Just like in any personal injury claim, to succeed with a slip-and-fall case the injured person has to show that someone was negligent.
When lawyers talk about “negligence,” they mean responsibility for an accident and the resulting injuries. Proving that a landlord was responsible for a slip-and-fall injury would involve showing that:
Keep in mind that landlords aren’t expected or required to keep their properties completely safe. One key question is whether the landlord knew—or should have known—about the dangerous condition. If the landlord did know, then courts will look at whether the landlord acted appropriately to protect people and eliminate the danger.
In other words, were the landlord’s decisions and actions reasonable under the circumstances?
Let’s look at a couple of examples of how these legal rules apply in real-world situations.
Let's say that there’s a leak in the ceiling of your rental apartment. The water pools on the floor and you end up slipping and falling. Your landlord’s liability would depend, in part, on whether they knew or should’ve known about the leak.
If the leak started unexpectedly, and you slipped before you had time to notify the landlord, it’s unlikely the landlord would be found negligent. In that scenario, the landlord didn’t know about the leak and had no opportunity to act reasonably and fix it.
On the other hand, the landlord could be liable if:
Remember that a landlord’s liability depends, in part, on whether the injured person’s behavior was reasonable. In a situation like this, a judge or jury would consider whether you took proper precautions once you knew about the leak. Juries, especially, often hold personal injury plaintiffs to a high standard and assume that they should have been on the lookout for danger.
That’s why, if you notice an unsafe condition in your rental house or apartment, you should notify your landlord immediately, and also take reasonable steps to protect yourself.
Depending on the issue or potential danger, it could make sense to:
If the problem is serious, and the landlord doesn’t take care of it quickly, you might want to consult an attorney who specializes in landlord-tenant law. Legal aid organizations and state and local governments often offer this kind of advice free of charge.
Let’s say you’re hurt in a slip-and-fall in one of the common areas of your apartment building (or on the path or sidewalk of your rented house). The location’s different, but you can think about your landlord’s potential liability in the same way you would if you fell inside your rental unit.
First, you need to know if your landlord was responsible for maintaining and repairing the area where the accident happened. There are two important points here:
So, what if you slip on ice on the walkway going from the front door of your rental house to the street? In general it’s the landlord's responsibility to keep driveways and pathways clear of snow and ice. But, before concluding that your landlord is responsible for your accident, you’d need to make sure that you didn’t agree in your lease to shovel the snow and salt the pavement yourself.
Second, you (and, potentially, a judge or a jury) will need to ask if your injuries were the result of your landlord’s failure to fulfil their responsibilities. Let’s consider a situation where you’re injured in a fall on the stairs in your apartment building’s common area. Your landlord’s liability would depend, in part, on whether your actions and your landlord’s actions were reasonable. Consider these two examples:
If you’re hurt in a slip-and-fall accident and think your landlord might be responsible, it’s vital to act quickly to make sure you have the strongest possible claim. That includes:
If you live in a multi-unit building, you should also see if other tenants either saw the dangerous condition that caused your accident, or have had any issues getting the landlord to address their safety concerns. Gathering evidence like this, and deciding how to communicate with the landlord or their insurance company, are areas where you could want help from an experienced personal injury attorney.
If you’ve been injured in a fall, you can learn more about how to make a slip-and-fall claim and about when a property owner is liable for accidents on their property. You can also read more about your legal rights and obligations as a tenant or a landlord.
]]>After any kind of slip and fall incident in Florida, you might have several options for getting compensation for your injuries, income losses, and your mental and physical pain and suffering (taken together, these losses are called "damages" in legalese). For example:
In the insurance claim process, your goal is to come away with a settlement that covers all of the costs (economic or otherwise) of your slip and fall injuries. And even if your slip and fall case ends up in Florida court, a settlement is always possible at any point before trial (the vast majority of injury cases settle, after all).
Check out our example of a slip and fall settlement in Florida, and get more details on making a successful slip and fall case:
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in the state's civil court system. Miss the deadline, and your case is sure to be dismissed, unless a rare exception applies to alter or extend the filing window. (Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in Florida, and for more information on how the statute of limitations applies to your case.)
In Florida, anyone who is injured in a slip and fall must get their lawsuit filed against the property owner within two years of the incident. This deadline—for lawsuits based on negligence—is found at Florida Statutes section 95.11(4)(a), and it applies to almost all personal injury cases brought in Florida's civil courts. (Learn more about negligence and fault for an accident.)
From a strategy standpoint, you want to leave yourself plenty of time to file a slip and fall lawsuit, even if you’re confident your injury claim will settle. At the very least, having the option of going to court will give you more leverage during settlement talks.
Before you file an insurance claim or lawsuit over your slip and fall, prepare yourself to hear the property owner argue that you bear some amount of blame for the accident. If this tactic is successful, you could see a significant chunk of any court award taken away (and a finding of shared fault will also likely reduce the value of your slip and fall claim even if you settle out of court).
For example, the property owner could argue that:
In the rare event that your Florida slip and fall case makes it to a court trial, the state's "pure comparative negligence rule" will be used to determine your share of legal blame for your accident, and how much compensation you can still receive from the property owner.
Under "pure comparative negligence," any damages award a personal injury plaintiff receives will be reduced according to the percentage of their fault for the underlying accident. So, let's say the jury finds that:
That will leave the property owner on the hook for $8,500 (that’s the original $10,000 minus the 15 percent that equates with your share of fault).
Even if your Florida slip and fall case doesn’t make it to trial—even if a lawsuit isn’t actually filed, for that matter—the state's comparative negligence rule will likely still factor in. During settlement negotiations, the property owner’s insurance company (and/or their attorney) are concerned with what might happen if your case does wind up in court.
So you can expect any slip and fall settlement offer from the other side to reflect their view of your role in causing your own injuries, seen through the lens of Florida’s shared fault rules. That’s why it's so important to make a strong liability case against the property owner.
Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
A unique set of rules (and deadlines) will apply if your slip and fall occurred on government property in Florida, or if the negligence of the government (or a government employee) otherwise played a part in your injury. You'll need to provide the relevant government agency with proper notice of your claim, and most injury claims are subject to a $200,000 damages cap. Learn more about making an injury claim against the government in Florida.
It's important to understand the rules that might be in play any time you're hurt on someone else's property. But when it comes to making sure your rights are protected, one-size-fits-all information can only do so much. For help that's tailored to your situation, it might be time to reach out to an experienced legal professional.
Learn how an attorney can help after an accident or injury, and how to find the right personal injury lawyer.
]]>The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that over 100,000 emergency room visits were trampoline-related in 2014. And from 2000 to 2009, the CPSC is aware of 22 deaths associated with trampoline use. The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages home use of trampolines, but jumping on trampolines continues to be a popular activity for kids.
What happens when someone gets hurt on a trampoline? Who, if anyone, is on the legal hook for the injured person’s medical bills, pain and suffering, and other losses? Depending on how the injury happened, an injured trampoline user may have a personal injury claim against one or more of the following:
People can get hurt while jumping on trampolines in many different ways. Most often, two or more jumpers collide or a jumper might fall or land improperly while doing a stunt.
Common types of trampoline injuries include:
More injuries happen on backyard trampolines than at trampoline parks (66% versus 34%), but trampoline park injuries tend to be more serious.
When someone gets hurt, the first thing most people want to know is, "Who was at fault?" When it comes to trampoline injuries, the answer to that all-important question often depends on two things:
A lot of trampoline accidents are the trampoline user’s fault, but others are the responsibility of:
Figuring out who's to blame for the accident is important because if you file an injury-related claim or lawsuit against the wrong party, you could end up with nothing.
For example, if a child suffers a concussion after a trampoline leg breaks, you might assume the injury is the manufacturer’s fault. But if the trampoline leg broke because of years of accumulated rust, and not because it was built with low-quality steel, you would get nothing if you only sued the manufacturer and not the owner who failed to properly take care of the equipment.
It's crucial to understand exactly how the injury happened. Most trampoline accidents fit into one of three scenarios:
Once you figure out what happened and who is to blame, figuring out the type of claim you have becomes much easier. Here are the possibilities:
Manufacturers must design, manufacture, and distribute safe products. If a trampoline manufacturer fails to make a trampoline that is safe for its intended use, you can file a product liability claim. For example, if a trampoline claims to support a 200-pound person, the bolts should not give way when an average-sized child jumps on the trampoline.
A property owner or tenant is responsible for keeping visitors reasonably safe from harm, including trampoline users. In most situations, trampoline owners must take reasonable steps to:
Proper Maintenance. Trampoline owners must make sure the trampoline is in good condition. Like everything else, trampolines deteriorate over time—especially when left outside in the elements—and an owner who lets people jump on an old, rickety trampoline might be responsible for injuries. Trampolines also shouldn’t be located in an unsafe area, like on concrete patios or near low-hanging power lines.
Proper Supervision. Owners must properly supervise people using the trampoline, especially those who may not understand the risks, such as young children and teens. People often get hurt on trampolines when they attempt dangerous tricks or jump with too many people on the trampoline at the same time. Proper supervision can help prevent trampoline injuries.
Attractive Nuisance. Children are naturally attracted to things such as pools and trampolines, and an owner is responsible for making sure that children cannot freely access these “attractive nuisances.” Keeping the trampoline within a fenced area or storing the access ladder away from the trampoline can help limit both injuries and potential liability.
Everyone has a duty to act reasonably under a given set of circumstances, including while jumping on a trampoline. Jumpers who unexpectedly launch fellow jumpers in the air causing them to land improperly may be liable for injuries caused by their negligent (careless) behavior.
Whether homeowner’s insurance covers a trampoline depends on the specific language of the policy. Chances are the terms fall into one of these categories:
If it's like most policies, your homeowner's coverage likely excludes trampolines, bounce houses, and similar play structures, and your insurance carrier has the right to cancel your policy if it discovers you have this kind of play structure in use on your property. This kind of discovery can happen after a property inspection, or when your vindictive neighbor, tired of hearing joyous peals of laughter coming from your yard, reports you. In either case, getting a new policy can be hard, so it’s a good idea to understand the insurance picture before you install a trampoline out back.
An injured person can rack up bills fast—and if you're the one that caused the injury, you’re probably going to be the one footing those bills. That’s what makes homeowners’ liability insurance so crucial. It covers things like medical bills, lost wages, and even pain and suffering when someone gets hurt. If the injury leads to a personal injury lawsuit, not only does your liability insurance provide you with a lawyer, it will also pay any settlement or judgment.
Since trampoline accidents are common and have the potential to not only drain your assets, but force you into bankruptcy as well, protecting yourself with liability insurance makes sense. But that doesn’t make coverage easy to get. Insurance companies aren’t keen to provide insurance coverage for incidents related to trampolines because, simply put, these kinds of accidents cost insurance companies too much money.
There are two typical ways you can expect insurance companies to handle trampolines:
No trampolines allowed. Many insurance companies “exclude” trampolines from their policies. This means if you go ahead and get one anyway, the insurance company will not pay for any injuries connected with use of the trampoline.
Trampolines allowed as long as you follow safety requirements. Some insurance companies will cover your trampoline, and resulting injuries, as long as you abide by the safety precautions required by the policy. This might include sinking the trampoline so that the jumping surface is at ground level, or installing safety nets and pads around the perimeter.
Certain activities—such as skydiving, football, and skiing—are inherently dangerous under the law. People who choose to participate in these activities should know that they could get hurt, and if they get hurt, they may not be able to hold anyone else liable for their injuries.
This defense to a personal injury lawsuit, called the "assumption of risk defense," may work against an adult injured on a trampoline, but it’s less likely to work against a child.
As with all injury-related legal claims, the value of a particular trampoline injury case depends on many factors, including:
Learn more about personal injury damages and compensation.
Most personal injury cases are dismissed or resolved well before trial. The plaintiff (the person suing) and the defendant (the person or entity being sued) are often motivated to settle a trampoline injury claim or lawsuit to:
Learn more about how settlement negotiations work in an injury case and what to do when settlement talks fail.
You might be able to handle your own trampoline injury case if your injuries were minor and you’ve fully recovered. For example, if a homeowner negligently allowed you to jump on an old trampoline with a rusty metal frame and you cut yourself while jumping, you might be able to file a homeowners’ insurance claim to cover the cost of your stitches and tetanus shot and go to small claims court if necessary.
But if you suffered serious injuries that require ongoing medical care and limit your ability to work, go to school, and enjoy your life, you need the help of a personal injury lawyer.
You likely also need the help of a lawyer if you’re planning to sue the trampoline manufacturer. An attorney can help you figure out how to prove your product liability case.
Lawyers who file product liability and personal injury lawsuits typically handle cases on a "contingency fee" basis, which means you almost certainly won’t have to pay lawyers’ fees up front. In a contingency fee arrangement, you pay your lawyer a percentage (often one-third) of your compensation if you win your case. If you lose, you don't have to pay your lawyer a fee. (But beware: Win or lose, you'll probably be on the hook for costs and expenses like court filing and expert witness fees.)
If you or your child has been injured on a trampoline, talk to a lawyer. A lawyer can answer your questions and help you sort out who might be legally responsible for the injury. A trampoline injury case can go in many different directions. A lawyer can help you get the best possible outcome in your case. Learn more about working with a personal injury lawyer.
]]>“Slip and fall cases are easy to settle.” While it’s true that most personal injury cases—including slip and falls—settle without a trial, slip and fall claims can be among the most difficult to settle for a fair amount.
Slip and fall cases often involve several thorny issues that you’ll need to get a handle on before you try to settle. We’ll walk you through some of those issues, giving you six tips to get the best slip and fall settlement you can.
To get the best settlement for your slip and fall claim, you’ll need proof of these elements:
Contrary to popular belief, proving that a property owner is liable—legally responsible for your fall—is rarely a simple matter. For starters, you must show that you fell because of a dangerous condition on the property. Maybe some liquid leaked from product cans on a shelf onto the floor. Or a broken floor tile created a trip hazard. Typically, it’s not hard to prove that a dangerous condition was present.
But it’s not enough to prove that there was a danger. You also need to show that the property owner:
Proving that the property owner had notice of the danger can be a challenge. Here are three ways to get the proof you need.
Statements from others who saw the danger. If someone other than you saw the hazardous condition and knows how long it existed, that person can establish that the property owner was on notice of the danger. Get written or recorded statements from these witnesses.
Surveillance video. It's increasingly common for businesses to have surveillance video of their property. If you fall outside, look for surveillance cameras on nearby properties, too. The video may show how long a dangerous condition was there before you fell.
If you think there might be surveillance video of your fall, request it immediately. Surveillance cameras often record on a continuous loop. If you don’t request the video before it loops, your fall will be recorded over—and lost forever.
Information regarding prior falls. Businesses and their insurance companies keep records of falls (and other incidents) on the property. These records often take the form of written or electronic documents called “incident reports.”
Ask for information about falls (or similar incidents) that preceded yours. The insurance company will object to giving you copies of the incident reports, which might be protected from disclosure. But the fact that others fell or were injured in the same place you were isn’t protected. If they don’t want to share incident reports, ask for the data from those reports.
In nearly every slip and fall claim, the property owner will argue that you were also negligent (careless) and that your “comparative negligence” should reduce or eliminate the amount you can collect for your injuries. This legal defense often gains traction in slip and fall cases, so you should understand how it works and what you can do to avoid it.
At some point after you fall, expect the insurance adjuster to ask you a question like this: “Did you see [whatever caused your fall] before you fell?” There are three answers to this question, and none of them help your claim.
“No, I didn’t see it.” This is an admission that you weren’t watching where you were going before you fell. The response is obvious: Had you been paying attention, you would have seen the danger and could have avoided it.
“Yes, I did see it.” This answer admits that you saw the danger but took no action to avoid it. You should be ready to explain why, but there’s really no good explanation. You’re probably going to end up with some of the blame for your fall.
“I don’t remember whether I saw it or not.” This might seem like a clever response, but chances are you’re just prolonging the misery. Expect follow-up questions such as “Can we agree that if you had seen it, you would have taken steps to avoid it? Because you fell, is it reasonable to conclude that you never saw it?”
Your goal should be to deflect as much of the blame back to the property owner as you can. Suppose, for example, that your fall happened in a store. As you walked through the store, your gaze was probably focused on the shelves where the products were located. You weren’t looking down at the floor or paying much attention to your surroundings.
This, after all, is exactly what the store owner wanted you to do. The owner shouldn’t be able to entice you to look at the shelves and then penalize you for doing so.
If your fall causes a broken bone or an open, bleeding wound, proving your injury won’t be a problem. Often, though, your fall will leave you with soft tissue injuries—a sprain or a strain, or a back or neck injury that won’t show up on an X-ray. How do you prove your injuries in that case?
Ask your doctor to document it. Make sure that your doctor documents your injury and the symptoms you experienced in your medical records. Those records are likely to be your best source of proof should the insurance company try to deny or minimize what happened.
When you’re preparing to settle your claim, think about asking the doctor to write a letter explaining:
Keep a journal. A journal or diary is one of the best ways to document your injuries and the problems they’ve caused. Beginning with the day you were hurt, record how the fall happened, all of your symptoms, the medical care you received, and limits on your daily activities such as time off work or an inability to do household chores.
Keep in mind that if your claim doesn’t settle and you end up in a lawsuit, the other side is entitled to a copy of your journal if you rely on it during your case. Make sure to keep your entries factually accurate. Don’t exaggerate or embellish your injuries.
In addition to proving your injuries, you must prove that the fall caused them. If you don’t have a history of injuries to the same part of your body hurt in the fall, causation shouldn’t be a problem. But what if, for example, the fall hurt your lower back, and you have a history of pre-existing back problems?
As with proof of your injury, you’ll need to rely on your doctor to establish the causal link between the injury and your fall. Ask your doctor about it during a scheduled visit. Explain that you have a claim, and it would help to resolve the claim if the doctor wrote a letter describing what injuries are attributable to the fall.
There’s an old saying in the personal injury business: “Pigs get fed. Hogs get slaughtered.” If you try to exaggerate your injuries or get greedy and ask for far more than what your claim is worth, there's a good chance it will work against you.
Be realistic about the value of your claim. Barring truly catastrophic injuries, your slip and fall isn’t worth millions. Coming to settlement negotiations with an outlandish demand simply exposes you as an amateur who’s out of their league. The adjuster with whom you’re negotiating has handled hundreds or thousands of claims like yours.
Similarly, there’s no point trying to exaggerate your injuries or limitations. Your medical records should provide ample details about how you were hurt. When you go overboard with your symptoms or limitations, you simply lose credibility. The adjuster knows that kind of dog-and-pony show won’t fly in front of a jury, and it won’t help you in settlement talks, either.
Might you be able to resolve your slip and fall case on your own? Sure. If the facts are straightforward, your injuries are minor, and there aren’t any tough legal issues (like comparative negligence) causing problems, you can try to go it alone.
Is it a good idea to be without a lawyer? No. For starters, the insurance adjuster isn’t likely to take you or your claim as seriously as when you’ve got legal help on your side. Without representation, you’re an easy mark for the insurance company. Adjusters know all the tricks in the book, and they won’t hesitate to use them against you.
While it might take a bit longer to settle your case, having a lawyer probably means more money in your pocket when settlement negotiations are done. Do your research. Find out which lawyers specialize in slip and fall claims. As with other areas of the law, slip and fall claims have their own unique nuances. Make sure the lawyer you hire understands these nuances and how to navigate them.
Is this accident covered by your neighbor’s homeowners' insurance? If your neighbor is insured, the answer is probably yes, at least in part. But, in order to receive compensation from the insurance company, you’ll need to know how to make a slip-and-fall claim.
