Slip and fall injuries can result in medical damages that are expensive. On average, you can receive $30,000 to $40,000 in damages from a slip and fall injury claim. However, the only way this is possible is if you are not at fault for your injuries. The owner of the premises must be negligent or at fault in some way for them to be liable. You can provide evidence that proves their negligence so that you can obtain a settlement.
Proving Negligence In A Slip And Fall
When you are making a slip and fall claim, you have to help your attorney show that the owner of the premises is at fault for causing the accident. Otherwise, you may be liable for your own injuries.
Defining Negligence
According to lawyers Maho and Prentice, negligence is when the property owner has breached their duty. They were unable to provide a safe area for you to visit without you being injured. The owner was unable to perform their duty of care in this instance, which makes the owner liable for your injuries. When this happens, they are at fault and responsible for your damages.
There Is A Dangerous Condition
You can show there is a dangerous condition on the property, which was the direct cause of your injury. The property owner should have corrected this dangerous condition but did not. It is the property owner’s job to foresee what might happen to guests who are exposed to the dangerous condition to help prevent mishaps from occurring. This can be damaged sidewalks, old and rotten floorboards, ripped carpets, staircases not being maintained, and other areas you come into contact with, which may have caused you to injure yourself.
Proving You Were Not Careless
You might be partially held responsible for your injuries. The property owner might argue that you were more than 50% at fault, reducing the amount of liability they are responsible for. If the dangerous condition was obvious, you are expected to use your common sense to avoid it rather than walking right into it. The other party’s insurer might ask if you were talking or distracted. If there were posted warning signs which you ignored, then that can be considered carelessness.
Revealing Negligence
It is possible to show the owner was negligent if the harmful condition was known and identified by the owner as dangerous. If the owner had time to fix the problem, then this is definitely an issue that can be considered a liability. This can also be the case if it was a reasonably foreseeable hazard or seen as having the potential to cause an accident. For example, perhaps the owner did not mow their lawn, and you happen to step into a pothole and break your ankle. You could not avoid this outcome because the grass was too tall for you to see the hole. This is a problem that the owner created and could have been prevented had they maintained their lawn or warned you of the pothole.
Learn Additional Approaches To Proving Negligence
For your slip and fall case, you can find additional evidence which can help your attorney prove your case. Your slip and fall attorney has the experience and can provide helpful advice.
