Maryland Accident Law Blog
A business that mops its own floor is not entitled to judgment simply because its employee had not yet come back with a warning sign. The Supreme Court of Maryland so held in a reported opinion filed September 25, 2026. A customer who fell on a just-mopped floor at a Silver Spring car dealership, the court ruled, is entitled to have a jury decide whether the dealership acted reasonably.
A Maryland slip and fall on a wet floor usually turns on notice, meaning proof that the owner knew or should have known about the hazard. The court held that notice is not at issue when the owner’s own employee knowingly created the condition. Whether the owner took reasonable precautions is then ordinarily a question for the jury.
The ruling returns the case for trial. It does not decide that the dealership was negligent. Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers represents people hurt in slip and fall accidents across Maryland, and the line the court drew, between a hazard a business finds and one it makes, changes what an injured customer has to prove.
What Happened at the Service Desk
The customer was waiting in the lounge while her car was serviced. A service advisor noticed footprints on the floor near the service desk and asked a coworker to clean them, then watched him mop. No wet-floor sign went out before or during the mopping. When the coworker finished, he left to get a sign that was kept about a minute away. Before he returned, the advisor called the customer to the desk because her car was ready. She slipped on the wet floor.
The trial court granted summary judgment to the dealership, reasoning that there had not been enough time to post a sign. The Appellate Court of Maryland reversed on the premises liability claim, and the Supreme Court affirmed that reversal.
What the Decision Means for a Maryland Slip and Fall on a Wet Floor
An invitee is the legal term for a visitor such as a business customer. Of the four categories of visitor Maryland law recognizes, the invitee is owed the highest duty of care. An owner is liable to an invitee for a dangerous condition that the owner knows about or would have discovered with reasonable care. The invitee must also show that the owner should have expected the invitee not to discover the danger or guard against it, and that the owner failed to use reasonable care. The court repeated that an owner is not an insurer of a customer’s safety. An injury on the premises does not by itself establish negligence.
In the usual case, someone else left the hazard, such as another customer who spilled a drink. The injured person must then show it was there long enough for the owner to find and fix it. The dealership relied on an earlier case of that kind, in which a restaurant employee learned of a spill in a mall food court moments before another customer slipped on it. The court said that case did not apply. The dealership’s employee was not reacting to a hazard that already existed, since the floor was not wet until he mopped it. A jury could find that a reasonable owner would have posted a sign before mopping or warned the customer as she walked up.
What to Preserve After a Fall on a Floor a Business Just Cleaned
If you fell on a wet floor in a store, restaurant, or office, the questions the court focused on are factual. Who mopped, when, where the warning signs were kept, whether one was out, and whether an employee directed you toward the area are all things witnesses and video can answer. Ask in writing that surveillance footage be kept. Write down the names of the employees you dealt with, and photograph the floor and your shoes.
The decision does not change Maryland’s contributory negligence rule, under which a person’s own negligence, however slight, can bar recovery. The opinion did not address that defense. A business can be expected to argue that the wet floor was visible. The limitations period for a personal injury claim is three years from the date it accrues under Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101.
We represent people injured on business premises throughout Maryland, in grocery stores, restaurants, dealerships, and office buildings. Our attorneys act early to preserve surveillance video and maintenance logs. We take sworn testimony from the employees who were there, since these cases are decided on small facts about who did what and when. Lebowitz & Mzhen has recovered more than $90 million for injured clients, including a $350,000 slip and fall recovery. We handle premises cases on contingency and prepare each one as though a jury will decide it.
If You Fell on a Wet Floor at a Maryland Business
Whether a business took reasonable steps is a question of fact, and the business holds most of the evidence that answers it. Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers represents injured people across Maryland, including Montgomery County and the Baltimore area. Call (800) 654-1949 or contact our office for a free case evaluation. There is no fee unless we win.