without the help of a personal injury attorney specializing on slip and fall accidents, the plaintiff, without intending to, may let the statute of limitations pass and his legal right to seek compensation pass.

Seeking compensation for injuries arising from slip and fall accidents in public places may prove to be a little bit more difficult due to the fact that the government is generally immune from suit. The rule of non-suit against the government has been relaxed in many instances, subject to exceptions. If the victim proves that he incurred injuries as a result of a slip and fall accident in a public place, the victim can sue the government, subject to strict notice requirements and time limits, an expert slip and fall attorney should be knowledgeable about.


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Mauritius Facts

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Geography

Location:
Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, about 800 km (500 mi) east of Madagascar


Geographic coordinates:
20 17 S, 57 33 E


Map references:
Africa


Area:
total:2,040 sq kmcountry comparison to the world: 181
land:2,030 sq km
water:10 sq km
note:includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues


Area - comparative:
almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC


Land boundaries:
territorial sea:12 nm
exclusive economic zone:200 nm
continental shelf:200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin


Climate:
tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May)


Terrain:
small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau


Elevation extremes:
lowest point:Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point:Mont Piton 828 m


    Natural resources:
arable land, fish


Land use:
arable land:38.24%
permanent crops:1.96%
other:59.8% (2011)


Irrigated land:
212.2 sq km (2003)


Total renewable water resources:
2.75 cu km (2011)


Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
2.75 cu km (2011)

Natural hazards:
cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards


Environment - current issues:
water pollution, degradation of coral reefs


Environment - international agreements:
party to:Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:none of the selected agreements


Geography - note:
the main island, from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs; former home of the dodo, a large flightless bird related to pigeons, driven to extinction by the end of the 17th century through a combination of hunting and the introduction of predatory species

People and Society

Nationality:
noun: Mauritian(s)
adjective:Mauritian


Ethnic groups:
Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2%


Languages:
Creole 86.5%, Bhojpuri 5.3%, French 4.1%, two languages 1.4%, other 2.6% (includes English, the official language, which is spoken by less than 1% of the population), unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)


Religions:
Hindu 48.5%, Roman Catholic 26.3%, Muslim 17.3%, other Christian 6.4%, other 0.6%, none 0.7%, unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)


Population:
1,331,155 (July 2014 est.)country comparison to the world: 156


Age structure:
0-14 years:21% (male 143,064/female 137,021)
15-24 years:15.5% (male 104,257/female 102,233)
25-54 years:44.1% (male 293,607/female 294,029)
55-64 years:10.9% (male 68,749/female 76,407)
65 years and over:8% (male 45,145/female 66,643) (2014 est.)


Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio:39.8 %
youth dependency ratio:27.1 %
elderly dependency ratio:12.8 %
potential support ratio:7.8 (2014 est.)


Median age:
total:33.9 years
male:33.1 years
female:34.8 years (2014 est.)


Population growth rate:
0.66% (2014 est.)country comparison to the world: 148


Birth rate:
13.46 births/1,000 population (2014 est.)country comparison to the world: 149


Death rate:
6.85 deaths/1,000 population (2014 est.)country comparison to the world: 138


Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2014 est.)country comparison to the world: 88


Urbanization:
urban population:41.8% of total population (2011)
rate of urbanization:0.57% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)


Major urban areas - population:
PORT LOUIS (capital) 151,000 (2011)


Sex ratio:
at birth:1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years:1.04 male(s)/female
15-24 years:1.02 male(s)/female
25-54 years:1 male(s)/female
55-64 years:0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over:0.67 male(s)/female
total population:0.97 male(s)/female (2014 est.)


Maternal mortality rate:
60 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)


Infant mortality rate:
total:10.59 deaths/1,000 live birthscountry comparison to the world: 136
male:12.59 deaths/1,000 live births
female:8.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2014 est.)


    Life expectancy at birth:
total population:75.17 yearscountry comparison to the world: 98
male:71.71 years
female:78.81 years (2014 est.)


Total fertility rate:
1.77 children born/woman (2014 est.)country comparison to the world: 160


Contraceptive prevalence rate:
75.8% (2002)


Health expenditures:
5.9% of GDP (2011)


Physicians density:
1.06 physicians/1,000 population (2004)


Hospital bed density:
3.4 beds/1,000 population (2011)


Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 99.9% of population
rural: 99.7% of population
total: 99.8% of population
unimproved:
urban: 0.1% of population
rural: 0.3% of population
total: 0.2% of population (2012 est.)


Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 91.7% of population
rural: 90.1% of population
total: 90.8% of population
unimproved:
urban: 8.3% of population
rural: 9.9% of population
total: 9.2% of population (2012 est.)


HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.2% (2012 est.)country comparison to the world: 40


HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
10,500 (2012 est.)country comparison to the world: 101


HIV/AIDS - deaths:
700 (2012 est.)country comparison to the world: 84


Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
18.5% (2008)country comparison to the world: 105


Education expenditures:
3.5% of GDP (2012)country comparison to the world: 123

Literacy:
definition:age 15 and over can read and write
total population:88.8%
male:91.1%
female:86.7% (2011 est.)


School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total:16 years
male:15 years
female:16 years (2012)


Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:
total:23.7%country comparison to the world: 44
male:20.4%
female:28.4% (2012)

Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Mauritius
conventional short form:Mauritius
local long form:Republic of Mauritius
local short form:Mauritius


Government type:
parliamentary democracy


Capital:
name:Port Louis
geographic coordinates:20 09 S, 57 29 E
time difference:UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)


Administrative divisions:
9 districts and 3 dependencies*; Agalega Islands*, Black River, Cargados Carajos Shoals*, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart, Rodrigues*, Savanne


Independence:
12 March 1968 (from the UK)


National holiday:
Independence Day, 12 March (1968)


Constitution:
several previous; latest adopted 12 March 1968; amended many times, last in 2012 (2012)


Legal system:
civil legal system based on French civil law with some elements of English common law


International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction


Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal


Executive branch:
chief of state:President Rajkeswur Kailash PURRYAG (since 21 July 2012); note - former President Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH resigned on 31 March 2012
head of government:Prime Minister Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM (since 5 July 2005)
cabinet:Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
elections:president and vice president elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms (eligible for a second term); elections last held on 21 July 2012 (next to be held in 2017); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president, responsible to the National Assembly; note - former President Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH resigned on 31 March 2012
election results:Rajkeswur Kailash PURRYAG elected president by unanimous vote


Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (70 seats; 62 members elected by popular vote, 8 appointed by the election commission to give representation to various ethnic minorities; members to serve five-year terms)
elections:last held on 5 May 2010 (next to be held in 2015)
election results:percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - AF 41, MMM 18, MR 2, FSM 1; appointed seats - to be assigned 8; note - as of 4 March 2014 seats by party were AF 38, MMM 19, MSM 9, FSM 1, MMSD 1, OPR 1, other 1


Judicial branch:
highest court(s):Supreme Court of Mauritius (consists of the chief justice, a senior puisne judge, and 17 puisne judges)
judge selection and term of office:chief justice appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister; senior puisne judge appointed by the president with the advice of the chief justice; other puisne judges appointed by the president with the advice of the Judicial and Legal Commission, a 4-member body of judicial officials including the chief justice; all judges serve until retirement at age 62
subordinate courts:Court of Civil Appeal; Court of Criminal Appeal; Public