Slip and fall accidents are one of the leading causes of death and injuries, particularly among adults. A slip and fall accident should not be taken with levity. Injuries from slips and falls include broken necks, slipped discs, head injuries, and broken bones. Have you or someone you know recently suffered a slip and fall accident? Let us answer some of the questions you may have.
Should I get help when I have a slip and fall accident?
We think the better question could be, why shouldn’t you get help after suffering a slip and fall accident? You need legal assistance as much as you need medical help. The rationale behind bringing a slip and fall claim is to help the injured party recover the money they have expended due to an injury caused by someone else’s mistake and prevent such from happening to someone else.
Are you still asking whether or not you ought to get help when you have a slip and fall accident?
What do I need to prove to succeed in my slip and fall accident claim?
To succeed in your slip and fall accident claim, you must show that your accident resulted from negligence. Not your negligence. It may be that of a property owner or someone else responsible for maintaining the property. In a slip and fall accident, you have to show that there was
- A dangerous condition on the property that the property owner knew about or reasonably ought to learn about
- The property owner did not act as a reasonable property owner would
Who can I hold liable for my slip and fall accident?
Anyone at fault can be held liable, depending on the facts of the case. Typically, parties who are defendants of most slip and fall accident claims are:
- Landlord/Property owners
- The city, municipality, and government agencies
- Business entities
- Employers
- Schools
Can I sue the city for my slip and fall accident?
Yes, you can file a slip and fall lawsuit against the city or a government agency if they are responsible for maintaining the property which caused your accident. When your slip and fall accident is caused by a property owned and maintained by the city, you can initiate an action against the city by serving a pre-lawsuit notice within three years of the accident.
When you bring a slip and fall action against a government entity, you must prove the same things as necessary when you intend to bring an action against a private person or entity such as your landlord or a private business organization.
Can I sue my landlord for a slip-and-fall accident in my apartment?
This will depend on the facts of the case and the circumstances surrounding the accident. But yes, it is possible to sue your landlord for a slip-and-fall accident in your apartment. A landlord must notify the tenant of any known defect in the apartment or premises to be leased. This is particularly true of latent defects, which are not apparent or discoverable during a reasonable property inspection. Where a landlord fails to do this, and a slip and fall occurs, he may be liable and may be required to pay damages to the injured person.
As a tenant, you can also sue your landlord for a slip and fall accident in your apartment when they violate a building code or ordinance.
Generally, a landlord is responsible for keeping the premises reasonably safe. When a landlord is aware of the unsafe condition within his premises or should reasonably have known of a hazardous situation that exists on his property and does nothing, the landlord may be held responsible and have to pay damages to the injured party.
Can I sue my employer for my slip and fall accident?
Under the law in Florida, an employee cannot sue his employer for negligence. Thus, all personal injury claims at the workplace are covered by an insurance policy. Florida requires companies and business entities with a staff strength of four employees and more to carry out worker’s compensation insurance that covers expenses, lost wages, and injured workers’ compensation.
An employee who has been injured at work can file a worker’s compensation claim for lost wages and medical bills. An action may, however, be brought against an employer by their employee when there is
- Intentional harm by the employer and
- When the employer has no worker’s compensation insurance
Can I sue a business entity for my slip and fall accident?
The answer is yes, as long as you can establish your claim by proving the necessary elements that can help you ground your slip and fall accident claim. When it comes to slip and fall accidents caused by a transitory foreign substance, the injured party must show that the business owner had actual or constructive knowledge and did not take steps to remedy it. Because of this position of the law, recovering damages from business entities for injuries caused by transitory foreign substances has become an arduous task.
Examples of transitory foreign substances are water, melted butter, oil, grease, clothing not on the rack, etc,.
What if the slip and fall accident was partly my fault?
An injured party can share in the fault that leads to the accident. It does not stop you from enforcing your damages, but it may reduce the amount you can claim because you are partly at fault. This is a comparative negligence.
How can a Personal Injury Attorney help me in a slip and fall accident?
An experienced personal injury attorney knows precisely what to look out for in a slip and fall accident claim and can do the following for you:
Gather relevant evidence
Your injury attorney knows what evidence will help you succeed in your matter.
Represent your interest
Your injury attorney will present your case and rightly represent your interest in court or out of court when an out-of-court settlement is explored.
Negotiate on your behalf
Your attorney will negotiate with the adverse party or third-party insurance company. By this, you will not shortchange yourself in claiming the best financial compensation you deserve.
How much is my slip and fall accident worth?
Many victims and their families prioritize this question, and the reason is commonsensical. People want to know how much they will be awarded at the end of the process to help them determine whether or not the case is worth pursuing.
The worth of your slip and fall accident will depend on some of these factors. In no particular order, it will depend on where the fall happened, the gravity of the fall, the costs that have been incurred as a result of the fall, diminished or lost wages, if any, the level of your fault, pain, and suffering, the severity of the injury, the age of the victim, whether they can still be employable or is now unable to work.
What kind of damages can I receive after a slip and fall accident?
Awards for slip and fall accidents are usually in the form of monetary compensation. These damages can be likened to reimbursement to the injured party for the costs incurred due to the injury caused by another person. An injured party can be awarded special damages and general damages.
- Special damages (or special compensatory damages): Special damages are reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the injured party. When a person has suffered a physical injury, his hospital bill, money for medication, transportation cost to and from the hospital, cost of an ambulance, cost of therapy and rehabilitation, and all expenses as a result of the injury are all out of pocket expenses that can be awarded as special damages in favor of the injured party as long as he can give an account of the costs that has been incurred.
- General damages (or general compensatory damages): Unlike special damages, general damages cannot be quantified. An example is the pain and suffering the injured party has suffered since the injury occurred.
How long do I have to file a slip and fall accident claim?
Like all other personal injury claims, a slip and fall claim has a set time in which you can bring your action. The Florida Statute of Limitation puts the timeline for personal injury cases to four years. The deceased’s surviving relative has two years to sue for wrongful death where the death occurred.
Wet floor sign, can a business still be liable?
The answer is ‘possibly’. This is because a wet floor sign in a shop or mall does not exonerate a business entity from liability if it can be proven that the business owner still created an unsafe condition that was not fixed timeously.
At Coleman Law Group, we have a team of experienced and well-trained attorneys who have helped many accident victims receive their entitled financial injury compensation. You can get in touch with our team for a free evaluation of your case. Do not worry, we are here to help. Just give us a call.