The first question you must ask is whether the homeowner has homeowners' insurance. Most do. If the home is mortgaged then it is almost certainly insured, because mortgage companies require it. But if the property is mortgage-free, it’s possible that the homeowner doesn’t have insurance.
Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a “homeowners' insurance registry” that you can check. The only way to find out if the homeowner has coverage is to ask, or to make a claim for your injuries and see if the homeowner turns the claim over to an insurance company.
If the homeowner doesn’t have insurance, then you’ll need to make your claim directly to the homeowner. You’ll also need to make a claim to the homeowner if there is insurance, but the policy limit is too low to cover all your damages.
The typical homeowners' insurance policy has two kinds of coverage that may apply to a slip and fall claim: medical payments coverage (sometimes called “med pay”) and liability coverage. Let’s explore each in a bit more detail.
As the name suggests, medical payments coverage is available to pay the medical bills of a person who is injured on the property. Most insurers include some limited med pay coverage as part of a homeowners' policy, but the amount of coverage is typically quite small—$2,000 to $5,000 per individual. Homeowners can purchase additional coverage, but many don’t.
The good news is that med pay coverage is a kind of “no fault” insurance, meaning that you don’t have to prove that the homeowner was negligent in order to collect. If you can prove that you were hurt on the property, med pay coverage will reimburse you for your medical bills up to the coverage limit.
Collecting medical payments coverage is simple. Just send your medical bills to the insurance adjuster assigned to your claim, and the insurer will reimburse you—again, up to the limit of coverage.
If your medical bills are more than the limit of med pay coverage, or if you want to recover for other damages like lost wages or pain and suffering, then you must bring a claim against the homeowner’s liability coverage. A homeowner is only liable for your slip and fall—meaning that their insurance policy will cover you—if the homeowner was negligent and that negligence was partially or totally responsible for your injuries.
The fact that you fell on someone’s property doesn’t mean that the property owner was negligent. You must prove that you fell because of some unsafe condition on the property, and that the owner knew or reasonably should have known of the unsafe condition.
To return to our hypothetical facts above, if you slipped because there was a patch of ice on your neighbor’s walkway that was difficult or impossible to see in the dark, your neighbor might have been negligent by failing to remove the ice or failing to warn you of the icy condition.
Be aware that your state could have different or additional rules that provide your hypothetical neighbor with defenses to liability. For instance, in many states, if the homeowner can prove that the unsafe condition was “open and obvious” to anyone paying attention, your negligence claim might fail.
If you have questions about your state law, you should contact an attorney who handles premises liability cases. (As covered below, you might want a lawyer for other reasons, too.)
The steps we describe below are specific to cases where the homeowner has an insurance policy and is willing to give you the insurer’s name. But the homeowner might be reluctant to give you this information. Why?
Some insurers will cancel a homeowners' policy, or significantly raise premiums, if even one claim is made under the policy. For this reason, some homeowners refuse to report claims to their insurer, and will try to handle claims themselves.
If you’re injured in a slip and fall, then your first priority should be getting the medical care you need. But once you’re able, you should do what you can to document what happened, and how it happened. Try to follow these steps:
Report your claim to the homeowners' insurer as soon as possible. You should make this report in writing, via certified mail with a return receipt requested to prove delivery. Keep it short and factual: identify the homeowner, the address, and the date you were injured, and provide a brief description of your injuries. Don’t offer any more detail than necessary.
You might not have finished all medical treatment if you’re reporting your claim soon after the incident. If you have, say that you will follow with a settlement demand as soon as possible.
If you’re still receiving treatment, tell the insurer that you will follow up once your treating doctor tells you that you’ve reached MMI. Tell the insurer that you will seek recovery under “all available coverages.” Finally, let the insurer know that at this point, you are not willing to give any kind of additional written or recorded statement.
Once you report your claim to the insurer, the company will assign an insurance adjuster to the case. The adjuster will contact you and the homeowner to get the facts surrounding your fall.
The adjuster’s overarching goal is to take control of the case and dictate the terms on which you move forward. You don’t want that to happen. Remember that you retain control over your claim, at least until the point when you file a lawsuit (if the case doesn’t settle before that point).
The adjuster will ask you to give a recorded statement about what happened. If you don’t have a lawyer, you should not give a recorded statement. Be prepared: The adjuster won’t want to take “no” for an answer, and will try all sorts of tactics to get you to give in. Despite what the adjuster might say in order to convince you, almost nothing good ever happens to unrepresented personal injury claimants who give recorded statements to insurance adjusters.
At this point, your goal is to settle the case without filing a lawsuit. If the case doesn’t settle and you decide to go to court, the insurer will have a chance to get your recorded statement—called a “deposition”—as part of the suit.
The adjuster will want to get your medical records and bills as your medical treatment progresses, and will also want documentation supporting any lost earnings you might claim. You’ll be asked to sign releases to allow the insurance company to get this information.
At this point, you should not sign any records releases. Tell the adjuster that you will provide all the relevant records, bills, and other documentation with your settlement demand (discussed in the next section).
This answer will make the adjuster unhappy. The adjuster will tell you that the insurer needs your records and bills now to begin evaluating your case for settlement. Again, the adjuster wants to take control of your case. Don’t let that happen.
Once you’ve reached MMI (or if you’re not at MMI but you’re concerned about the statute of limitations on your claim), you’ll need to prepare a settlement demand letter. As the name suggests, this is a letter that describes your fall, how you were injured, and your damages.
You’ll want to attach copies of your medical records and bills, letters from employers documenting lost wages, and any other proof of your injuries and damages. In the letter you should demand payment for your “economic” damages (medical bills, lost wages, and other items that are easy to quantify in dollars) and your “noneconomic” damages (things like pain and suffering that can be trickier to reduce to dollars).
Ideally, your demand letter will start a negotiation between you and the insurer. Your initial demand should be for something more than the lowest figure you’re willing to accept in settlement, so you can negotiate a resolution.
If the case doesn’t settle at this point, then you’ll need to decide whether you want to file a lawsuit. Be wary of the statute of limitations on your claim. If you fail to file your lawsuit before the statute runs out, your claim is probably lost forever.
If the case gets to this point, you should give serious thought to hiring an attorney who is experienced in handling premises liability—or slip and fall—claims. Especially if you have serious injuries, it’s often a good idea to bring on a lawyer even before this point. But once you file suit, you’re playing by the court’s rules. Those are rules that are very familiar to the insurer and its attorneys; if you’re unrepresented, you’re at a huge disadvantage.
We'll briefly review several common kinds of slip and fall cases, but our focus here is on the value of your claim. To get a ballpark estimate of how much your claim is worth, you’ll need to consider the nature and severity of your injuries, the treatment you received, your damages, and whether you were partly to blame for your accident.
Several of the factors that have the biggest impact on the value of your claim—your injuries, medical treatment, and damages—are closely related. Your injuries dictate the medical treatment you receive, your medical treatment drives your medical bills, and your damages are calculated, in part, based on your medical bills.
You’ll also need to consider your own fault and what impact that will have on the value of your claim before you start to write a settlement demand letter to the property owner’s insurance company.
The single most important factor driving the value of your claim is your injuries. If your injuries are serious and their effects will be permanent, your claim is worth more than if your injuries are minor and you quickly recovered. Lawyers and insurance adjusters often divide injuries into two groups:
We’ve all suffered these at one time or another—a cut or bruise, or a broken bone or torn ligament. Everyone knows that these injuries are painful, can be disabling, and need medical care and plenty of time to heal. Here are the categories of hard injuries:
These are physical injuries that usually can’t be seen, including things like muscle sprains and tendon strains. Because they can’t be seen, they’re more difficult to describe and for others (who haven’t experienced them) to understand. Like hard injuries, soft tissue injuries are painful and can be disabling. They might also require medical care and they take time to heal.
It will come as no surprise that hard injuries typically are valued higher than soft tissue injuries. Insurance adjusters sometimes view soft tissue injuries as nuisance cases having little real value. Hard injuries, by contrast, have greater value for at least two reasons. First, hard injuries are more likely to require invasive and extensive medical treatment. As a result, the medical bills associated with hard injuries are usually higher than those from soft tissue injuries. Second, they’re easy for judges and juries to understand and relate to.
If you have only soft tissue injuries, then you’ll have more work to do when you write a settlement demand letter to the property owner’s insurance company. Be sure you describe in detail how you were hurt, the physical and emotional pain your injuries caused, and the medical treatment you received. Remember that your fall was caused by someone else’s negligence. Your soft tissue injuries are real and you deserve to be fairly compensated for them.
Permanent injuries, including permanent disability or disfigurement, will significantly impact the value of your claim. Suppose, for example, you break your ankle in a fall. Your doctor does surgery to repair the fracture and after several months of physical therapy, tells you that you’ve got arthritis in the ankle which is permanent and will get worse with age. You now must deal with a lifetime of pain and disability. A lifelong injury will have more value than one that heals completely after a few weeks or months.
Finally, you’re also entitled to compensation for injuries like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life. These can be hard to value. As we’ll see below, most often the value of these damages is driven by your medical expenses.
The kind of medical treatment you get for your injuries is likely to impact the value of your claim. As discussed above, hard injuries tend to require more extensive, and often more invasive, medical treatments. Fractures, ligament tears, and other internal injuries might need surgery to repair, and casting or splinting for immobilization. Open wounds like cuts or gashes must be closed with stitches. Everyone knows that these treatments cost money, are painful, and require plenty of time to heal.
By contrast, insurance adjusters are likely to be more skeptical of things like chiropractic care, acupuncture, massage therapists, or other non-physician practitioners. Your focus, of course, must be on getting the care you think best suits your needs. Simply be aware that insurers will not value these nontraditional treatments as highly as they do more “conventional” care.
Injuries are the physical and emotional harms you suffer because of your fall. “Damages” is a legal term used to describe the value of your injuries and other compensation you might receive for accident-related losses.
In a typical slip and fall case, damages fall into two categories. Economic (sometimes called “special”) damages include things you can easily value in dollars, like medical bills, lost wages and loss of earning capacity, and other out-of-pocket expenses. Noneconomic (sometimes called “general”) damages are more difficult to value. Pain and suffering, emotional distress, disability and disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life are examples.
Let’s look at these categories of damages more closely.
Medical expenses almost certainly will be the largest of your economic damages. Examples of medical expenses include:
You might also have bills for skilled nursing or other in-home care, or for medical transportation charges if you couldn’t take yourself to medical appointments. When you calculate economic damages, total your medical expenses separately from all your other out-of-pocket costs.
If you were away from work for some time because of your injuries, get proof of your lost income. You’ll need to document your lost wages and any paid time off you used to cover your time away. Get a letter from your employer’s human relations office to prove these amounts. If you’re self-employed, be prepared with proof of both lost income and lost business opportunities—work you lost out on because you couldn’t meet with prospective customers or bid on jobs.
What if your injuries are so severe that you’re unable to return to work in the future, temporarily or permanently? Or suppose that you can go back to work, but you’re not able to keep doing the kind of work you did before? In that event, you’re going to need expert testimony to calculate your lost future earning capacity.
If you’re seeking damages for loss of earning capacity, you should seriously consider hiring an experienced personal injury attorney to handle your case. Working with expert witnesses isn’t something you want to do on your own. Hiring a lawyer will give you the best shot at getting the full value of your claim.
You’re entitled to compensation for any other out-of-pocket expenses you paid because of your injuries. Perhaps you couldn’t take care of your lawn and had to pay a neighbor kid to do it for you. Or you couldn’t take care of routine home repair chores and had to hire a maintenance person. Maybe you had a trip planned and had prepaid for nonrefundable airline tickets. All of these incidental expenses are damages for which you should seek reimbursement.
You’re entitled to fair compensation for your pain and suffering, emotional distress, and similar injuries. But first, you’ve got to put a value on them. How do you measure pain and suffering? Or value your emotional distress? There’s no one “correct” way.
Most insurance adjusters and lawyers use a formula, multiplying your total medical expenses by a factor (called a “multiplier”) of between 1 and 5 to arrive at a value for noneconomic damages. Here’s an example. Suppose your medical bills total $9,000. In a typical slip and fall case, you might begin settlement negotiations by using a multiplier of 3, meaning you’d value your pain and suffering, emotional distress, and other noneconomic damages at $27,000.
Once you’ve calculated your noneconomic damages, simply add your total economic and noneconomic damages together. The sum of the two is your total damages. But you’re not quite ready to make a settlement demand to the property owner’s insurance company.
In a slip and fall case, the answer to this question is probably yes. Why? Here’s the question the insurance adjuster (or the insurance company’s lawyer) will ask: “Did you see the dangerous condition before you slipped or tripped on it?” There really are only three possible answers to this question:
This answer is an admission that you weren’t watching where you were going before you fell. Had you been paying attention, the argument goes, you would have seen the dangerous condition and could have taken some action to avoid it. You’re partly at fault for not paying attention.
This answer is an admission that you saw the dangerous condition but failed to do anything to avoid it. Be prepared for the follow-up question—“Why didn’t you do anything to avoid it?” There’s no good answer to that question. You’re partly at fault for failing to avoid the dangerous condition that you saw before you fell.
This might seem like a clever answer but in reality, you risk losing credibility and you’re just inviting more unpleasant questions that won’t end well for you. For instance, an adjuster or lawyer might ask you: “Would you agree with me that if you had seen the dangerous condition before you fell on it, you would have taken steps to avoid it? And so, because you did fall, can we agree that you must not have seen it?”
To make a long story short, you’re almost certainly going to be found partly at fault for your fall. In a few states, if you’re even the slightest bit at fault, it kills your slip and fall claim entirely. In most states, your share of the fault reduces the value of your claim by that amount.
For instance, let’s say that your total damages are $20,000. If the property owner is 100% at fault, the value of your claim is $20,000. But if you’re 30% at fault, you must reduce your damages by your share of the fault—$6,000—to arrive at the correct value of your claim, which is $14,000.
Learn more about what happens if both sides are at fault in a personal injury case.
When valuing your claim, you need to be realistic about your share of the fault. But don’t start settlement negotiations with the insurance company by admitting that you were partly to blame for what happened. Your fault is a defense that’s up to the insurance company to raise. If (or more likely, when) the insurance adjuster raises it, you can negotiate over it.
If you live in a state where your fault can destroy your claim entirely, or if you’re concerned about losing significant value because of your share of the blame, consider hiring an experienced personal injury attorney to handle settlement negotiations.
This is a difficult question to answer. In the end, only you can make that decision. It may help, though, to start by considering the “net value” of your claim.
The net value is equal to the value of your claim minus the cost of your claim. So: Value of claim - cost of claim = net value of claim.
Our discussion above should help you arrive at the value of your claim. Let’s run through a quick example. Suppose your medical bills are $8,000 and your lost wages are $1,000, for total economic damages of $9,000.
You’re valuing your pain and suffering and emotional distress at three times your medical expenses, or $24,000 ($8,000 x 3).
Your total damages are $9,000 + $24,000, or $33,000. But let’s assume that you’re one-third (33%) at fault for the accident. You need to reduce the value of your claim by $11,000, meaning your claim has a value of $22,000.
How much will it cost you to realize that value? In other words, how much will you have to spend to get the insurance company to write you a check for that amount? If you’re handling the claim on your own, probably not much. Let’s say you spend $100 for copies of medical records and bills. Maybe you hire a private investigator to track down witnesses and take photos of the property where you fell. The investigator charges you $1,000.
You’ll spend a considerable amount of time gathering and organizing materials, writing your demand letter, and negotiating with the adjuster. Your time has value; for purposes of our discussion, let’s say it’s worth $30 an hour. If you spend a total of 30 hours to get to a settlement, that means your time is worth $900. Your total investment, then, is $100 (copies) + $1,000 (investigator) + $900 (your time) = $2,000.
If you can settle for $22,000, then the net value of your claim is $20,000.
If your case doesn’t settle and you decide to file a lawsuit, the equation changes a great deal. For starters, your costs will begin going up quickly. But the value of your case might go up too. If the insurance company is convinced that you’re willing to take your case all the way to a trial, its costs go way up, just like yours do. This means that the insurance company might be willing to pay more to make the case go away after you file a lawsuit.
You also need to think about hiring an experienced lawyer to handle your case from this point forward. Filing a lawsuit is no simple task. There are complex rules of procedure and evidence that you’ll be expected to understand and follow. You’re at a real disadvantage if you try to go it alone. The insurance company will be represented by experienced lawyers who know their way around a case like yours—they’ve worked on hundreds of them.
If you hire a lawyer, you’ll end up paying the lawyer between 25% and 33% of any settlement or jury verdict you get, after subtracting out whatever case expenses the lawyer has advanced. Let’s take another example.
Suppose that, with a lawsuit filed and a lawyer representing you, the same case discussed above settles for $45,000. The lawyer has spent $6,000 on case expenses and you’ve agreed to pay a 33% attorney’s fee. Keep in mind, too, that you spent $2,000 before you filed a lawsuit. The net value of your case is $45,000 - $6,000 - $13,000 ($39,000 x 33%) - $2,000 = $24,000.
In this example, hiring a lawyer and filing a lawsuit has increased the net value of your case by just $4,000. That said, the equation looks much different if your lawyer is able to settle the case for $100,000 instead of $45,000. If you’re thinking about hiring a lawyer, you’ll want to have some frank, candid discussions about the costs and benefits of pursuing a lawsuit. You’re likely to come out dollars ahead, but how much will depend on the facts of your case.
Up to this point, we’ve talked only about dollars and cents. But there are other things you should consider too. Specifically, think about the emotional cost of pursuing your slip and fall claim. You’re headed into unfamiliar territory here, in all likelihood. You’ll end up negotiating with an experienced insurance adjuster or lawyer, which can be anxiety-provoking and intimidating.
Things might get easier if you hire a lawyer to do most of the work, but it will still be a stressful experience. This is especially true if you end up filing a lawsuit. At some point, you’ll have to sit through a “deposition,” where the insurance company lawyer will get to ask you questions while you’re under oath. If the case doesn’t settle and ends up in a trial, you’ll need to testify in court. The entire experience can be an emotional roller coaster.
You must decide for yourself whether it’s worth it to pursue your case. Maybe you just want to write a demand letter, settle for as much as you can get, and put it behind you. That’s fine. If you’re more adventurous and can handle lots of stress and anxiety, you might decide that filing suit and going to court are worth it.
Putting a value on a slip and fall claim isn’t an exact science. We’ve covered the factors you need to consider, and we’ve given you some simple equations you can use to approximate a value for your case. But there’s more to it than factors and equations.
Don’t feel like you need to make this decision alone. Consult with someone who’s been there—an experienced personal injury lawyer. You can use the tools on this page to find a lawyer in your area.
First things first. Before you pursue a slip and fall claim, you need to decide whether it will be worth the time and hassle.
Making a claim with the property owner’s insurance company can be challenging, especially if key issues are in dispute or difficult to establish, including:
Remember, the property or business owner's insurance company isn't in the business of making sure you end up with a fair resolution to your injury claim. Their entire business model practically requires insurance adjusters to push back on claimants' allegations, and to do everything possible to minimize what the company ends up paying out on the claim. Learn more about slip and fall claims and homeowner's insurance.
If you are unable to resolve your claim with the property/business owner's insurance company, you will probably need to file a lawsuit. Litigation can be expensive, time consuming, and stressful. It’s also likely that you will have to give a deposition, which can be a grueling process. (Learn more about depositions in slip and fall cases.)
Before making a slip and fall claim or filing a lawsuit, it's worth considering whether the injuries you suffered are really worth the hassle. For example:
It's normal for things to fall or drip onto a floor or the ground, and for smooth surfaces to become uneven. And some things put in the ground—drainage grates, for example—serve a useful purpose.
