A slip and fall lawsuit falls under the category of premises liability claims, where a victim suing the property owner pays legal fees to recover damages for injuries sustained as a result of the fall due to unsafe conditions on the property. To recover damages arising from the slip and fall incident, the injured party must prove that the property owner shared negligent responsibility. This means they failed to exercise reasonable care in keeping the premises reasonably safe, for instance, by failing to clean up the spill or repair a defective floor.
Common hazardous conditions of property would include the following: wet floors, defective or faulty uneven surfaces, inadequate lighting conditions, or warnings regarding unsafe areas.
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What Comprises Premises Liability Claims?
Slip and fall actions fall under the category of premises liability claims. This law places the liability for unsafe conditions arising on the premises of a building owner or manager toward an embodied guest. It is the owner’s responsibility to keep the premises reasonably safe for visitors.
What Must Be Proven in a Slip and Fall Lawsuit?
For a slip and fall lawsuit, every average plaintiff must prove the following four conditions to show negligence by a property owner:
- Duty of Care: The property owner must have a duty to keep the property safe reasonably.
- Breaking of Duty: Such being the case, the owner breached that duty, whether by creating a hazard or failing to remove an existing one.
- In the presence of danger: Awareness by the homeowner that some dangerous condition existed, or should have known.
- Cause: The actual and proximate cause of the falling injury was the negligent conduct of the owner.
Common Causes Of Slip And Fall Accidents
- Wet or slippery floors have to be protected from spills, especially after being recently mopped or after freezing.
- Uneven surfaces with cracked sidewalks or potholes.
- Debris on walkways or within cluttered areas.
- Poor lighting
- No warning signs for hazards.
- Loose mats or rugs.
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What Evidence Is Needed in a Slip and Fall Lawsuit?
- Photos/video footage: Photos or video evidence of the hazard that caused the fall.
- Incident reports: A detailed report of the incident.
- Witness statements: Testimonies from those who saw the accident.
- Medical records: Documentation of an injury and how those injuries were linked to the fall.
- Proof of expenses: Such as receipts concerning medical bills and medication, and about lost wages.
Building Your Case
This collection of evidence makes up the ability of the lawyer to put together and argue the case just within the setting of your loss.
Evaluation of Your Losses
Accurate measurement of losses is part of establishing a case well. This is quite easy with tangible expenses (i.e., economic losses). A lawyer can substantiate such expenses with receipts, including:
- Medical bills
- Prescription medication
- Lost wages
- Potential lost earnings
- Property damage
But there are non-economic damages for which one can recover. Those more refer to the psychological and physical toll the accident created on your life. If you belong to any of the non-economic damages defined below, perhaps you have a case for recovering such damages:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Disfigurement or disability
- Loss of consortium
Falls, according to the CDC, are the leading cause of death from unintentional injuries among individuals over the age of 65. One can also recover expenses incurred in the burial and funeral of a person who died as a result of a fall on another’s property.
Proving Negligence
By far the most principal proof in a slip and fall lawsuit is negligent ownership. Usually, it can be shown if it is proved that the deficiency in question has been created by that owner’s doing and either he knew about the hazard or should have known about it and, therefore, without curing it, will be charged by his negligence for having caused the damage to you.
It may simply get more complicated for any attorney to argue if the reason you were on that land is due to trespassing, or because the hazard should have been apparent by warning signs, or because you were distracting yourself from the hazard. If it is something that a reasonable person would have caught, it will make the case of proving negligence rather sticky.
Once a lawyer shows that the negligent party was responsible for the accident, he can start negotiations on behalf of his client.
Negotiating a Settlement
A lawyer arranges a fair settlement for you, either with the negligent party themselves or their insurance company. This is the fastest and least expensive method for all parties to come to a resolution of the case. It saves both sides’ attorney costs, fees, and the court, and is much faster than a trial.
Bottom Line!
If you are advising about putting up a slip and fall lawsuit, it might be hugely beneficial for you to have a law firm assess your case. Our lawyers can explain and walk you through how the law you are standing on works and how a case for slip and fall is pled.
The slip and fall attorney at Tenina Law assists in gathering evidence for your case, negotiating with insurance companies, and going to court if need be. We fight for justice and compensation for people whose negligence has harmed them.
Call for a free, no-obligation consultation. Talk to one of our team today! We work on a contingency basis; thus, you owe us nothing at all until your case is resolved without going to trial or in trial. You do not need to go through the pain of building a slip and fall lawsuit all alone.
We are here to assist you.
