Slip and fall accidents are the most common personal injury claims in the country. These cases occur when someone slips or trips and is injured on someone else’s property, including businesses. Typically, these cases fall under premises liability claims, and the property owner may be held legally responsible for damages if conditions are against them.
Proving Fault
In a slip and fall case, there is no precise method to determine who is legally responsible for injuries sustained. Each case will rely on whether the property owner acted carefully to ensure slip and fall accidents were not likely to occur. For example, if the floor is wet due to snow from outdoors, if the business owner places a “Caution: Wet Floor” sign up, they took adequate precautions to warn everyone.
In many cases, the injured party must prove that the cause of their fall was due to “dangerous conditions,” and the owner knew of these conditions.
To establish a property owner had knowledge of dangerous conditions, you must show that:
• The owner created the situation
• The owner knew the condition existed and failed to solve it
• The condition existed for a length of time that the owner should have discovered and corrected the problem prior to the accident in question.
How Much Should Be Paid Out?
Typically, the amount of money the liable individual is forced to pay is based on the injured party’s damages – the cost of medical bills, lost income, and compensation for pain and suffering.
Determining the number of losses is simple, and requires you to gather medical bills and add up any time spent out of work. The hard part is calculating pain and suffering. It is an estimate, at best.
Contact Us
If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident, contact Lucé Law, PC today at (972) 632-1300. We’re here to help!