So a property owner (or occupier) cannot always be expected to immediately remove every hazard or clean every slippery substance on a floor or on the ground. Nor is a property owner always responsible for someone slipping or tripping on something that an ordinary person should expect to encounter, notice, and avoid under the circumstances. We all have an obligation to watch where we're going.
This is one of the most common questions on the mind of slip and fall claimants, but unfortunately a reliable answer can only come after careful analysis of an individual case. But there are factors that tend to carry the most weight when it comes to figuring out the potential value of a slip and fall claim, including:
Get the details on how to determine the value of a slip and fall case.
Under a longstanding legal concept known as "premises liability," property owners have legal obligations to guests, customers, and other visitors who come on their property, with regards to the safety of that property.
While there is no precise way to determine when someone else is legally responsible for your slip and fall, most of these cases turn on:
In order to hold a defendant (like a property owner or business owner) legally responsible for injuries you suffered in a slip and fall, one or more of the following must usually be true:
The third situation is the most common, but it's also tougher to establish than the first two because of those pesky words "should have known." Liability in these cases is often decided by common sense. Judges and juries determine whether the defendant (or an employee) was careful by deciding if the steps they took to keep the property safe were reasonable.
In order for the property owner to be liable for a slip and fall, an unsafe condition must have caused the accident. It is not enough to simply slip, or stumble, while on someone else’s property. Examples of unsafe conditions include:
The landowner must have also caused the unsafe condition, or at least allowed it to persist. But it's important to note that property owners do not necessarily have to make their property perfectly safe. They are only required to make their property reasonably safe.
For example, after a snowstorm, a property owner is usually required to take measures to clear snow and ice from sidewalks that other people are likely to use. However, they are not required to make the sidewalks perfectly dry and clear. For this reason, a slip and fall immediately after a snow storm is not likely to give rise to a valid injury claim, especially in a part of the country where snow is a seasonal norm.
Property owners are entitled to a reasonable amount of time to discover dangerous conditions. For example, if a child in a grocery store drops some grapes on the floor, and a person immediately slips and falls on the grapes, the grocery store owner will probably not be liable for injuries resulting from the fall.
Notice is one of the most difficult things to prove in a slip and fall case. If a fall occurs in a store or business, the company will likely generate an incident report afterwards. Incident reports often identify the cause of an accident that occurred on commercial property, and may provide insight into how long a property owner was aware of a dangerous condition that caused a fall.
Surveillance video of the area where the fall took place might show how much time was allowed to lapse after the dangerous condition arose. Incident reports and surveillance video footage are often critical pieces of evidence when you’re trying to prove that a property owner was (or should have been) on notice of a dangerous condition.
Premises liability in general, and fault in slip and fall cases in particular, usually depends on whether the property owner (or someone else in charge of the premises) was negligent. And any negligence claim often hinges on whether the defendant acted reasonably under the circumstances that led to the accident.
In determining a property owner's "reasonableness," the law focuses on regular and adequate efforts to keep the property safe and clean. Here are some initial questions to ask when considering whether a property or business owner might be liable for your slip and fall injuries:
If a property owner is aware of a dangerous condition, and they cannot remedy the problem immediately, they are usually required to warn people of the danger. For example, if a public sidewalk is under construction, the municipality where the sidewalk is located must warn people of any dangers the construction poses, through the use of signage, roped-off areas, etc. Or, a store owner must warn people of the slipperiness of recently mopped floors by setting out “Caution” cones.
In almost every slip or trip case, expect your own conduct—in the moments leading up to the accident—to come under scrutiny.
The rules of "comparative negligence" help measure your own reasonableness in going where you did, in the way you did, just before the accident happened. There are some questions you should ask yourself about your own conduct—after all, an insurance adjuster will almost certainly ask them after you file your claim:
You don't have to "prove" that you were careful, but think about what you were doing and describe it clearly in discussions with an insurance adjuster, to counter any suggestion that you were careless.
In some instances, you might be able to handle an injury claim on your own. That's especially true if your injuries are fairly minor, there is no dispute over fault, and you're comfortable fighting for a fair result. But if your potential slip and fall case isn't so straightforward, or you're just not comfortable going up against the insurance company, there's no substitute for discussing the details of your potential case with an experienced lawyer, and coming away with:
Any time you're injured on someone else's property, it's always a good idea to arm yourself with as much information as possible about the law and how it might apply to your situation. But if you decide to file an injury claim after a slip and fall, you might want to consider having a legal professional on your side to ensure that you end up with the best result.
Visit our Help From a Personal Injury Lawyer center to learn more about finding, hiring, and working with an attorney. You can also use the features on this page to connect with an injury lawyer in your area.
Parts of this article were excerpted from How to Win Your Personal Injury Claim, by Joseph Matthews (Nolo), a comprehensive guide to navigating each step of the injury claim process and getting a fair settlement.
]]>After any kind of slip and fall incident in California, you might have several options for getting compensation for your injuries, out-of-pocket losses, and other harm (these losses are called "damages" in legalese). For example:
Your goal in the insurance claim process is to come away with a fair settlement that covers the cost and impact of your slip and fall injuries and related losses. But keep in mind that even if your slip and fall case ends up in court, it can still reach a settlement at any point before trial (the vast majority of injury cases settle, after all).
To learn more about how these cases usually play out, check out our example of a slip and fall settlement in California, and get more details on making a successful slip and fall case:
A statute of limitations is a state law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard by the state’s court system. The time limits vary depending on the kind of case you want to file.
As in most states, the statute of limitations that will affect a slip and fall injury claim in California is the same as the larger one that applies to most personal injury cases filed in the state’s civil court system. Specifically, California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 sets a two year deadline for the filing of "an action for...injury to, or for the death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another."
So, if you want to file a personal injury lawsuit over a slip and fall, you have two years to get the case started in California's court system.
For more details on the statute of limitations, including exceptions that might effectively extend the filing deadline in California, check out our discussion of California personal injury laws.
If your slip and fall injury was caused by the carelessness of a government employee in California—you tripped and fell on a broken section of city-owned sidewalk, or in the DMV parking lot, for example—any claim you file will probably need to follow a special set of rules:
Learn more about filing a claim under the California Tort Claims Act.
Before you decide to file an insurance claim or lawsuit over your slip and fall, it's a good idea to anticipate the property owner's argument that your own negligence played a part in causing your accident.
It's important to be ready to counter this argument, because under California's "pure comparative negligence" rule you could see a significant chunk of any court award taken away (and a finding of shared fault will also likely reduce the value of your settlement).
Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
Any time you're hurt on someone else's property, it's important to understand the big picture—including whether the property owner or someone else might be legally responsible for your injuries—and to make sure your rights are protected. Discussing your situation with an experienced legal professional might be a good next step.
Learn more about how an attorney can help after an accident or injury, and get tips on finding the right personal injury lawyer for you and your case.
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Injuries caused by a defective or dangerous property condition, either inside or outside a building, are called "premises liability" accidents. These accidents can happen at commercial buildings (stores or offices), residences (private homes or rentals), or on public property (parks, streets, or public transportation).
Premises can be dangerous for many reasons—faulty design, shoddy construction or building materials, poor maintenance, or hazardous clutter. Dangerous premises might lead to slipping, falling, tripping, or having something hit or fall on you.
If a dangerous property condition causes you to be injured, who—if anyone—is legally responsible? Here are some general guidelines for premises liability claims.
There are two basic rules to determine who’s responsible for a premises accident:
A property owner or occupier has a legal duty to anyone who enters the property—as a tenant, a shopper, or a personal or business visitor—not to subject that person to an unreasonable risk of injury. The owner or occupier must take reasonable steps to make sure the property is free of risks due to design or construction defects, or because of some other dangerous condition on the property. The owner or occupier also has a duty to warn visitors about dangerous property conditions.
The reason for this rule is simple and makes sense: The owner or occupier controls the property’s safety. A visitor doesn’t. Suppose, for example, that the owner of an apartment building doesn't fix a long-broken piece of tile in the entrance hall. The owner, not a visitor, is in the best position to know about this dangerous condition and to fix it. If a visitor trips on that tile and is injured, the owner should be liable.
The second rule of premises liability relates to the injured person’s behavior. When someone gets hurt while using a property in an unexpected, unauthorized, or dangerously careless way, the property owner or occupier probably isn’t responsible.
Here’s an example. A hotel guest decides to try to jump into the pool from a second-floor balcony, misses the pool, and is injured. Chances are the hotel owner isn’t legally liable for that sort of dangerous misuse of the property.
These basic rules apply to employees who are hurt on their employer's property. But an employee who’s injured by some dangerous condition on the employer’s premises usually must file a worker's compensation claim instead of a personal injury lawsuit. If an employee is hurt by a dangerous condition on someone else’s property, the employee can file a personal injury claim or lawsuit against the property owner.
(Learn more about work-related injuries and workers’ compensation claims.)
Often, the party who owns a property is different from the one who occupies it. For example, Acme Corporation might own a shopping center and lease space to Widgets-R-Us, LLC to run a retail widget business. Jane Doe might own a rental home and rent it to Richard Roe.
When the owner and occupier of a property are different, who’s responsible for a premises accident? The rules depend, in part, on the kind of property that’s involved. Even then, figuring out who bears responsibility can be tricky.
Before we discuss the general rules, here's the bottom line: Always file a notice of claim against both the owner and the occupier. It’s up to their insurance companies to decide who’s legally responsible for your injury.
(Find out about special rules that apply to injuries on government-owned or occupied properties.)
If you’re injured at a store, office, or other business, whether the owner or occupier is legally responsible for your accident typically comes down to:
The best practice is to notify both the property owner and occupier of your accident and injuries. Their insurance companies will sort out liability. If for some reason they’re unable to figure it out, that’s not your problem. Both potentially responsible parties are on the hook.
The rules of legal responsibility for accidents at private residences are fairly simple and usually depend on the type of residence that’s involved.
If you’re a tenant or a guest and are hurt in an accident on a rental property, the responsible party is whoever’s required to maintain the area or condition that caused your injury. Here’s how that responsibility usually gets divided:
Here’s one important exception (state premises liability law might provide others) to this division of responsibility. A tenant must notify the landlord of dangerous conditions in an apartment when those conditions are the landlord’s obligation to maintain. When the tenant knows that something immovable inside the apartment is in a dangerous condition (for example, a broken floorboard that poses a tripping hazard) but does nothing about it, the tenant might end up sharing liability with the landlord for any injuries that condition causes.
When you’re hurt in an accident caused by a dangerous or defective condition at a private home, the homeowner will be legally responsible. If the entire home is rented out, the tenant might also be to blame.
Accidents sometimes happen at the edge of two properties—for example, at a fence on a neighbor's property line, or on a cracked sidewalk adjoining two properties. It might not be immediately clear whose property caused the accident. In these situations, file a claim notice against both property owners. Let them (or more likely, their insurance companies) sort out who’s liable for your injury.
Describing the general premises liability rules will help to get you pointed in the right direction. But before you can decide whether you have a claim, and if so, against whom, you need to know about your state’s premises liability laws. If you think you’ve got a premises liability claim, your best bet will be to speak to an expert—someone who knows your state law and who understands the many challenges that these claims often bring.
If you’re ready to look for help, here’s how to find an experienced personal injury lawyer near you.
]]>But when you’ve been injured because of the negligence of a government (at the local, state, or federal level), your claim will be more complicated than it would be when a private party is at fault. Governments have passed laws creating strict procedural requirements for filing injury claims, and limiting how much compensation injured people can receive. It’s crucial to understand these rules if you’re considering a slip-and-fall claim against the government.
We’ll discuss the important differences below, but in many ways a slip-and-fall lawsuit against the government works the same way as any other premises liability case. Whether you’re injured on property owned by the government, a business, or an individual, you’ll have to show that your accident was the result of the property owner’s negligence (which is basically just the legal term for “carelessness”).
In any slip-and-fall case, a plaintiff has to show:
This means that the government isn’t automatically liable just because you fell on government property. There had to have been some unsafe condition or other problem that made the property unsafe under the circumstances. And in order to prove that the governmental entity was negligent, you must prove that it knew or should reasonably have known of the unsafe condition, and failed to take sensible steps to fix the problem.
So, let’s say that a visitor spills water in the lobby of the Department of Motor Vehicles, and you slip on it two minutes later. In that situation it wouldn’t be reasonable to expect the DMV to have known about and addressed the potential danger that quickly. But if the spill happened an hour earlier, and several customers had already complained about the slippery floor, you could argue that the DMV knew about the problem and failed in its duty to keep their property safe.
Keep in mind, too, that a defendant’s own behavior and decisions play a role in determining the government’s responsibility for a slip-and-fall accident. For example, if someone fell after ignoring a “Caution: Wet Floor” sign, it would be difficult for them to argue that the DMV didn’t do enough to keep its visitors safe.
Of course, the first thing to focus on after any accident is your health and safety.
As soon as you’re able, you should also make sure to start collecting the information and evidence you’ll need if you want to demonstrate that the government (or a specific government agency) is liable for your injurie. For example, you should:
It cannot be emphasized enough that a picture is worth a thousand words in a slip-and-fall case. Broken sidewalks or stairs can be fixed; floors can be dried and cleared of debris; ice can melt or be cleared away. It can be difficult or impossible to win a case that hinges on the negligence of a property owner if you can’t capture the scene of your accident as it was at the time of your fall.
If you’re considering a slip-and-fall lawsuit against the government, it’s crucial that you follow the correct process. The specific rules will vary depending on where you fell:
One of the common features of the FTCA and similar state-level laws is that they require people who’ve been injured to go file a so-called administrative claim before filing a lawsuit. With an administrative claim, you follow a process for seeking compensation directly from the agency responsible for your injuries. You’re only allowed to take your case to court once you get a final decision from the agency. In legal and bureaucratic terms, this is called “exhausting your administrative remedies.”
In some states, including Arkansas and Kentucky, your slip-and-fall case against the state wouldn’t ever be heard in a regular court. These states have a broad interpretation of the government’s immunity from lawsuits. Instead of suing, a person who’s suffered injuries because of government conduct submits their case to a “board of claims” or “claims commission” that examines the evidence and decides what compensation (if any) to pay.
Even if you have a strong case, you could lose your chance to receive compensation if you don’t follow the correct procedure for submitting your claim. At minimum, you should make sure that you:
You may be able to find the necessary forms and instructions just by searching for them online. But if you have questions about the process you may want to consider asking an attorney for advice or assistance.
Even if you’re able to file a lawsuit against a government agency, and you end up winning, there may be a statutory limit on the amount of damages you can recover. For example:
If you think you may have a slip-and-fall claim against your municipal or state government, you can read about your state’s rules for filing a lawsuit against the government. Any lawsuit against the government will require you to navigate laws and procedures that are even more complicated than the ones that apply to normal court cases. So it will probably be helpful to consult with a local attorney who has experience handling personal injury cases against government defendants. A good attorney can help you understand your options and decide the best way to proceed.
]]>Let's look at the timeline of what to expect if you're filing a lawsuit against a property owner for an injury caused by an unsafe property condition. (The legal term for these kinds of cases is "premises liability.")
It's possible for a slip and fall injury matter to begin as a lawsuit filed in court (by the injured person against the property owner, for example). But in most situations where an insurance policy covers the underlying accident, a claim is first filed by the injured person, under the property owner's policy. And if a fair injury settlement can be reached, that will be the end of the matter. Learn more about insurance coverage for slip and fall accidents and how to make a claim.
But if the property owner's insurance company and the injured person are too far apart on key issues like fault for the slip and fall and how much the claim might be worth, the injured person might file a lawsuit (becoming the plaintiff in court) against the property owner. (Keep in mind that settlement can still be reached at any time.)
The first step in starting a slip and fall lawsuit is filing the "complaint", the document that explains the nature of your claim.
Each state is different when it comes to how much detail needs to be included in the complaint. Some states require a detailed factual summary; while others merely require that the complaint contain enough information to put the defendant on notice of the plaintiff's claim.
In any state, you must file your complaint in the court where you will bring your lawsuit, and you must serve it—along with a summons—on the party you will be suing. The summons will order the defendant to file a response to the complaint within a set amount of time (typically 20 days).
Learn more about filing a personal injury lawsuit.
The "answer" is the document the defendant files in response to the complaint. In an answer, the defendant is typically only required to admit or deny each allegation in the complaint (or state that the defendant does not have enough information to admit or deny a particular allegation).
In addition, an answer typically includes any “affirmative defenses” the defendant intends to raise in response to the plaintiff's allegations. If the defendant can eventually prove that one or more of these defenses applies, that can reduce their liability or eliminate it altogether. Learn more about Defenses to a Personal Injury Lawsuit.
As mentioned above, a defendant’s answer is typically due within 20 days of being served with a complaint. However, a defendant may usually secure an additional 20 days by agreeing to waive certain legal defenses.
This is the phase of the case where the parties involved learn as much as they can about the case. The initial discovery phase involves:
Next, the injured person and others (like the property owner) will almost certainly need to attend a deposition. Learn more about depositions in slip and fall cases.
The discovery phase may take anywhere from three months to a year or more, depending on the complexity of the case, the duration of your medical treatment, and the court’s schedule.
Before trial, the parties may file certain motions with the court in an attempt to resolve specific issues. The most common pre-trial motions include:
Parties will often attempt to resolve a lawsuit without a trial. Two common methods for doing this are mediation and settlement conferences. These two alternative dispute resolution methods are similar in their style. One key difference is that the parties typically arrange mediation on their own with a private mediator, while the court may order a settlement conference. Your judge (or an assigned magistrate) will conduct the settlement conference.
Learn more about mediation of personal injury claims.
Usually, mediations and settlement conferences take place near the end of the discovery phase. They may occur early on in a lawsuit if there is little dispute over liability, and the parties simply need assistance reaching middle ground as to how much a claim is worth.
Trial occurs after discovery is closed. Your case will be set on a “trial docket” with the court. The court will hear the cases in the order set on its docket.
Depending on the complexity of your case, and the judge you draw, your trial will likely take two to five days. Slip and fall cases are often not very complicated, so they usually wrap up by the third day.
If you prevail at trial, you don't take a check home from the courthouse. You'll have to collect on your judgment. Typically, a losing defendant has 30 to 60 days to pay a judgment. If payment isn't made in line with the deadline, your lawyer may take additional measures to force collection. Learn more about the challenges of collecting a court judgment.
Now that you understand what a court-based slip and fall case might look like, you might want to learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of your potential claim. If so, discussing your situation with an experienced personal injury attorney might be a good next step. Learn more about finding and working with a personal injury lawyer.
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If you slip and fall on a public sidewalk, who’s liable? Before we answer that question, we need to answer this question: Is anyone liable? Remember that, in almost any personal injury case, you must prove that someone was negligent. If there’s no negligence, there’s no liability. The fact that you fall on a sidewalk, by itself, doesn’t mean anyone was negligent.
We'll walk you through the basic rules of legal responsibility for sidewalk slip and fall accidents.
To win a slip-and-fall case, you must prove that the property owner was negligent. Let’s start by looking at the elements of a slip-and-fall negligence claim. Then we’ll talk about some of the evidence you might use to prove negligence.
In most states, here’s what you’ll have to show to establish negligence in a slip-and-fall case:
After a slip-and-fall accident and as soon as you’re able, you should gather evidence to prove your claim. In particular, take pictures of the accident scene, your clothes, and any bruises or other injuries you might have suffered. Documenting the scene quickly is crucial, and here’s why.
The government might fix a broken sidewalk the day after it finds out you fell. If you slip on ice or snow, the condition of the sidewalk can change within minutes—it can melt or be cleared away. You’ll find it hard to win a slip-and-fall case without pictures showing what the sidewalk looked like when you fell.
You should also try to get (and might need a lawyer to obtain) a history of any complaints the landowner received about the dangerous condition. Why is this important? Again, it’s not enough just to show that the sidewalk was dangerous.
To prove negligence, you must show that the property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition and had a fair chance to do something about it. For example, if the sidewalk was in a dangerous condition for six months, and if the city received a dozen complaints about it, you’ve got good proof that the landowner knew about the condition and had a reasonable amount of time to fix it.
Liability (meaning legal responsibility) for a dangerous condition on a public sidewalk depends on your state’s laws, and possibly even on the landowner’s deed. Legal responsibility depends, in part, on who must maintain the sidewalk.
In some states, the law says that the government must maintain public sidewalks. In other states, the law is less clear. In states where the duty to maintain is uncertain, maintenance duties might rest with the government, the landowner, or maybe even both.
If you’re hurt in a slip and fall on a sidewalk the government owns or is responsible for maintaining, in most states there are important limits on your right to sue, including:
Most states require that you notify the government of your accident, often very quickly after it happens. In some states, the notice period is as short as 30 or 60 days after the date of your accident. Notice requirements tend to be strictly applied. If you mistakenly send your notice to the wrong government department—even if it’s next door to the correct department—your personal injury claim probably will be prohibited.
In addition, be certain that you send your notice to the correct government. Say you trip on a broken sidewalk adjacent to a city street that goes over a state highway. You give notice only to the city.
If state law makes the state highway department and not the city responsible for maintaining roads going over highways, the city won’t be liable. If you don’t notify the state highway department of your accident within the allotted time, your claim likely will be barred.
Every state has a deadline, called a statute of limitations, on the time for filing personal injury claims (including slip-and-fall claims) in court. As a rule, if you don’t file your lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires, your right to sue is forever lost.
In addition to notice requirements, states sometimes shorten the statute of limitations on claims against the government. Statutes of limitations are notoriously difficult to understand so if you’re not certain about the time deadline in your case, speak with an experienced lawyer.
States frequently limit your ability to collect both compensatory and punitive damages in suits against the government. Damage limits differ from one state to the next, and can significantly reduce the value of your slip-and-fall claim. In some states, damage caps can be as low as $100,000. In most states, you can’t collect punitive damages in a lawsuit against the government.
There’s a popular belief that slip-and-fall cases are easy to win. Not so. Slip-and-fall cases can be, and often are, complicated and very difficult to win. The difficulties are compounded many times over if you’re bringing a claim against the government. You’ll be up against special rules designed to shield the government from liability. In addition, government lawyers are pros at defeating lawsuits seeking to collect from the public treasury.
You should have expert legal counsel on your side in a public sidewalk slip-and-fall case. Here’s how to find an experienced attorney in your area.
]]>This article will help you to understand premises liability claims, how to prove them, and some of the challenges you might encounter when bringing a premises liability claim.
The elements of a premises liability claim are controlled by state law. Before you bring a claim, make sure you understand what the law in your state requires. Better yet, get help from an experienced premises liability lawyer who can guide you through the claim process.
To win a premises liability case, typically you’ll have to prove these three elements:
The first and second elements normally are the most difficult, so let’s have a closer look at them.
A premises liability case begins with a dangerous condition on someone else’s property. Dangerous conditions come in many forms. Here are a few examples:
The fact that a dangerous condition exists doesn’t mean there’s a premises liability claim. The dangerous condition must exist because the property owner (or another person who controls the property, like a tenant) negligently:
Negligence is simply the failure to act as a reasonably careful person would act in similar circumstances. In a premises liability case, we start the negligence inquiry by asking if the property owner had a legal duty to make their property safe. If there was a duty, and if the property owner failed to act as a reasonably careful person would (in legal terms, the property owner “breached” the duty of care), then the property owner was negligent.
When does a property owner have a duty to make their property safe? The answer depends, in part, on the law of the state where the property is located. In general, states follow one of two approaches:
Some states follow an older, status-based approach to property owner duty. Whether a property owner owes a duty depends, in part, on the status of the person who was injured:
As a general rule, a landowner has no duty to make their property safe for most trespassers. Special protections might be required for trespassing children, and property owners can’t create abnormally dangerous conditions on their land that might lead to a trespasser being harmed.
A licensee is someone who has the property owner’s permission to be on the property, like a social guest. As a general rule, a landowner must warn licensees of a dangerous condition on the property if the owner knows of the condition and the licensee isn’t likely to discover it.
An invitee—sometimes known as a business invitee—is a person who the property owner invites to enter a property, usually for a business purpose. Examples include store customers or visitors to a professional office building. A landowner must warn invitees of a dangerous condition that the owner knows or should know about, if an invitee isn’t likely to discover it.
Under the reasonable care approach, which is the law in most states, a property owner generally owes a duty of reasonable care toward (almost) all those who enter their property. This duty typically requires a landowner to warn of dangerous conditions on the property which are:
Note that there’s usually an exception to this duty of care for trespassers. In most reasonable care states, a landowner has no duty to protect trespassers from harm unless trespassing is common or the trespassers are children. As in status-based states, a landowner can't create abnormally dangerous conditions on the property that might harm trespassers.
(Learn about special rules that apply to a premises liability claim against the government.)
Here are some common types of premises liability cases.
Falls are, by far, the most common of all premises liability cases. Dangerous conditions that often lead to a slip or trip and fall include:
(Find out about a landlord’s liability for tenant slip and fall accidents.)
Property owners might have a duty to provide security, particularly in places where tenants, customers, or other visitors have been injured by criminal or other violent activity. For example, many apartment buildings are secured with locked entrances. Shopping malls and nightclubs may hire security guards or off-duty police officers to secure indoor and outdoor areas and parking lots.
An animal can be a dangerous condition. Even if the animal is a pet that’s normally friendly, it might still behave unpredictably at times. Liability for animal attacks varies by state, but pet owners often have a duty to restrain animals or to warn visitors that the pet might attack or act aggressively, particularly if it’s happened before.
Premises liability claims can have some difficulties you’ll want to watch out for. Here are a couple:
Keep in mind that a dangerous condition minus property owner negligence probably equals no premises liability claim. You must show that the landowner breached (that is, failed to meet) a duty to keep the property safe.
In both reasonable care states and status-based states, property owners might have a duty to warn of dangerous conditions that visitors aren’t likely to discover. Expect a property owner to argue that as a visitor, you should have discovered the dangerous condition and taken steps to avoid it.
Before a property owner can be found negligent because of a dangerous condition, in most states a couple of things must be true:
In many premises liability cases, proving that the property owner was negligent is only half the battle. You also must prove that you weren't negligent. Depending on the state where you live, this is either called comparative negligence or contributory negligence, and it can be a claim killer.
Let’s see how it works in a slip-and-fall case. You claim there was a dangerous condition, like a puddle of liquid in a store aisle, that caused you to fall. Among other defenses, the store owner will claim you were also negligent. Here’s why this defense can be quite successful.
If you slipped and fell on a puddle of liquid, there are two possibilities:
In either case, you might be found partially to blame for your fall.
If you think you’ve got a premises liability claim, be prepared. Contrary to some beliefs, a slip-and-fall case is no guarantee of success. You need to have experienced counsel on your side, someone who can anticipate and head off problems before they destroy your premises liability claim.
Here’s how to find a premises liability lawyer who’s right for you and your case.
Accidentally injuring someone or damaging property can end up costing you a lot of money—especially if the injured person gets an attorney and sues you. Attorneys look for money, and the equity in your home is an attractive option. To help protect against this, homeowner’s policies usually provide coverage both for accidents that happen on your property (like slip and fall claims) and those that occur away from your home.
Your homeowner’s insurance does not cover accidents that happen in your car. That's where your automobile insurance comes in. Not all accidents happen on the roadway, however. For example, if you accidentally dump your piping hot casserole on your pastor while at the church social, or you sideswipe someone’s head with your skis in the ski lodge, your homeowners’ policy may protect you—as long as you did not do it on purpose, that is.
The law expects everyone to act reasonably at all times. If you don't do what a reasonable person would do in the same situation, and someone ends up getting injured as a result, the law says you are “negligent.”
For example, a reasonable person looks ahead when walking down the street. If you accidentally knock someone down while you're looking at your phone, you may be negligent because you weren't watching where you were going.
The good thing is your homeowner’s policy usually covers you and your family’s negligent behavior no matter where it happens. For example, if your son accidentally hits a baseball through your neighbor’s window and you have liability insurance, it's probably covered. If your toddler son darts in front of an elderly woman walking in the mall and causes her to fall, your policy should take care of her injuries too.
Learn more about fault for an accident.
Your homeowner's policy will not cover intentional acts in which you purposefully try to hurt someone or damage property. Examples include assault and battery, vandalism, and workplace or sexual harassment. Standard homeowner’s policies do not cover these types of actions. (Learn more about intentional torts.)
Getting documents with the words "Summons" and "Complaint" at the top is a sure sign someone is suing you. When this happens:
Learn more about what happens when you get sued in small claims court.
If your homeowner’s insurance covers the action, you may be in luck, because there are a number of potential benefits.
The insurance company assigns an experienced attorney to your case. The attorney responds to the complaint and decides the best course of action for the lawsuit. You still need to help the attorney defend your case, however. This includes:
Having said all of that, keep in mind that in most instances, the insurance claim will reach a settlement with minimal participation from you.
Liability insurance pays for the things that the people suing you are asking for—such as the cost of accident-related medical care, property damage, and the physical and mental "pain and suffering" caused by the injury.
Your insurance coverage also pays for your litigation costs, such as expert witness and jury fees, as well as the other side’s attorneys’ fees (if payment of those becomes an issue).
While liability insurance is standard in most homeowners’ insurance policies, there is no law that requires you to have this kind of coverage. So, it makes sense to check with your insurance company and make sure that liability insurance is included in your policy. It could be invaluable if you find yourself in any of the situations we've discussed here.
Any time you cause an injury or damage to someone else's property, and you think you might face a lawsuit, it's important to act quickly to protect yourself.
As we mentioned earlier, your best first step is to figure out if any insurance policy you hold might come into play:
If the incident is covered, a representative of the insurance company will walk you through what you need to do next.
If the incident isn't covered by your auto or homeowners' insurance, and there are no other potential sources of insurance coverage (like an umbrella policy), you'll likely be personally on the financial hook if someone sues you. At this point, it might be worth it to discuss your situation with an experienced legal professional. Get tips on hiring and working with a lawyer.
]]>A slip and fall claim is a type of premises liability case. If you’re pursuing a personal injury claim involving a slip and fall accident, have a look at this article describing the basics of a premises liability claim. A fall on business or commercial property may put increased legal responsibilities on the property owner. Find out what you need to include in your slip-and-fall demand letter.
We are not your lawyer, and this sample letter is not a replacement for qualified legal advice. It's for instructional purposes only. If you think you have a personal injury claim, you should consider hiring a personal injury attorney. This is especially true if the facts are complicated, your injuries are serious, or there are difficult legal issues involved. An attorney can guide you through the process and help you to maximize the value of your case.
Learn more about Proving Fault in Slip and Fall Cases.
]]>Under a legal theory called "premises liability," stores and other businesses have a duty to keep their property (the "premises" in the language of the law) reasonably safe for customers and visitors.
In a nutshell, and in the context of a potential slip and fall accident, that usually means that the store owner and/or the property owner can be held liable for injuries if:
Let's take a deeper dive into this liability issue.
After a slip and fall injury, liability on the part of a store or business (and/or the owner of the property) usually only comes into play if someone was negligent in connection with the accident. Put another way, the "premises liability" we discussed above is only triggered when someone did something (or failed to do something) that created the hazard, or that allowed the hazard to remain for an unreasonable amount of time.
Get the basics on negligence, the legal duty of "reasonable care," and fault for an injury.
Any time there's an unexpected obstacle or hazard in a customer or visitor's path, a slip (or trip) and fall accident can happen in a store or other business. Here are some common examples:
The above-listed examples illustrate when a store or business might be liable for a slip and fall that occurs on the premises. But keep in mind that just because you fall on a business owner's property, that doesn't automatically mean that you have a valid slip and fall claim against the business, or anyone else.
Let's look at a few examples of when you probably don't have a viable slip and fall claim against a store or business:
Get the basics on proving fault after a slip and fall.
The answer here often depends on the nature of the slip and fall accident, and who might have been negligent. Of course, if the business/store owner also owns the property where the accident occurred, the only potential defendant would be the store owner. But many business owners lease their property, so you might also have a claim against the landlord/property owner.
If you slip (or trip) and fall because of some structural or hidden safety issue related to the property, your claim would likely be against the landlord/property owner, especially if the store or business had no way of knowing about the problem. An example would be water damage that is allowed to weaken the floor of a store over time, until a customer's foot falls through the floor tile. Learn more about landlord liability for a slip and fall injury.
But if your injury occurs because of something that the business owner did (or failed to do), then your claim would likely be against the business owner, whether that's an individual, a corporation, or some other ownership entity. An example would be a slip and fall that happens on a part of the floor that a store employee has just mopped, and the employee forgot to follow store safety protocol and place cones or other warning signs to alert customers of the temporary hazard.
Regardless of the scenario that led to your injuries, the success of your slip and fall case will hinge on whether you can establish that your injuries were the result of someone's negligence.
Let's look at a hypothetical case in which a customer slipped and fell in a grocery store aisle. The customer claims that there was a substance on the floor that made the surface unusually slippery, and before they knew it they were on their back, with significant pain in their hip and lower back. So how does the customer go about proving that the condition of the floor was the result of someone's negligence?
The key liability questions that come up most often in a slippery floor case are:
Let’s look at a couple of these issues in more detail.
In order to have a reasonable chance at getting a favorable outcome, the customer in this example would ideally get some idea of why the floor was slippery before they leave the premises after the accident. Without a viable hypothesis as to the cause of the fall, it’s going to be very hard to win the case.
If, for example, you tell the store manager right after the accident that you don’t know why you slipped, the jury is very unlikely to believe you six months later when, after consulting with your lawyer, you testify that you slipped on a puddle of orange juice.
Continuing on with the slippery floor example, even if the customer is able to establish the nature of the substance that was on the floor, they'll still need to prove that the store owner knew or should reasonably have known about the dangerous condition of the floor. The longer the slippery condition had been present, the more likely it is that you can prove that the defendant knew or should have known about it—and remedied the problem. Let's continue on with the "puddle of orange juice" example.
If a shopper in a supermarket drops a quart of orange juice on the floor, and you slip on it twenty seconds later, the supermarket might be able to avoid liability by arguing that it had no reasonable opportunity to inspect the aisles, learn of the hazard, and take appropriate steps to clean it. But if the puddle of orange juice had been on the floor for half an hour, and you can prove it (through your own testimony and through witnesses) you might have a claim against the supermarket.
Sometimes slippery conditions are unavoidable. For example, a store owner might wax the floors periodically, a reasonable thing to do. But floor wax is slippery. So, a "reasonableness" standard—which governs most negligence cases—would require that employees cordon off the area of the floor that's being waxed, or at the very least put up a sign warning of a slippery floor. Putting up a warning sign does not automatically absolve the defendant of liability, but it certainly helps. On the other hand, failure to post any warning or take other precautions to let customers know of a slippery floor is fairly good evidence of negligence.
So far we've covered a lot of ground on how stores and other businesses can be legally responsible for injuries resulting from a slip and fall. But how does an injured customer or visitor go about making a claim for compensation against those at fault? There are usually two main options:
Keep in mind that the business owner's liability insurer would be on the financial hook for any kind of settlement, and any kind of court judgment, up to policy coverage limits. And these two options aren't mutually exclusive. You might file an insurance claim, and find that you need to take the matter to court and file a lawsuit. And any slip and fall lawsuit, once filed, can still result in an out of court settlement at any point. Get details on the typical slip and fall case timeline.
Every slip and fall case is unique, so it's difficult to offer any solid information on valuation without knowing about key factors like:
It's not always a good idea to represent yourself in a personal injury claim, but if you weren't hurt all that badly after a slip and fall in a store or other business, and the company's insurer offers you a settlement that you can live with, you probably don't need to get an attorney involved.
But if the store or business is part of a nationwide chain, with high-paid attorneys to fight injury claims like yours, having a lawyer on your side if a necessity. That's especially true when your injuries are serious, and the store/business or its insurer is refusing to accept liability for the accident.
Use the features on this page to connect with a personal injury attorney near you, or learn more about how to find the right personal injury lawyer for you and your case.
]]>Whether you decide to file an insurance claim, or take the matter to court via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of New Jersey laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit, and "shared fault" rules that can affect your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in the state's civil court system. If you attempt to file your slip and fall lawsuit after the deadline has passed, the property owner will surely bring that fact to the court’s attention, and the court will almost certainly dismiss your case. (Note: In some rare situations the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in New Jersey.)
As in most states, the statute of limitations that will affect a slip and fall injury claim in New Jersey is the same as the larger one that applies to most personal injury cases brought in the state's courts. Specifically, New Jersey Statutes section 2A:14-2 says: "Every action at law for an injury to the person caused by the wrongful act, neglect or default of any person within this State shall be commenced within two years next after the cause of any such action shall have accrued."
In plain English, that means you must get your slip and fall lawsuit filed in court against the property owner within two years of the incident’s occurrence. (Note: The success or failure of the case will most likely turn on whether you can prove that the property owner’s negligence caused your accident. Learn more about proving fault for a slip and fall accident.)
If you want to file a lawsuit over any property damage that resulted from the slip and fall accident -- maybe you broke an expensive watch when you fell -- the statute of limitations for "for any tortious injury to real or personal property" (that's from New Jersey Statutes section 2A:14-1) gives you six years to get the case started.
Even if you're confident that your injury claim will settle, you want to leave yourself plenty of time to file a slip and fall lawsuit. Having the option of going to court will give you more leverage during settlement talks.
If you're making an injury claim against the property owner responsible for your slip and fall in New Jersey, be prepared to hear the other side argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for what happened. And if the argument is successful, any settlement or court award you receive could be significantly lower than it might have been.
What arguments can you expect to hear from the property owner? Here are a few examples:
New Jersey Statutes section 2A:15-5.1 says that an injured person’s own negligence will not act as a bar to recovery against other parties as long as the injured person's share of the blame is no higher than 50 percent. The practical effect of all of this if that any damages award you receive from the court will be reduced by an amount equal to the percentage of fault that’s determined to be yours. (New Jersey juries must typically assign a percentage to each party’s liability in a personal injury case.)
So, let’s say the jury finds that you are 25 percent responsible for your slip and fall, and your damages (including medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other losses) total $20,000. That will leave the property owner or other defendant(s) on the hook for $15,000 (your $20,000 total damages minus your 25 percent share of fault for the accident, or $5,000).
Even if your case doesn’t make it to trial, New Jersey’s comparative negligence rule will still be a factor. During settlement negotiations, the property owner’s insurance company (and/or their attorney) are concerned with what might happen if your case does wind up in court. So you can expect any settlement offer to reflect the other side’s view of the part you played in causing or contributing to the slip and fall. That’s why it’s so important to make a strong case against the property owner.
Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
]]>Whether you decide to file an insurance claim, or take the matter to court via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of Arizona laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit, and "shared fault" rules that can affect your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in the state's civil court system. Specific time limits vary depending on the kind of case you want to file.
In Arizona, the statute of limitations that affects slip and fall lawsuits is the same as the larger one that applies to all personal injury cases. Specifically, Arizona Revised Statutes section 12-542 sets a two-year deadline for the filing of any civil case seeking a remedy "for injuries done to the person of another," and "for injuries done to the person of another when death ensues from such injuries."
As for when the "clock" starts running for purposes of the statute of limitations, it depends on whether the slip and accident resulted in injury or in death. If anyone was injured, they must get their lawsuit filed within two years of the date on which the slip and fall occurred. But if someone dies as a result of a slip and fall accident and their family brings a wrongful death lawsuit, the "clock" starts on the date of the person's death (that date could be different from the date of the slip and fall itself).
In some rare situations the clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in Arizona.
You’re probably wondering what happens if you don’t get your slip and fall lawsuit started before the deadline passes. In that situation, you can count on the property owner (or whoever you’re trying to sue) asking the court to dismiss the case. The court is almost sure to grant the dismissal, unless some rare exception applies. That’s why it’s so crucial to understand the statute of limitations and abide by the time limit as it applies to your specific situation.
Remember that your slip and fall case will hinge on whether or not the property owner took reasonable steps to keep the property safe and/or to prevent your accident from occurring. In other words, the key questions are: Was the property owner negligent? And, did that negligence cause your slip and fall accident? Learn more about fault for a slip and fall accident.
If you're making an injury claim against the property owner responsible for your slip and fall in Arizona, be prepared to hear the other side argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for what happened. And if the argument is successful, any settlement or court award you receive could be significantly lower than it might have been.
What arguments can you expect to hear from the property owner? Here are a few examples:
Now for the legalese: Arizona Revised Statutes section 12-2505 says that when the plaintiff in a personal injury case (like one filed after a slip and fall injury) is found to share some amount of blame for the underlying accident, “the claimant's action is not barred, but the full damages shall be reduced in proportion to the relative degree of the claimant's fault which is a proximate cause of the injury or death, if any.”
In plain English, that means even if you are the plaintiff in a personal injury case and you are found partly at fault for what happened, you can still get compensation from the property owner and/or any other party who is also at fault. The practical effect of Arizona's "comparative negligence" rule is that any damages award you receive from the court will be reduced by an amount equal to your share of negligence in connection with the accident.
So, let’s say the jury finds that you are 25 percent responsible for your slip and fall, and your damages (including medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other losses) total $20,000. That will leave the property owner or other defendant(s) on the hook for $15,000 (your $20,000 total damages minus your 25 percent share of fault for the accident, or $5,000).
Even if your case doesn’t make it to trial, Arizona’s comparative negligence rule will still be a factor. During settlement negotiations, the property owner’s insurance company (and/or their attorney) are concerned with what might happen if your case does wind up in court. So you can expect any settlement offer to reflect the other side’s view of the part you played in causing or contributing to the slip and fall.
Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
]]>A number of Iowa laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect any lawsuit you decide to file over your slip and fall. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit in Iowa's court system, and the state's "comparative negligence" rule, which can limit your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident.
Even if you're pretty sure your case will reach a personal injury settlement out of court, you still need to keep these state laws in mind, so read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in a state's civil court system. Specific time limits vary depending on the kind of case you want to file.
Iowa Code section 614.1 sets the statute of limitations that will apply to almost all injury lawsuits arising from a slip and fall (and most other personal injury cases). This law gives you two years to ask Iowa’s civil court system for a remedy for any kind of personal injury that may have been caused by someone else.
So, in the context of a slip and fall, you have two years to file a civil lawsuit against the property owner or other party who was responsible for the condition of the property on which you were injured, and the "clock" starts running on the date of the accident.
What if you only had your personal property damaged as a result of the slip and fall (maybe you broke an expensive watch or phone but were uninjured)? Any lawsuit seeking the repair or replacement of damaged property must be filed within five years of the date of the accident, and that time limit can also be found in Iowa Code section 614.1.
Whether your slip and fall lawsuit is for injury or property damage, the success or failure of the case will most likely turn on whether you can prove that the defendant failed to take reasonable steps to keep the property safe and to prevent your accident. Learn more about premises liability and proving fault for a slip and fall.
If you don't get your slip and fall lawsuit filed before the deadline passes, you can count on the property owner asking the court to dismiss the case once you do try to file it. In some rare instances, the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your lawsuit started. Talk to a personal injury attorney for the details on these exceptions in Iowa, and whether they might apply to your situation, especially if you’re running up against the filing deadline.
You're making a slip and fall claim, only to hear the property owner argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. It's a common tactic in every state, Iowa included. And if some of the legal fault is pinned on you, any court award you receive could be significantly lower than it might have been, or you may end up with no compensation at all.
If your Iowa slip and fall case makes it to court, the state's "comparative negligence" rule will determine how much compensation you can still receive if you were at all negligent in connection with the accident. You can find this rule codified at Iowa Code section 668.3, which says: "Contributory fault shall not bar recovery in an action by a claimant to recover damages for fault resulting in death or in injury to person or property unless the claimant bears a greater percentage of fault than the combined percentage of fault attributed to the defendants, ... but any damages allowed shall be diminished in proportion to the amount of fault attributable to the claimant."
Translation: In any Iowa personal injury case where the plaintiff is found to be at fault, that person can still get compensation for their injuries, as long as their share of liability does not exceed 50 percent. If it does exceed 50 percent, then the plaintiff can’t recover anything at all.
So, let's say the jury finds that you are 30 percent responsible for your slip and fall. They also find that your damages (including your medical bills, lost income, and “pain and suffering”) total $10,000. That will leave the property owner on the hook for $7,000 (that’s the original $10,000 minus the 30 percent that represents your share of fault).
So, what kind of arguments can you expect to hear from the property owner? Some common allegations include:
Even if your case doesn’t make it to trial -- even if a lawsuit isn’t actually filed, for that matter -- Iowa’s comparative negligence rule will still be a factor. After all, during settlement negotiations, the other side is concerned with what might happen if your case does wind up in court. So you can expect any settlement offer to reflect their view of the part you played in causing the slip and fall.
Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
]]>A number of Connecticut laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect any lawsuit you decide to file over your slip and fall. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit in the Connecticut court system, and the state's "comparative negligence" rule, which can limit your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Even if you're pretty sure your case will reach a personal injury settlement out of court, you still need to keep these state laws in mind, so read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in a state's civil court system. Specific time limits vary depending on the kind of case you want to file.
As with the majority of states, the statute of limitations that applies to a slip and fall case in Connecticut is the same one that applies to any kind of personal injury case. Specifically, General Statutes of Connecticut section 52-584 says: "No action to recover damages for injury to the person, or to real or personal property, caused by negligence, or by reckless or wanton misconduct…shall be brought but within two years from the date when the injury is first sustained."
In plain English, and in the context of a slip and fall accident, if you think the owner of the private or commercial property where the accident occurred is responsible for your injuries, you must get any lawsuit filed against that person (or business) within two years, and the "clock" starts running on the date the slip and fall occurred.
And, reading the language of section 52-584, that same two-year deadline applies if your personal property was damaged -- let’s say you broke an expensive watch when you fell, for example -- and you want to file a lawsuit asking for the repair or replacement of that property.
Whether your slip and fall lawsuit is for injury or property damage, the success or failure of the case will most likely turn on whether you can prove that the defendant failed to take reasonable steps to keep the property safe and to prevent your accident. Learn more about premises liability and proving fault for a slip and fall.
What if you don't get your slip and fall lawsuit filed before the statutory deadline passes? The property owner will ask the court to dismiss the case once you do try to file it, and the court will almost certainly grant the dismissal. In some rare instances, the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your lawsuit started. Talk to a personal injury attorney for the details on these exceptions in Connecticut, and whether they might apply to your situation.
You’re making a slip and fall claim, only to hear the property owner argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. What's this all about?
If your Connecticut slip and fall case makes it to court, the state's "modified comparative negligence" rule will be used to determine how much compensation (if any) you can still receive from the property owner if you were at all negligent in connection with the accident.
This rule is codified in General Statutes of Connecticut section 52-572h(b), which says: "In causes of action based on negligence, contributory negligence shall not bar recovery in an action…to recover damages resulting from personal injury, wrongful death or damage to property if the negligence was not greater than the combined negligence of the person or persons against whom recovery is sough … The economic or noneconomic damages allowed shall be diminished in the proportion of the percentage of negligence attributable to the person recovering."
In other words, in any Connecticut personal injury lawsuit, if the plaintiff is deemed at fault, they can still get compensation from other responsible parties, as long as the plaintiff's share of liability does not exceed 50 percent. If it does exceed 50 percent, then the plaintiff can't recover anything at all.
So, let's say the jury finds that you are 20 percent responsible for your slip and fall. They also find that your damages (including your medical bills, lost income, and "pain and suffering") total $40,000. That will leave the property owner on the hook for $32,000 (that’s the original $40,000 minus the 20 percent that represents your share of fault).
Even if your case doesn’t make it to trial -- even if a lawsuit isn’t actually filed, for that matter -- Connecticut's comparative negligence rule will still be a factor. During settlement negotiations, the property owner's insurance company (and/or their attorney) are concerned with what might happen if your case does wind up in court. So you can expect any settlement offer to reflect the other side's view of the part you played in causing or contributing to the slip and fall. That's why it's so important to make a strong case against the property owner.
]]>Whether you decide to file an insurance claim, or take the matter to court via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of Maryland laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit, and harsh "shared fault" rules that can effectively wipe out your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in the state's civil court system. If you attempt to file your slip and fall lawsuit after the deadline has passed, the property owner will surely bring that fact to the court’s attention, and the court will almost certainly dismiss your case. (Note: In some rare situations the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in Maryland.)
As in most states, the statute of limitations that will affect a slip and fall lawsuit in Maryland is the same as the larger one that applies to most personal injury claims. Specifically, Maryland Courts & Judicial Proceedings Code section 5-101 says that a civil lawsuit for personal injury "shall be filed within three years from the date it accrues."
That’s just another way of saying that a plaintiff has three years to get the initial complaint filed in court, and the "clock" starts running on the date of the injury. (Note: In rare situations where someone dies as a result of a slip and fall, and their family or a representative of the estate wants to file a wrongful death lawsuit, the deadline is still three years in Maryland, but the "clock" starts on the date of the person’s death, which can be different from the date of the slip and fall accident itself.)
The same three-year deadline applies if you only incurred property damage as a result of your slip and fall in Maryland -- maybe you were uninjured but you broke an expensive watch when you fell -- and you want to ask a court to order the defendant to pay for the repair or replacement of the property.
No matter the specific facts of your slip and fall accident, the success or failure of your case will most likely depend on your ability to prove that the defendant failed to take reasonable steps to keep the property safe, and to prevent your accident. Learn more about proving fault for a slip and fall accident.
If you're making an injury claim against the property owner responsible for your slip and fall, be prepared to hear the other side argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for what happened. This is true no matter where you live. But in Maryland, it’s particularly critical that you (and your attorney) shoot down any such argument with strong evidence of your own. That’s because if your Maryland slip and fall case goes to trial and the property owner is able to pin any amount of the legal blame for the slip and fall on you, you'll likely end up without any compensation at all.
Most states follow some variation of a rule known as “comparative negligence” in personal injury cases where the person who is bringing the lawsuit (the plaintiff) also bears some amount of legal fault for what happened. Under this rule, any damages award the plaintiff receives will be reduced according to the percentage of their fault. But Maryland is one of a handful of states that doesn’t follow "comparative negligence." Instead, the much less plaintiff-friendly "contributory negligence" rule is still employed in Maryland personal injury cases.
Under "contributory negligence," if the plaintiff is found to bear any amount of blame for the underlying accident, then the plaintiff can’t recover any damages (compensation) from any other at-fault party. Not surprisingly, that can lead to some pretty harsh results for personal injury plaintiffs.
In attempting to pin some amount of legal liability on you, the property owner could claim that:
If your case doesn’t make it to trial -- even if a slip and fall lawsuit isn’t actually filed, for that matter -- Maryland’s contributory negligence rule will still be a factor. During settlement negotiations, the property owner’s insurance company (and/or their attorney) knows that if your case winds up in court, you stand a significant chance of walking away with nothing if they can saddle you with any share of the blame. So it becomes that much more important to make a strong case showing that the property owner’s negligence was the sole cause of your slip and fall. Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
]]>Whether you decide to file an insurance claim, or take the matter to court via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of Missouri laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit, and the "shared fault" rules that can affect your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in a state's civil court system. Specific time limits vary depending on the kind of case you want to file.
As in most states, the statute of limitations that will affect a slip and fall injury claim in Missouri is the same as the larger one that applies to most personal injury cases brought in the state’s courts. Specifically, Missouri Revised Statutes section 516.0120 says that any lawsuit for “injury to the person or rights of another” must be filed within five years of the date of the underlying incident. That means you must get your slip and fall lawsuit filed against the property owner within five years of the incident’s occurrence.
The five-year deadline set by section 516.0120 also applies If you want to file a lawsuit over any property damage that resulted from the slip and fall accident -- maybe you broke an expensive watch when you fell, for example.
Whatever the factual basis for the claim, the success of your slip and fall case will almost certainly hinge on whether the property owner’s negligence was the cause of your accident. A number of considerations come into play in making this kind of determination. Learn more about proving fault for a slip and fall.
If you try to file your slip and fall lawsuit after the deadline set by the statute of limitations has passed, the person you're trying to sue will bring that fact to the court’s attention, and the court will almost certainly grant a motion to dismiss your case. That’s why it’s critical to understand how this law applies to your situation. (In some rare situations the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in Missouri).
You’re making a slip and fall claim, only to hear the property owner argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. It’s a common tactic in every slip and fall case in every state, and Missouri is no exception. And if the property owner is successful in pinning some of the legal blame on you, any settlement or court award you receive could be significantly lower than it might have been, or you may end up with no compensation at all.
There are a number of arguments that the property owner can make in attempting to pin some or all of the blame on you, including:
Regardless of the specific argument the property owner makes, if your Missouri slip and fall case makes it to court, the state’s “pure comparative negligence rule” will be employed to determine how much compensation you can still receive from the property owner.
Under this rule, any damages award you receive will be reduced according to the percentage of your fault. So, let’s say the jury finds that you are 30 percent to blame for your slip and fall accident. They also find that your damages total $10,000 (your damages include your medical bills, your lost income, your "pain and suffering" in connection with your injuries, and other losses). In that situation the property owner will only be on the hook for $7,000 (that’s the original $10,000 minus the 30 percent that equates with your share of fault).
That’s how shared fault works in Missouri personal injury cases. If your slip and fall case makes it all the way to trial, the jury will be asked to make a finding as to fault, that fault finding will be applied to the total amount of your damages, and the amount that the property owner is ordered to pay will be reduced accordingly.
And even if your case doesn’t make it to trial -- even if a lawsuit isn’t actually filed, for that matter -- Missouri’s comparative negligence rule will still be a factor. During personal injury settlement negotiations, the property owner’s insurance company (and/or their attorney) will have these shared fault rules in mind. They’re concerned with what might happen if your case does wind up in court, after all. So you can expect any settlement offer to reflect the other side’s view of the role you may have played in causing or contributing to your own injuries. That’s why it’s so important to make a strong case against the property owner.
(Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.)
]]>A number of Nebraska laws will almost certainly affect any lawsuit you decide to file over your slip and fall. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall case in Nebraska's court system, and the state's "comparative negligence" rule, which can limit your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Even if you're pretty sure your case will reach a personal injury settlement out of court, you still need to keep these state laws in mind, so read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in a state's civil court system. Specific time limits vary depending on the kind of case you want to file.
Nebraska Revised Statute 25-207 sets out the statute of limitations that will apply to almost any lawsuit arising from a slip and fall accident. This law gives a prospective plaintiff four years to ask the state courts for a civil remedy for most personal injuries, or when damage is done to personal property.
So, in the context of a slip and fall, if you want to file a civil lawsuit against the property owner or some other party who was responsible for the condition of the property on which you were injured, that lawsuit will be subject to the four-year filing deadline set by section 25-207. That same deadline applies whether you are injured, or only had your personal property damaged as a result of the slip and fall (maybe you broke an expensive watch or phone but were unhurt).
In either kind of case -- whether the lawsuit is for injury or property damage, or both -- the "clock" starts running on the date of the slip and fall, and the success or failure of your case will most likely turn on whether you can prove that the defendant failed to take reasonable steps to keep the property safe and to prevent your accident. Learn more about premises liability and proving fault for a slip and fall.
What if you don't get your slip and fall lawsuit filed before the statutory deadline passes? In that situation, the property owner will ask the court to dismiss the case once you do try to file it, and the court will almost certainly grant the dismissal. In some rare instances, the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your lawsuit started. Talk to a personal injury attorney for the details on these exceptions in Nebraska, and whether they might apply to your situation.
If you're thinking about making a claim against a property owner for injuries suffered in a slip and fall, be prepared to hear the other side argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for what happened. That’s true in any state, and Nebraska is no exception. And any court award you receive could be significantly lower than it might have been if the property owner successfully pins some of the blame on you. In some situations your court award could be eliminated altogether if you’re found to share enough of the liability.
It’s important to note that even if your slip and fall case doesn’t make it to trial -- even if a lawsuit isn’t filed, for that matter -- Nebraska's shared fault rules will likely still play a part. During settlement negotiations, the other side is concerned with what might happen if your slip and fall case does wind up in court, so any settlement offer will reflect their view of the part you played in causing or contributing to your injuries. (By "other side" we mean the property owner, their homeowners' insurance company, and/or their attorney.)
When the plaintiff in a personal injury case (like a slip and fall lawsuit) is found to share some amount of blame for the underlying accident in Nebraska, the law that provides the basis for this "shared fault" argument is Nebraska Revised Statute 25-21, 185.09, which says: "Any contributory negligence chargeable to the claimant shall diminish proportionately the amount awarded as damages for an injury attributable to the claimant's contributory negligence but shall not bar recovery, except that if the contributory negligence of the claimant is equal to or greater than the total negligence of all persons against whom recovery is sought, the claimant shall be totally barred from recovery."
Let's translate that into plain English: Even if a jury deems you partly to blame for your slip and fall, you can still get compensation from the property owner. But any damages award you receive from the court will be reduced by an amount equal to the percentage of fault that’s determined to be yours. And, it’s important to point out that if your share of liability is deemed to be equal to or greater than that of the property owner, under Nebraska law, you can’t recover any compensation at all at trial. That’s why it’s so important to establish that the property owner is solely to blame for your injuries.
So, for example, if you are found to be 25 percent at fault for causing your slip and fall, and your damages (medical bills and other losses) total $10,000, you’ll only receive $7,500 from the property owner (that’s $10,000 minus 25 percent). Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
]]>Whether you decide to file an insurance claim, or take the matter directly to court via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of Michigan laws will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit, and "shared fault" rules that can affect your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in the state's civil court system. Try to file your slip and fall lawsuit after the deadline has passed, and the property owner will surely bring that fact to the court’s attention, and the court will almost certainly dismiss your case. (Note: In some rare situations the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in Michigan.)
As is true in most states, the statute of limitations that affects slip and fall cases in Michigan is the same as the larger one that applies to all personal injury lawsuits filed in the state’s civil courts. Specifically, Michigan Compiled Laws section 600.5805 says that "the period of limitations is 3 years after the time of the death or injury for all actions to recover damages for the death of a person, or for injury to a person or property."
That three-year deadline covers a broad range of potential lawsuits, including a claim for injury after a slip and fall on someone else’s property, as well as a property damage lawsuit stemming from a slip and fall (maybe you were uninjured when you fell, but you broke an expensive watch and you want the property owner to replace it). Keep in mind that the three-year “clock" starts running on the date of the slip and fall accident, and there’s no pause button for weekends or holidays.
Whether it’s an injury lawsuit or one based on property damage, a slip and case will almost certainly hinge on whether the property owner’s negligence was the cause of your accident. A number of considerations come into play in making this kind of determination. Learn more about proving fault for a slip and fall.
Even if you're confident that your injury claim will settle, you want to leave yourself plenty of time to file a slip and fall lawsuit. Having the option of going to court will give you more leverage during settlement talks.
If you’re making an injury claim against the property owner who may be responsible for your slip and fall, be prepared to hear the other side argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for what happened. If this argument is successful, any settlement or court award you receive could be significantly lower than it might have been.
What arguments can you expect to hear from the property owner? Some examples:
If your Michigan slip and fall case makes it to court, the state's "modified comparative negligence" rule will determine how much compensation (if any) you can still receive from the property owner if you were at all negligent. Any damages award you receive from the court will be reduced by an amount equal to the percentage of fault that’s determined to be yours.
So, let’s say the jury finds that you are 10 percent responsible for your slip and fall, and your damages total $30,000. That will leave the defendant on the hook for $27,000 (your $30,000 total damages minus your 10 percent share of fault for the accident, or $3,000).
One important wrinkle in Michigan’s comparative fault statute (which you can find at Michigan Compiled Laws section 600.2959) says that if you're found to be more than 50 percent at fault for the accident, when compared with the liability of all other parties, not only is your share of economic damages (medical bills, lost income, etc.) reduced accordingly, you’re also barred from recovering non-economic damages. That includes compensation for pain and suffering and other subjective losses, which can really add up in a personal injury case.
Even if your case doesn’t make it to trial -- even if a lawsuit isn’t actually filed -- Michigan’s comparative negligence rule will still be a factor. During settlement negotiations, the property owner’s insurance company (and/or their attorney) are concerned with what might happen if your case does wind up in court. So you can expect any slip and fall settlement offer to reflect the other side’s view of the part you played in causing or contributing to your injuries. That’s why it’s so important to make a strong case against the property owner.
Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
]]>Whether you decide to file an insurance claim, or take the matter to court via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of Indiana laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit, and "shared fault" rules that can affect your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the underlying accident. Read on for the details.
As background, a statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in a state's civil court system. Specific time limits vary depending on the kind of case you want to file.
If you try to file your slip and fall lawsuit after the deadline set by the statute of limitations has passed, the person you're trying to sue will bring that fact to the court’s attention, and the court will almost certainly grant a motion to dismiss your case. That’s why it’s critical to understand how this law applies to your situation. (In some rare situations the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in Indiana).
The statute of limitations that will affect a slip and fall lawsuit in Indiana is the same as the larger one that applies to most personal injury claims. Specifically, Indiana Code section 34-11-2-4 says: "An action for: (1) injury to person or character; [or for] (2) injury to personal property…must be commenced within two (2) years after the cause of action accrues.”
So, a plaintiff has two years to get their initial complaint filed in Indiana's court system after getting injured in a fall caused by dangerous property conditions on someone else’s land, and the "clock" starts running on the date of the injury.
That same two-year deadline applies if you only incurred property damage as a result of your slip and fall in Indiana -- maybe you were uninjured but you broke an expensive watch when you fell -- and you want to ask a court to order the negligent party to pay for the repair or replacement of your property.
Whatever the factual basis for the claim, the success of your slip and fall case will almost certainly hinge on whether the property owner’s negligence was the cause of your accident. A number of factors come into play in making this kind of determination. Learn more about proving fault for a slip and fall.
You’re making a slip and fall claim, only to hear the property owner argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. It’s a common tactic in every slip and fall case in every state, and Indiana is no exception. And if the property owner is successful in pinning some of the legal blame on you, any settlement or court award you receive could be significantly lower than it might have been, or you may end up with no compensation at all.
Now for the legalese: Indiana Code section 34-51-2-6 says that in a personal injury case (like one filed after a slip and fall injury) "the claimant is barred from recovery if the claimant's contributory fault is greater than the fault of all persons whose fault proximately contributed to the claimant's damages."
In plain English, that means even if you are found partly at fault for your slip and fall accident, you can still get compensation from the property owner and/or any other party who is also at fault, as long as your own share of the blame is no higher than 50 percent. The practical effect of all of this if that any damages award you receive from the court will be reduced by an amount equal to the percentage of fault that’s determined to be yours.
So, let’s say the jury finds that you are 10 percent responsible for your slip and fall, and your damages (including medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other losses) total $10,000. That will leave the property owner or other defendant(s) on the hook for $9,000 (your $10,000 total damages minus your 10 percent share of fault for the accident, or $1,000).
What arguments can you expect to hear from the property owner? Here are a few common examples:
Even if your case doesn’t make it to trial, Indiana’s comparative negligence rule will still be a factor. During settlement negotiations, the property owner’s insurance company (and/or their attorney) are concerned with what might happen if your case does wind up in court. So you can expect any settlement offer to reflect the other side's view of the part you played in causing or contributing to the slip and fall. That’s why it’s so important to make a strong case against the property owner.
(Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.)
]]>Whether you decide to file an insurance claim, or take the matter to court via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of North Carolina laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit, and "shared fault" rules that can affect your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in the state's civil court system. Try to file your slip and fall lawsuit after the deadline has passed, and the property owner will surely bring that fact to the court’s attention, and the court will almost certainly dismiss your case. (Note: In some rare situations the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in North Carolina.)
The statute of limitations that applies to the vast majority of slip and fall lawsuits in North Carolina is the same one that applies to most personal injury cases. Specifically, North Carolina General Statutes section 1-52 says that a civil lawsuit for "any injury to the person or rights of another" must be filed within three years.
That three-year deadline covers a broad range of potential lawsuits, including a claim for injury after a slip and fall on someone else's property, as well as a property damage lawsuit stemming from a slip and fall (maybe you were uninjured, but you broke an expensive watch when you fell, and you want the property owner to replace it).
Keep in mind that the three-year "clock" starts running on the date of the slip and fall accident, and there’s no pause button for weekends or holidays. (A few rare scenarios might give you extra time to get your lawsuit started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in North Carolina).
Whether it’s an injury lawsuit or one based on property damage, a slip and case will almost certainly hinge on whether the property owner’s negligence was the cause of your accident. A number of considerations come into play in making this kind of determination. Learn more about proving fault for a slip and fall.
Even if you're confident that your injury claim will settle, you want to leave yourself plenty of time to file a slip and fall lawsuit. Having the option of going to court will give you more leverage during settlement talks.
If you’ve been injured after a slip and fall accident and you're thinking about making a claim, get ready to hear the property owner argue that you share some amount of blame for the accident. This is good advice no matter where you live. But in North Carolina, it’s particularly critical that you (and your attorney) shoot down any such argument with strong evidence. That's because if your case goes to trial and the property owner (or some other defendant) is able to pin any amount of the legal blame for the slip and fall on you, you could end up without any compensation at all.
Most states follow some variation of a rule known as "comparative negligence" in personal injury cases where the person who is bringing the lawsuit (the plaintiff) also bears some amount of responsibility for causing the underlying accident. Under this rule, any damages award the plaintiff receives will be reduced according to the percentage of their fault. But North Carolina is one of a handful of states that doesn’t follow "comparative negligence.” Instead, the much less plaintiff-friendly "contributory negligence" rule is still employed in North Carolina personal injury cases.
Under "contributory negligence," if the injured person is found to bear any amount of blame for the underlying accident -- even a small fraction -- then he or she can't recover any compensation at all from any other at-fault party in a personal injury trial. Not surprisingly, that can lead to some pretty harsh results for personal injury plaintiffs.
In attempting to pin some amount of legal liability on you, the property owner (or whoever you’re trying to hold liable for your slip and fall) could claim that:
If your case doesn’t make it to trial -- even if a slip and fall lawsuit isn’t actually filed, for that matter -- North Carolina’s contributory negligence rule will still be a factor. During settlement negotiations, the property owner’s insurance company (and/or their attorney) knows that if your case winds up in court, you stand a significant chance of walking away with nothing if they can saddle you with even a little bit of blame. So it becomes that much more important to make a strong case showing that the property owner’s negligence was the sole cause of your slip and fall.
Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
]]>A number of Louisiana laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect any lawsuit you decide to file over your slip and fall. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit in the state's courts, and the "comparative negligence" rule, which can limit your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Even if you're pretty sure your case will reach a personal injury settlement out of court, you still need to keep these state laws in mind, so read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in a state's civil court system. Specific time limits vary depending on the kind of case you want to file.
As with the majority of states, the statute of limitations that applies to a slip and fall case in Louisiana is almost always the same one that applies to any variety of personal injury case. Specifically, Louisiana Civil Code Article 3492 says: "Delictual actions are subject to a liberative prescription of one year. This prescription commences to run from the day injury or damage is sustained."
How's that for legalese? In case you’re not fluent, a "delictual" action is simply a lawsuit over some kind of harm. So, what Article 3492 says is that any lawsuit for injury or property damage must be filed within one year -- that includes any claim for injury or property damage by someone involved in a slip and fall on dangerous or defective property. Louisiana's one-year statute of limitations "clock" starts running on the date of the accident.
Learn more about premises liability and proving fault for a slip and fall.
If you don't get your slip and fall lawsuit filed before the deadline passes, you can count on the property owner asking the court to dismiss the case once you do try to file it. In some rare instances, the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your lawsuit started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in Louisiana, and whether they might apply to your situation.
Even if you think your injury claim will be resolved through a settlement, make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to get a lawsuit started, and talk to a Louisiana attorney if you’re running up against the filing deadline.
You’re making a slip and fall claim, only to hear the property owner argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Why does this matter? If any amount of fault for the accident is pinned on you, any court award you receive will be lower than it would have been if you were found fault-free.
Even if your case doesn’t make it to trial (even if a lawsuit isn’t actually filed), Louisiana’s shared fault rules will still be a factor. After all, during settlement negotiations, the other side is concerned with what might happen if your case does wind up in court. So you can expect any settlement offer to reflect their view of the part you played in causing the slip and fall.
Louisiana's "comparative negligence" rule applies to situations like this, and will determine how much compensation you can still receive if you were at all negligent in connection with the accident. This rule can be found at Louisiana Civil Code Article 2323. The key part of this statute says: "If a person suffers injury, death, or loss as the result partly of his own negligence and partly as a result of the fault of another person or persons, the amount of damages recoverable shall be reduced in proportion to the degree or percentage of negligence attributable to the person suffering the injury, death, or loss."
At trial in any kind of Louisiana personal injury case, including slip and fall claims, under Article 2323 the jury or the court will first decide the total amount of the injured plaintiff’s losses (medical bills, lost income, etc.). Next, the amount of each party’s negligence (including the injured plaintiff’s) will be assigned a percentage. Finally, the court will set the injured plaintiff’s damages award (the amount he or she will receive from other at-fault parties) in line with those percentages.
So, even where the plaintiff is found to be at fault, they can still get compensation for their injuries, but the amount of compensation they can receive will be reduced in accord with their share of the fault.
So, let’s say the jury finds that you are 30 percent responsible for your slip and fall. They also find that your damages (including your medical bills and lost income) total $10,000. That will leave the property owner on the hook for $7,000.
Now that you understand the rule, what kind of arguments can you expect to hear? Here’s a look at a few:
It’s easy to see why it’s so important to make a strong case against the property owner in your Louisiana slip and fall case. Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
]]>Several New Hampshire laws will affect any lawsuit you decide to bring over your slip and fall, including the statute of limitations deadline for starting a lawsuit in New Hampshire's court system, and the state's "comparative negligence" rule, which can limit your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Even if you're pretty sure your case will reach a personal injury settlement out of court, you still need to keep these state laws in mind, so read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a state law that sets a strict time limit on the right to have a lawsuit heard in civil court. Specific time limits vary from state to state, and depending on the kind of case being filed.
Now, onto the law in New Hampshire, where New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated section 508:4 contains a "catch-all" three-year statute of limitations that applies to most "personal actions." This deadline will apply to any lawsuit over injuries caused by unreasonably dangerous property conditions. And if you were uninjured, but had your personal property damaged as a result of the slip and fall -- maybe an expensive watch you were wearing was broken in the fall, for example -- the three-year deadline set by section 508:4 also applies.
In either kind of case -- whether the lawsuit is for injury or property damage, or both -- the "clock" starts running on the date of the slip and fall, and the success or failure of your case will most likely turn on whether you can prove that the defendant failed to take reasonable steps to keep the property safe and to prevent your accident. Learn more about premises liability and proving fault for a slip and fall.
The next logical question is, "What happens if I don’t get my lawsuit started before the three-year deadline passes?" In that situation, you can count on the defendant (the property owner) asking the court to dismiss the case, and the court is almost sure to grant the dismissal. That's why it’s so crucial to understand the statute of limitations and abide by the time limit as it applies to your specific situation.
In certain rare circumstances, the clock may pause or "toll," giving you even more leeway to get your case started. Talk to a personal injury attorney for the details on these exceptions in New Hampshire.
If you're thinking about making a claim against a property owner for injuries suffered in a slip and fall accident, be prepared to hear the other side argue that you bear some amount of blame for what happened. Also be prepared to counter this argument, because if it's successful, you could see a significant chunk of your settlement or court award taken away.
New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated section 507:7-d lays out the concept of shared fault in a personal injury case in the state. This statute says that in a civil case for injury or property damage, the claimant's own "contributory negligence" (shared fault) will not act as a bar to recovery -- the injured person can still get compensation from other at-fault parties, in other words -- as long as "such fault was not greater than the fault of the defendant, or the defendants in the aggregate if recovery is allowed against more than one defendant, but the damages awarded shall be diminished in proportion to the amount of fault attributed to the plaintiff by general verdict."
So, in plain English, and in the context of a slip and fall case, let's say your lawsuit goes to trial and the jury, after considering the evidence, finds that you were partly to blame for causing or contributing to your accident. You can still get compensation from the property owner, as long as your share of the fault was not larger than the defendant's. But any damages award you receive will be reduced by a percentage that is in line with the jury's fault finding.
But remember, if you're found to bear more fault than the property owner, in New Hampshire you can't recover any compensation at all.
So, let's assume that the jury finds you 20 percent to blame for your slip and fall, and they set your damages at $10,000. That leaves the property owner on the hook for $8,000 (the original $10,000 minus the 20 percent that represents your share of fault).
So, what kind of arguments can you expect to hear from the property owner? Some common allegations include:
It's easy to see why it’s crucial to make a strong case against the property owner in your New Hampshire slip and fall case. Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
]]>Whether you decide to file an insurance claim, or take the matter to court via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of Ohio laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit, and "shared fault" rules that can affect your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in the state's civil court system. Try to file your slip and fall lawsuit after the deadline has passed, and the property owner will surely bring that fact to the court’s attention, and the court will almost certainly dismiss your case. (Note: In some rare situations the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in Ohio.)
In Ohio, the statute of limitations that will affect most slip and fall cases is the same as the larger one that applies to most personal injury claims. Specifically, Ohio Revised Code section 2305.10 says "an action for bodily injury or injuring personal property shall be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues" (emphasis added).
In plain English, if you think a property owner is responsible for your injuries and other losses stemming from a slip and fall incident, you must get any lawsuit filed against that person (or business) within two years, and the "clock" starts running on the date the slip and fall occurred.
The same two-year deadline applies if your personal property was damaged in the slip and fall -- let’s say you were wearing an expensive watch, and it broke when you landed on it, for example -- and you want to file a lawsuit asking that it be repaired or replaced.
Whether it’s an injury lawsuit or one based on property damage, a slip and case will almost certainly hinge on whether the property owner’s negligence was the cause of your accident. A number of considerations come into play in making this kind of determination. Learn more about proving fault for a slip and fall.
Even if you're confident that your injury claim will settle, you want to leave yourself plenty of time to file a slip and fall lawsuit. Having the option of going to court will give you more leverage during settlement talks.
If you’re thinking about making a claim for injury after a slip and fall, be prepared to hear the other side argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for what happened. If this argument is successful, any settlement or court award you receive could be lower than it might have been, and it might even be wiped out completely.
If your Ohio slip and fall case makes it to court, the state's "modified comparative negligence rule" will be used to determine how much you can recover from the property owner if the jury finds that you were somehow negligent in connection with the accident. Any damages award you receive will be reduced according to the percentage of your fault. And if your share of blame is 51 percent or more in Ohio, you’ll be barred from recovering anything at all from other potentially liable parties.
So, let’s say the jury finds that you are 25 percent responsible for your slip and fall, since witnesses said you seemed to be engrossed in something on your phone at the time you fell. The jury also finds that your damages (including your medical bills, lost income, and "pain and suffering") total $20,000. That will leave the property owner on the hook for $15,000 (the original $20,000 minus $5,000, which represents your 25-percent share of fault).
Even if your Ohio slip and fall case doesn't make it to trial -- even if a lawsuit isn’t actually filed -- the state's comparative negligence rule will still play a role. That's because the property owner's insurance company (and/or their attorney) is concerned with what might happen if your case does wind up in court, even if you're just in settlement discussions very early on. You can expect any slip and fall settlement offer to reflect the other side's view of the part you played in causing or contributing to your injuries. That's just one more reason why it’s so important to make a strong case that details the property owner’s liability.
So, what kind of arguments can you expect to hear from the property owner? The possibilities are endless, but some common allegations include:
Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
]]>Whether you decide to file an insurance claim, or take the matter to court via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of Tennessee laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit, and "shared fault" rules that can affect your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in the state's civil court system. Specific time limits vary depending on the kind of case you want to file.
The key thing to know here is that if you try to file your slip and fall lawsuit after the deadline set by the statute of limitations has passed, the person you’re trying to sue will bring that fact to the court’s attention, and the court will almost certainly grant a motion to dismiss your case. That’s why it’s so crucial to understand how this law applies to your situation. (In some rare situations the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in Tennessee).
In Tennessee, there are a few different lawsuit filing deadlines that could affect a slip and fall case.
First, if you have been injured in a slip and fall incident and you intend to file a lawsuit against the property owner or other defendant, Tennessee Code section 28-3-104 dictates that the injury case be filed in Tennessee’s civil court system within one year of the date of the incident.
(Note: In rare cases where a slip and fall results in someone’s death, any wrongful death claim brought by the deceased person’s representatives is subject to the same one-year lawsuit filing deadline. The only difference is that the “clock” starts running on the day of the person’s death, which could be later than the date of the slip and fall itself.)
Second, a property damage lawsuit stemming from a slip and fall -- maybe you were uninjured when you fell, but you broke an expensive watch and you want the property owner to replace it -- must be filed against any potential defendant within three years, according to section 28-3-105 of the Tennessee Code.
A slip and fall case will almost certainly hinge on whether the property owner’s negligence was the cause of your accident. A number of considerations come into play in making this kind of determination. Learn more about proving fault for a slip and fall.
You’re making a slip and fall claim, only to hear the property owner argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. It’s a common tactic in every slip and fall case in every state, and Tennessee is no exception. And if the property owner is successful in pinning some of the legal blame on you, any settlement or court award you receive could be significantly lower than it might have been, or you may end up with no compensation at all.
What arguments can you expect to hear from the property owner? Here are a few examples:
If your Tennessee slip and fall case makes it to court, and the jury finds that you bear some amount of legal blame for what happened, the state's "comparative negligence" rules will be applied to determine how much compensation (if any) you can still receive from the property owner.
Under "comparative negligence," any damages award a personal injury plaintiff receives will be reduced according to the percentage of their fault. So, let’s say the jury finds that you are 10 percent responsible for your slip and fall in Tennessee. They also find that your damages (including your medical bills, lost income, and "pain and suffering") total $20,000. That will leave the property owner on the hook for $18,000 (that’s the original $20,000 minus the 10 percent that represents your share of fault).
It’s important to note that if you’re deemed more than 50 percent at fault for the accident, under Tennessee law you can’t recover anything at all from the property owner or anyone else.
That’s how shared fault works in Tennessee personal injury cases if your slip and fall case makes it all the way to trial. And even if your case doesn’t make it to trial -- even if a lawsuit isn’t actually filed, for that matter -- Tennessee’s comparative negligence rule will still be a factor. During settlement negotiations, the property owner’s insurance company (and/or their attorney) are concerned with what might happen if your case does wind up in court. So you can expect any settlement offer to reflect the other side’s view of the part you played in causing or contributing to the slip and fall. That’s why it becomes so important to make a strong case against the property owner. (Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.)
]]>Whether you decide to file an insurance claim, or take the matter to court via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of Georgia laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit, and "shared fault" rules that can affect your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in the state's civil court system. The key thing to know here is that if you try to file your slip and fall lawsuit after the deadline set by the statute of limitations has passed, the person you’re trying to sue will bring that fact to the court’s attention, and the court will almost certainly dismiss your case. (Note: In some rare situations the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in Georgia.)
As in most states, the statute of limitations that will affect a slip and fall injury claim in Georgia is the same as the larger one that applies to most personal injury cases filed in the state's civil court system. Specifically, Georgia Code section 9-3-33 says: "Actions for injuries to the person shall be brought within two years after the right of action accrues." That’s just a fancy (or confusing) way of saying that after an accident like a slip and fall, an injury lawsuit must be filed against the property owner within two years.
if you want to file a lawsuit over property damage caused by the slip and fall accident -- maybe you were unharmed but you broke an expensive watch when you fell -- the statute of limitations for injuries to "personalty" (that's Georgia Code section 9-3-31) gives you four years to get the case started.
Whether the lawsuit is over injuries or property damage, the clock starts running on the date of the incident that caused the injury. (Learn more about proving fault for a slip and fall.)
Even if you're confident that your injury claim will settle, you want to leave yourself plenty of time to file a slip and fall lawsuit. Having the option of going to court will give you more leverage during settlement talks.
If you’re thinking about making a claim for injury after a slip and fall, be prepared to hear the other side argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for what happened.
This tactic is a common one because of the impact it can have on your case if the property owner is successful in pinning some of the legal blame on you. If that happens, any settlement or court award you receive could be lower than it might have been, and it might even be wiped out completely.
If your Georgia slip and fall lawsuit makes it to trial, and the jury finds that you were negligent in connection with the accident, the state’s "modified comparative negligence rule" will determine how much you can recover from the property owner. Any damages award you receive will be reduced according to the percentage of your fault. And if your share of blame happens to be 50 percent or more, you’ll be barred from recovering any compensation at all from the property owner or any other potentially liable parties.
So, let’s say the jury finds you were 40 percent responsible for your slip and fall, since witnesses saw you staring at your phone at the time you fell. The jury also finds that your damages (including your medical bills, lost income, and “pain and suffering”) total $30,000. That will leave the property owner on the hook for $18,000 (the original $30,000 minus $12,000, which represents your 40-percent share of fault). Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
]]>Whether you decide to file an insurance claim with the property owner's carrier, or take the matter to court via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of Massachusetts laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit, and "shared fault" rules that can affect your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in the state's civil court system. Specific time limits vary depending on the kind of case you want to file.
The key thing to know here is that if you try to file your slip and fall lawsuit after the deadline set by the statute of limitations has passed, the person you’re trying to sue will bring that fact to the court’s attention, and the court will almost certainly grant a motion to dismiss your case. That’s why it’s so crucial to understand how this law applies to your situation. (In some rare situations the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in Massachusetts).
Now, onto the specifics of the law in Massachusetts, where, as in most states, the statute of limitations that will affect a slip and fall lawsuit is the same as the larger one that applies to personal injury cases in general. Specifically, anyone who has been injured in a slip and fall accident -- or suffered damage to their personal property as a result of the fall -- must get their lawsuit filed within three years of the date of the incident, according to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 260 section 2A.
Note: In rare cases where someone dies as a result of a slip and fall, any wrongful death lawsuit must also be filed within three years (so says Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 229 section 2), but the "clock" starts running on the date of the deceased person’s death (which might be different from the date of the slip and fall itself).
A slip and fall case will almost certainly hinge on whether the property owner’s negligence was the cause of your accident. A number of considerations come into play in making this kind of determination. Learn more about proving fault for a slip and fall.
You’re making a slip and fall claim, only to hear the property owner argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. It’s a common tactic in every slip and fall case in every state, and Massachusetts is no exception. And if the property owner is successful in pinning some of the legal blame on you, any settlement or court award you receive could be significantly lower than it might have been, or you may end up with no compensation at all.
What arguments can you expect to hear from the property owner? Here are a few examples:
If your Massachusetts slip and fall case makes it to court, the state’s “modified comparative negligence rule” will be used to determine how much compensation (if any) you can still receive from the property owner if you were at all negligent in connection with the accident.
Under "modified comparative negligence," any damages award a personal injury plaintiff receives will be reduced according to the percentage of their fault. So, let’s say the jury finds that you are 25 percent responsible for your slip and fall, since you disregarded warning signs. They also find that your damages (including your medical bills, lost income, and “pain and suffering”) total $10,000. That will leave the property owner on the hook for $7,500 (your $10,000 total damages minus your 25 percent share of fault for the accident).
It’s important to note that, under Massachusetts law, you can’t recover anything at all from the property owner (or anyone else) if you’re deemed more than 50 percent at fault for the accident.
Even if your case doesn’t make it to trial -- even if a lawsuit isn’t actually filed, for that matter -- Massachusetts’s comparative negligence rule will still be a factor. During settlement negotiations, the property owner’s insurance company (and/or their attorney) are concerned with what might happen if your case does wind up in court. So you can expect any settlement offer to reflect the other side’s view of the part you played in causing or contributing to the slip and fall. That’s why it becomes so important to make a strong case against the property owner.
Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
]]>Whether you decide to file an insurance claim, or take the matter to court via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of Pennsylvania laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit, and "shared fault" rules that can affect your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in the state's civil court system. The key thing to know here is that if you try to file your slip and fall lawsuit after the deadline set by the statute of limitations has passed, the person you’re trying to sue will bring that fact to the court’s attention, and the court will almost certainly dismiss your case. (Note: In some rare situations the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in Pennsylvania.)
In Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations that applies to your slip and fall case is Pennsylvania Cons. Stat. Title 42 section 5524, which says: "an action to recover damages for injuries to the person or for the death of an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect or unlawful violence or negligence of another" must be brought within two years.
Section 5524 also applies to "an action for taking, detaining or injuring personal property, including actions for specific recovery thereof." So, in rare cases where the slip and fall only resulted in property damage -- maybe you were uninjured in the incident but you broke a very expensive watch, for example -- any lawsuit seeking the repair or replacement of the damaged property must be filed within two years.
Learn more about proving fault for a slip and fall.
You want to leave yourself plenty of time to file a slip and fall lawsuit, even if you’re confident your injury claim will settle. At the very least, having the option of going to court will give you more leverage during settlement talks.
If you’re thinking about making a claim for injury after a slip and fall, be prepared to hear the other side argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for what happened.
This tactic is a common one because of the impact it can have on your case if the property owner is successful in pinning some of the legal blame on you. Any settlement or court award you receive could be significantly lower than it might have been, or you may end up with no compensation at all if you’re found negligent in connection with your slip and fall.
Now for the legalese: If your Pennsylvania slip and fall case makes it to court, the state's "modified comparative negligence" rule will determine how much compensation (if any) you can still receive from the property owner if you were at all negligent. In plain English, that means any damages award you receive from the court will be reduced by an amount equal to the percentage of fault that’s determined to be yours.
Let's say the jury finds that you are 10 percent responsible for your slip and fall. They also find that your damages (including lost income, medical bills, "pain and suffering" and other losses) total $30,000. That will leave the defendant on the hook for $27,000 (your $30,000 total damages minus your 10 percent share of fault for the accident, or $3,000).
It’s important to note that, under Pennsylvania law, you can’t recover anything at all from the property owner or anyone else if you’re deemed more than 50 percent at fault for the accident.
So, what kind of arguments can you expect to hear from the property owner? Some common allegations include:
Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
]]>Whether you decide to file an insurance claim, or take the matter to court via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of Washington laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit, and "shared fault" rules that can affect your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in the state's civil court system, and the statute of limitations for most Washington slip and fall lawsuits is the same as the larger one that applies to the majority of standard personal injury lawsuits filed in the state. Specifically, Revised Code of Washington section 4.16.080 says that an action for “injury to the person or rights of another… shall be commenced within three years.”
So, if you’re filing a lawsuit against a property owner or any other defendant who is responsible for the unsafe condition of property where you were injured, you need to get the initial complaint filed in court within three years of the date of the incident.
Section 4.16.080 also sets a three-year deadline for the filing of "an action for taking, detaining, or injuring personal property," if you want to file a lawsuit over any property damage that resulted from the slip and fall accident -- maybe you broke an expensive watch when you fell, for example.
Whether your slip and fall lawsuit is for injury or property damage, the success or failure of the case will most likely turn on whether you can prove that the defendant failed to take reasonable steps to keep the property safe and to prevent your accident. Learn more about fault for a slip and fall accident.
If you try to file your lawsuit after the deadline set by Washington’s statute of limitations has already passed, the property owner will almost surely ask the court to dismiss the case. And if the court grants the dismissal, your case is over before it can even get started. (Note: In some rare situations the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in Washington.)
If you're making an injury claim against the property owner responsible for your slip and fall in Washington, be prepared to hear the other side argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for what happened. And if the argument is successful, any settlement or court award you receive could be significantly lower than it might have been.
What arguments can you expect to hear from the property owner? Here are a few examples:
Now for the legalese: Revised Code of Washington section 4.22.005 says: "In an action based on fault seeking to recover damages for injury or death to person or harm to property, any contributory fault chargeable to the claimant diminishes proportionately the amount awarded as compensatory damages for an injury attributable to the claimant's contributory fault, but does not bar recovery."
In plain English, that means even if you are the plaintiff in a personal injury case and you are found partly at fault for what happened, you can still get compensation from the property owner and/or any other party who is also at fault. The practical effect of Washington's "comparative negligence" rule is that any damages award you receive from the court will be reduced by an amount equal to your share of negligence in connection with the accident.
So, let’s say the jury finds that you are 25 percent responsible for your slip and fall, and your damages (including medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other losses) total $20,000. That will leave the property owner or other defendant(s) on the hook for $15,000 (your $20,000 total damages minus your 25 percent share of fault for the accident, or $5,000).
Even if your case doesn’t make it to trial, Washington’s comparative negligence rule will still be a factor. During settlement negotiations, the property owner’s insurance company (and/or their attorney) are concerned with what might happen if your case does wind up in court. So you can expect any settlement offer to reflect the other side’s view of the part you played in causing or contributing to the slip and fall.
Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
]]>Whether you decide to file an insurance claim, or take the matter to court via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of Minnesota laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit in court, and the "shared fault" rules that can affect your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in a state's civil court system. Specific time limits vary depending on the kind of case you want to file.
The statute of limitations that affects your Minnesota slip and fall case is most likely Minnesota Statutes section 541.07, which applies to almost all personal injury cases filed in the state’s civil court system, and requires that these kinds of lawsuits be filed within two years of the date of the underlying incident. That would obviously include an injury claim arising out of a slip and fall or some similar incident that occurs on someone else’s property.
In rare cases where the slip and fall only resulted in property damage -- maybe you were uninjured in the accident but you broke a very expensive watch, for example -- any lawsuit seeking the repair or replacement of the damaged property must be filed within six years. That deadline is set by Minnesota Statutes section 541.05.
A few things to keep in mind: First, whether your slip and fall lawsuit is for injury or property damage, the success or failure of the case will most likely turn on whether you can prove that the defendant failed to take reasonable steps to keep the property safe and to prevent your accident. Learn more about negligence and proving fault for a slip and fall accident.
Second, if you try to file your lawsuit after the deadline set by Minnesota's statute of limitations has already passed, the property owner (or any other defendant) will almost surely ask the court to dismiss the case. If the court grants the dismissal, your case is over before it can even get started. (Note that in certain rare situations, the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in Minnesota).
You’re making a slip and fall claim, only to hear the property owner argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. It’s a common tactic in every slip and fall case in every state, and Minnesota is no exception. And if the property owner is successful in pinning some of the legal blame on you, any settlement or court award you receive could be significantly lower than it might have been, or you may end up with no compensation at all.
What arguments can you expect to hear from the property owner? Here are a few common examples:
If your Minnesota slip and fall case makes it to court, and the jury decides that you bear some amount of legal blame for the accident, the state’s "modified comparative negligence" rule will be used to determine how much compensation (if any) you can still receive from the property owner or other potentially liable parties. Any compensation you receive from the court will be reduced by an amount equal to the percentage of fault that’s determined to be yours. (Juries must often assign percentages to each party’s liability in a personal injury case.)
So, let’s say the jury finds that you are 25 percent responsible for your slip and fall, and your damages (including medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other losses) total $20,000. That will leave the defendant on the hook for $15,000 (your $20,000 total damages minus your 25 percent share of fault for the accident, or $5,000).
You can find the full text of Minnesota's "comparative negligence" rule at Minnesota Statutes section 604.01. This law makes clear that the plaintiff can only recover damages from other at-fault parties "if the contributory fault was not greater than the fault of the person against whom recovery is sought." In other words, if your fault is greater than that of the person you're trying to sue, under Minnesota law you're barred from recovering any compensation at all.
(Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.)
]]>Whether you decide to file a claim with the property owner's insurer, or take the matter to court via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of Illinois laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit, and "shared fault" rules that can affect your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in the state's civil court system. The key thing to know here is that if you try to file your slip and fall lawsuit after the deadline set by the statute of limitations has passed, the person you’re trying to sue will bring that fact to the court’s attention, and the court will almost certainly grant a motion to dismiss your case. That’s why it’s so crucial to understand how this Illinois law applies to your situation. (Note: In some rare situations the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in Illinois.)
So, what does the law say? In Illinois, as in most states, the statute of limitations that will affect most slip and fall injury cases is the same as the larger one that applies to personal injury claims in general. Specifically, 735 Illinois Compiled Statutes section 5/13-202 says, "Actions for damages for an injury to the person...shall be commenced within two years next after the cause of action accrued" (emphasis added.)
In plain English, that means if you think a property owner is responsible for your injuries and other losses stemming from a slip and fall incident, you must get any lawsuit filed against that person (or business) within two years, and the "clock" starts running on the date the slip and fall occurred. (Learn more about proving fault for a slip and fall.)
You want to leave yourself plenty of time to file a slip and fall lawsuit, even if you’re confident your injury claim will settle. At the very least, having the option of going to court will give you more leverage during settlement talks.
If you’re thinking about making a claim for injury after a slip and fall, be prepared for the defendant (that’s the property owner or other person you are trying to hold liable) to claim that you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. That’s true in every state. Illinois is no exception. If the property owner is successful in pinning some of the legal fault for the accident on you, any settlement or court award you receive could be significantly lower than it might have been, or you may end up with no compensation at all.
If your Illinois slip and fall case makes it to court, the state’s “modified comparative negligence rule” will be used to determine how much compensation (if any) you can still receive from the property owner if you were at all negligent in connection with the accident.
Under “modified comparative negligence,” any damages award a personal injury plaintiff receives will be reduced according to the percentage of their fault. So, let’s say the jury finds that you are 20 percent responsible for your slip and fall. They also find that your damages (including your medical bills, lost income, and "pain and suffering") total $40,000. That will leave the property owner on the hook for $32,000 (that’s the original $40,000 minus the 20 percent that represents your share of fault).
It’s important to note that if you’re deemed more than 50 percent at fault for the accident, under Illinois law you can’t recover anything at all from the property owner or anyone else.
That’s how shared fault works in Illinois personal injury cases if your slip and fall case makes it all the way to trial. And even if your case doesn’t make it to trial -- even if a lawsuit isn’t actually filed, for that matter -- Illinois’s comparative negligence rule will still be a factor. During settlement negotiations, the property owner’s insurance company (and/or their attorney) are concerned with what might happen if your case does wind up in court. So you can expect any settlement offer to reflect the other side’s view of the part you played in causing or contributing to the slip and fall. That’s why it's so important to make a strong liability case against the property owner.
So, what kind of arguments can you expect to hear from the property owner? Some common allegations include:
Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
]]>Whether you decide to file an insurance claim, or take the matter to court via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of Colorado laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit in court, and the "shared fault" rules that can affect your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in a state's civil court system. Specific time limits vary depending on the kind of case you want to file.
As in most states, the statute of limitations that will affect a slip and fall injury claim in Colorado is the same as the larger one that applies to all personal injury cases filed in the state’s civil court system. Specifically, Colorado Revised Statutes section 13-80-102 says that "tort actions", which include "actions for negligence," must be "commenced within two years after the cause of action accrues." In plain English, that means an injury claim arising from any kind of slip and fall accident must be filed against the at-fault property owner within two years.
The "clock" starts running on the date of the slip and fall accident -- unless the victim died as a result of the slip and fall, and their family wants to file a wrongful death claim. In that situation only, the statute of limitations deadline is still two years, but the "clock" starts on the date of the person’s death (which could be different from the date of the slip and fall itself).
(Note: The two-year deadline found at CRS section 13-80-102 also applies if your personal property was damaged in the slip and fall -- let’s say you broke an expensive watch, for example -- and you want to file a lawsuit asking for the repair or replacement of that property.)
A few things to keep in mind: First, whether your slip and fall lawsuit is for injury or property damage, the success or failure of the case will most likely turn on whether you can prove that the defendant failed to take reasonable steps to keep the property safe and to prevent your accident. Learn more about proving fault for a slip and fall accident.
Second, if you try to file your lawsuit after the deadline set by Colorado's statute of limitations has already passed, the property owner (or other defendant) will almost surely ask the court to dismiss the case. If the court grants the dismissal, your case is over before it can even get started. (Note that in certain rare situations, the statute of limitations clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in Colorado).
You’re making a slip and fall claim, only to hear the property owner argue that you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. It’s a common tactic in every slip and fall case in every state, and Colorado is no exception. And if the property owner is successful in pinning some of the legal blame on you, any settlement or court award you receive could be significantly lower than it might have been, or you may end up with no compensation at all.
Now, onto the law. When the plaintiff in a personal injury case is found to share some amount of blame for the underlying accident, Colorado Revised Statutes section 13-21-111 says: "Contributory negligence shall not bar recovery in any action by any person or his legal representative to recover damages for negligence resulting in death or in injury to person or property, if such negligence was not as great as the negligence of the person against whom recovery is sought, but any damages allowed shall be diminished in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the person for whose injury, damage, or death recovery is made."
In plain English, that means even if a jury finds you partly to blame for your slip and fall, you can still get compensation from the property owner, or whoever is responsible for the dangerous property condition. But any award you receive from the court will be reduced by an amount equal to the percentage of fault that’s determined to be yours. For example, if you’re deemed 25 percent at fault and your damages are $10,000, you’ll only receive $7,500.
But section 16-64-122 goes on to say that if the plaintiff’s share of fault "is equal to or greater than the negligence of the person against whom recovery is sought, then, in such event, the court shall enter a judgment for the defendant." That means, if you’re found to be 50 percent or more responsible for causing the incident that led to your slip and fall, you lose the case, and you can’t recover any compensation at all from the property owner or anyone else.
(Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.)
]]>Whether you decide to file a third-party insurance claim with the property owner's insurer, or take the matter to court right away via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of Texas laws and legal doctrines will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit, and "shared fault" rules that can affect your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in the state’s civil court system. The statute of limitations that will apply to a slip and fall injury claim in Texas is the same as the larger one that applies to all personal injury cases filed in the state’s civil court system. Specifically, Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code section 16.003 sets a two year deadline for the filing of any civil action seeking a legal remedy for personal injury.
So, in the context of a slip and fall accident, if you think the property owner is responsible for dangerous property conditions -- and by extension, for your injuries -- you must get any lawsuit filed against that person (or business) within two years, and the "clock" starts running on the date the slip and fall occurred. The same two-year deadline applies if your personal property was damaged in the slip and fall -- let’s say you were wearing an expensive watch, and you landed on it, for example -- and you want to file a lawsuit asking that it be repaired or replaced.
Whether it’s an injury lawsuit or one based on property damage, a slip and case will almost certainly hinge on whether the property owner’s negligence was the cause of the accident. Learn more about Proving Fault for a Slip and Fall.
From a strategy standpoint, you want to leave yourself plenty of time to file a slip and fall lawsuit, even if you’re confident your injury claim will settle. At the very least, having the option of going to court will give you more leverage during settlement talks.
In some rare situations the clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in Texas, and for more details on the statute of limitations and how it applies to your case. Remember, if you try to file your lawsuit after the deadline set by the statute of limitations has passed, the property owner will almost surely ask the court to dismiss the case, and the court will almost certainly grant the dismissal.
Before you file an insurance claim or lawsuit over your slip and fall, know that the property owner will probably argue that you share some amount of blame for your accident. If this argument is successful, you could see a significant chunk of any court award taken away (and a finding of shared fault will also likely reduce the value of your settlement).
For example, the property owner could argue that:
If your slip and fall case goes to trial in Texas, the state's "modified comparative negligence rule" will determine how much you can still receive from the property owner.
Under this rule, any damages award you receive will be reduced according to the percentage of your fault, as long as your share is 50 percent or less. So, let’s say the jury finds that you are 20 percent to blame for your slip and fall. They also find that your damages total $50,000. In that situation, the property owner will only be on the hook for $40,000 (that’s the original $50,000 minus 20 percent).
If you’re found to bear more than 50 percent of the blame for your slip and fall in Texas, you can’t recover any compensation at all from the property owner or any other party.
(You can read the full text of the Texas comparative fault rule at Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33, Subchapter A.)
And even if your case doesn’t make it to trial -- even if a lawsuit isn’t actually filed, for that matter -- Texas’s comparative negligence rule will still play a role. During settlement negotiations, the property owner’s insurance company (and/or their attorney) will have these shared fault rules in mind, since they’re concerned with what might happen if your case does wind up in court. You can expect any settlement offer from the other side to reflect the other side’s view of your role in causing your own slip and fall accident, viewed through the lens of Texas’s shared fault rules. So it becomes that much more important to make a strong case against the property owner. Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
]]>Whether you decide to file a claim with the property owner's insurer, or take the matter to court via a personal injury lawsuit, a number of New York laws and legal rules will almost certainly affect your case. Two of the most important of these are the statute of limitations deadline for filing a slip and fall lawsuit, and "shared fault" rules that can affect your right to recover compensation if you bear some amount of responsibility for the accident. Read on for the details.
A statute of limitations is a law that puts a time limit on your right to have a lawsuit heard in the state's civil court system. Miss the deadline, and your case is sure to be dismissed.
As in most states, the statute of limitations that will affect a slip and fall injury lawsuit in New York is the same as the larger one that applies to most personal injury cases filed in the state. Specifically, under New York Civil Practice Laws & Rules section 214, anyone who was injured in a slip and fall on someone else's property must get their lawsuit filed against the property owner within three years. The clock starts running on the date of the incident that caused the injury.
That same three year deadline applies if you only want to file a lawsuit over property damage caused by the slip and fall accident -- maybe you were unharmed after you fell, but you were wearing an expensive watch that broke, for example.
Whether it’s an injury lawsuit or one based on property damage, a New York slip and case will almost certainly hinge on whether the property owner’s negligence was the cause of the accident. Learn more about proving fault for a slip and fall.
From a strategy standpoint, you want to leave yourself plenty of time to file a slip and fall lawsuit, even if you’re confident your injury claim will settle. At the very least, having the option of going to court will give you more leverage during settlement talks.
In some rare situations the clock may pause or "toll," giving you more time to get your case started. Talk to an attorney for the details on these exceptions in New York, and for more information on how the statute of limitations applies to your case.
Before you file an insurance claim or lawsuit over your slip and fall, know that the property owner will probably argue that you share some amount of blame for your accident. If this argument is successful, you could see a significant chunk of any court award taken away (and a finding of shared fault will also likely reduce the value of your slip and fall claim even if you settle out of court).
For example, the property owner could argue that:
If your slip and fall case goes to trial in New York, the state's "pure comparative negligence rule" will determine how much you can recover from the property owner if the jury finds that you were somehow negligent in connection with the accident. Any damages award you receive will be reduced according to the percentage of your fault.
So, let’s say the jury finds that you are 40 percent responsible for your slip and fall, since witnesses said you stepped over orange cones that had been set out to cordon off the dangerous condition. The jury also finds that your damages (including your medical bills, lost income, and "pain and suffering") total $10,000. That will leave the property owner on the hook for $6,000 (the original $10,000 minus $4,000, which represents your 40-percent share of fault).
That’s how the personal injury concept of shared fault will be applied in New York if your slip and fall case makes it all the way to trial. And even if your case doesn’t make it to trial -- even if a lawsuit isn’t actually filed, for that matter -- New York’s comparative negligence rule will still be a factor. That's because the property owner's insurance company (and/or their attorney) will be concerned with what might happen if your case does wind up in court, even if you’re just in settlement discussions very early on. You can expect any settlement offer to reflect the other side’s view of the part you played in causing or contributing to your slip and fall. That's just one more reason why it's so important to make a strong case that details the property owner’s liability. Learn more about comparative negligence in slip and fall cases.
]]>A statute of limitations is a law that sets a deadline on the right to file a lawsuit. There are statutes of limitations for all types of legal claims, from assault and battery civil claims to zoning appeals. What's more, each state follows its own rules when it comes to statutes of limitations. Learn more about the statute of limitations in personal injury cases.
No. The statute of limitations only applies to lawsuits filed in court, not to insurance claims over a slip and fall injury. But if insurance coverage does apply to your case, you'll want to get the insurance claim process started as soon as possible, and leave yourself plenty of time to go to court if you need to (or at least preserve the court option as leverage during settlement negotiations).
A statute of limitations sets a very strict deadline, no matter what type of case you're filing. If the statutory deadline that applies to your slip and fall case has passed, chances are:
The statute of limitations in a slip and fall case usually begins running on the day you were injured. So, if you live in a state with a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury cases, you would have two years from the day of the accident to get your lawsuit filed against the property owner or any other defendant whose negligence played a part in causing your slip and fall.
Let's take a deeper dive into the statute of limitations as it applies to slip and fall cases, including situations when the lawsuit-filing deadline might be pushed out.
Most states have carved out special rules for the statute of limitations in certain situations, effectively extending the lawsuit-filing deadline. Let's look at a few common examples (but remember, these exceptions vary depending on the specifics of the law in your state).
If the person or business you're trying to sue for your slip and fall injuries (i.e. the property owner or some other negligent party) leaves the state before you can get your lawsuit filed, your state's laws might dictate that the running of the statute of limitations "clock" be paused during this time of absence. It can be pretty hard to establish the defendant's absence, so don't count on this rule applying in your case until you've spoken with a lawyer in your state about your particular situation.
In most states, if the person injured in the slip and fall was a minor, the statute of limitations "clock" won't start running until they turn 18. So, if your state has a three-year statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits, a minor who had a slip and fall in that state would likely have until their twenty-first birthday to get a lawsuit filed.
The same often goes for someone who was legally incapacitated or incompetent (in the eyes of the state's law) at the the time of the slip and fall. In most states, this kind of incapacity will delay the running of the statute of limitations "clock," until the injured person's capacity is restored, or until their legal interests can be adequately represented. Again, it's important to understand what your state's laws have to say here.
The "discovery" rule can effectively extend the statute of limitations filing deadline in situations where the injured person didn't know right away about either:
This would be a pretty rare situation in a slip and fall case, since the injury and its cause are typically pretty obvious. But some symptoms of injury can be late-appearing (which is why it's important to seek medical treatment right away after an injury). So it's possible that there might be a few weeks or even a few months between the fall and your discovery of your injuries. If the lapse between injury and treatment ends up being crucial to whether you've complied with the statute of limitations:
At this point, exactly when the statute of limitations clock started running becomes an issue for the court to resolve, after hearing arguments from both sides.
Understanding the statute of limitations for your potential slip and fall lawsuit is important, but it's only one piece of the puzzle. Most personal injury cases settle after all, and that includes slip and fall claims, especially when there's insurance coverage that applies to the accident. Learn more about:
If you're looking for more than just information after a slip and fall, it might make sense to reach out to a personal injury attorney, who can consider the specifics of your potential case and explain your options. Learn more about how an attorney can help after an accident or injury, and get tips on finding the right personal injury lawyer for you and your case.
]]>Property owners can be held liable for stairway accidents in the same way they can be on the legal hook for slip and fall accidents in general. But stairs present a number of additional dangers—some hidden and some obvious—that merit special consideration.
If you've been injured in a stairway-related accident, here's what you need to know about the property owner's potential fault, and where to look to help prove your personal injury claim.
Under a legal theory known as "premises liability," in order to hold someone else legally responsible for injuries you suffered from slipping or tripping and falling on someone else's property (including on or around stairs), one of the following must be true:
Why would a property owner be liable for something an employee did or didn't do (in a store or other business, for example)? Learn more about employers' legal responsibility for employees' conduct.
In almost every stairway slip and fall case, the insurance adjuster or court will consider whether the injured person's own carelessness contributed to the accident. The rules of "comparative negligence" help evaluate the reasonableness of your own conduct in the moments just before the injury happened.
Learn more about how to prove fault for a slip and fall accident.
Stair accident injury cases are often more complicated than run-of-the-mill slip and fall claims. Stairs come with inherent dangers not usually present on level surfaces. And some defects in stairs may remain hidden even after an accident. You may have to make an effort to figure out what happened—including how the stairs should have been constructed or maintained—in order to prove your case. Here are some things to look for when you've had a stair accident.
A common hidden stair danger is worn-down carpet or wood that makes the "run" part of a stair—the part your foot lands on—dangerous. Often a slightly worn stair or carpet is more perilous than obviously worn stairs, because people aren't likely to notice the danger.
Some stairs are made of tile or polished wood that can be more slippery than stone, carpet, or painted wood. If your accident involved stairs like these, the property owner's sacrificing safety for beauty might make your case easier to prove.
Rain, snow, or ice collecting on outdoor stairs increases the risk of accidents. Although people are expected to use extra caution in bad weather conditions, this duty doesn't end the inquiry into the property owner's potential negligence.
Outdoor stairs must be built and maintained to avoid excessive buildup of water or ice and must have surfaces that don't become extra-slippery when wet. If you slip on a stair with excessive buildup of snow, ice, or water, the property owner could very well face liability for your injuries. And if you fall on a stair without adequate anti-slip surfacing, the owner may likewise be liable.
Even when the stairway itself is properly configured and free of obvious or hidden dangers, if the area is poorly lit—or if the lighting isn't working properly—that can lead to a valid finding of fault on the part of a property owner. Of course, if some existing stairway defect was made more dangerous by inadequate lighting, that will only serve to boost the injured person's claim against the property owner.
Every state (and virtually every county) has a building code that must be followed by builders and property owners. These codes include requirements for stairs. Let's look at some of the areas that building codes typically regulate when it comes to stairs, and which might play a part in a stairway injury claim.
Many building codes require handrails for certain types of stairs. If you fall on stairs that should have a handrail but don't, and the lack of a handrail contributed to your fall, the owner is likely liable for your injuries. In addition, most building codes require that one or more stair handrails be of a certain width or height, and that they be installed properly. Reaching for a handrail that is at the wrong height can cause you to fall even when nothing else is wrong with the stairs.
The vertical and horizontal part of each step are called the "riser" and the "run," respectively. Building codes prescribe a maximum and minimum measurement for the riser height and run depth. Measure the stair's risers and runs and compare the numbers with the building code. If either the riser or run violates the code, the stairs are defective.
Once you've shown that the stair is defective, you must still show that the defect caused your fall. But unless the building owner's insurance company can show clearly that you fell because of your own carelessness, the building code violation will likely be enough to get a favorable settlement for you.
Building codes also prescribe the maximum variance from one step to another— that is, the differences permitted in the height or depth of any one step from another.
The variance standard is important because when we go up or down stairs, our brains remember how far the last step was and automatically tell our legs to move the same distance the next time. If the leg moves the same distance but the step isn't in the same place—even if the difference is only slight—we may lose our balance and fall.
To find your city or county building code, do an online search, or visit your local library or county building department.
Check the building code's stair requirements to see if the stairs that caused your accident didn't meet specifications. If your fall occurred on, or was made worse by, a stair or part of a stair that failed to meet the building code rules, you have a strong argument that the stairs were unreasonably dangerous. This is true even if the violation is a matter of a quarter inch—a very small differential can make a set of stairs dangerous.
If your injuries were fairly minor, and the property owner's insurance company isn't pushing back on key issues—like fault for the accident and the legitimacy of your injury-related losses—it might make sense to see if you can get a fair settlement on your own. Learn more about when it might make sense to handle your own injury claim. And for a detailed guide to the process, get How to Win Your Personal Injury Claim, by Joseph L. Matthews (Nolo).
But if your injuries and related losses ("damages") are significant, it probably makes sense to discuss your situation with a legal professional. That's especially true if the early going indicates that the property owner (or their insurer or their attorney) is digging in for a fight. Having an experienced lawyer on your side can make all the difference when it comes to getting a fair result for your stair accident injury claim. Learn more about finding the right personal injury lawyer for you and your claim.
]]>First things first. A deposition is a question-and-answer session that takes place under sworn oath, usually at a lawyer’s office.
Almost any party or witness in a lawsuit can be required to give a deposition. Many depositions are set up by agreement of the parties, the witness, and the lawyers. But if a certain witness does not agree to give a deposition, he or she can generally be compelled to give one.
A deposition allows the lawyers to pin down the party or witness as to an exact story. After the deposition is taken, there will be no surprises at trial when it comes to that person's testimony.
The plaintiff’s deposition in a slip and fall case -- and in any personal injury lawsuit -- is very important because it allows the defense attorney to meet the plaintiff in person and find out how good a witness the plaintiff will make. It also allows the defense attorney to find out everything that he/she needs to know about the plaintiff’s background and exactly how the injury happened.
A deposition in a slip and fall case is the plaintiff’s first opportunity to sit in front of the defense attorney and explain just how the accident happened. If the plaintiff does a good job at the deposition, the plaintiff’s lawyer will generally be able to get a reasonable settlement. But if the plaintiff does a bad job at the deposition, a good settlement may not be in the cards. Let’s take a closer look at the types of questions that a slip and fall plaintiff might see at his/her deposition.
Every defense attorney asks deposition questions in a different order, but generally the first set of questions will be about the plaintiff’s background. The defense attorney will ask about the plaintiff’s educational background, family background, military background, where the plaintiff has lived for the last ten or fifteen years, and work history.
The questions may get very probing, and the plaintiff may feel uncomfortable answering. The plaintiff may wonder what these types of questions can possibly have to do with a slip and fall accident. For better or for worse, defense attorneys in most states are allowed to ask these questions. If the plaintiff’s lawyer thinks that the defense attorney is truly going too far, he or she will speak up and make an objection for the record, but, in general, these questions are allowed.
Another similarly exhaustive set of questions will be about the plaintiff’s medical history. This is where the questions can really get invasive. A plaintiff who has broken his/her wrist in a slip and fall may end up answering such questions as: “Tell me about every hospitalization that you have ever had in your life" or “What is the name of every health care provider that you have seen in the past fifteen years?”
Again, for the most part, these questions are legal. A good plaintiff’s lawyer, when preparing the plaintiff for the deposition, should discuss these questions with the plaintiff and prepare the plaintiff for what is coming. If you have real problems with questions like these, discuss them with your lawyer so you can develop an appropriate strategy for the deposition.
This is where the defense attorney will get the details on how the fall and resulting injuries occurred. Generally, the lawyer will ask the plaintiff to give a narrative of what happened, and then will ask follow up questions for the next hour about every single aspect of the accident. So, for example, if the plaintiff fell down the stairs, questions could include:
And so on, until you can’t stand it anymore. That's one of the reasons a good plaintiff’s lawyer will go through all of these questions and many more when preparing a client for deposition, so there are no surprises
The last set of questions will focus on the plaintiff’s injuries and damages. The defense attorney will ask about the plaintiff’s diagnosis, prognosis, medical treatment, medical bills, health insurance, lost time from work, and lost wage claims. The attorney will also ask about how the injury affected the plaintiff’s home life, relationships, and worldview in general. Ultimately, the attorney wants to know how the plaintiff was affected and changed as a result of the accident. (Learn more about Damages in a Personal Injury Case.)
A defendant’s deposition will focus on the defendant’s maintenance and upkeep of their property. In addition to standard background questions, the plaintiff’s lawyer will generally ask:
Learn more about Proving Fault in a Slip and Fall Case.
A witness’s deposition in a slip and fall case generally focuses on:
Bias is very important in assessing the reliability of a witness’s testimony. If, for example, the witness is a close friend of the defendant, that witness is probably going to be biased, and the plaintiff's attorney will shine a spotlight on that.
For more about what to expect, check out our Timeline for a Slip and Fall Case.
]]>Interrogatories are written questions that must be answered under oath. Your attorney will submit questions to the property owner, and these are typically designed to learn more about the location of your fall and what notice (if any) the owner had of the dangerous condition that existed on the property.
In turn, the defense lawyer will submit questions to you, and these are designed to learn about your knowledge of any dangerous conditions on the property, what actions you took to be careful, and what physical conditions you may have that make you susceptible to falling. You can also expect questions about your medical history, especially as as it relates to the injury you're claiming.
Requests for production are written requests for documents and things (or the opportunity to inspect documents and things) related to the lawsuit. For example, your attorney will likely request things, such as incident reports, surveillance video of the area where the fall occurred, company policies and procedures related to maintenance and inspection of the property, and documents related to recent maintenance of the property.
The defense lawyer will be particularly interested in any medical records regarding treatment of the injuries you sustained in your fall. These can be very valuable pieces of evidence. They will provide a description of your injuries, and perhaps, your health care provider’s opinion as to the nature and severity of your injuries. They may provide a description (provided by you) regarding how the fall occurred. Your description of events may come in useful to the defense lawyer -- particularly if your version of events has changed over time.
Another type of information that is often available (and very useful to the defense lawyer) in your medical records is a medical history. If the medical history in your records contains any of the following, it may end up being useful “ammunition” for the defense lawyer:
Learn more about Requests for Medical Records in an Injury Claim.
A deposition is where the lawyers involved in a lawsuit have the opportunity to ask questions of witnesses in person, and the witness's answers are given under oath. A court reporter will be present to transcribe every word, and a videographer will often be present to record the whole thing.
During the deposition, the defense lawyer will attempt to learn everything you know about your fall. For example, the lawyer will likely ask you questions like the following:
A deposition can be very grueling. Some attorneys are more thorough in taking depositions than others; but no matter the attorney, your deposition in a slip and fall case will likely last anywhere from two to eight hours.
If your injuries are in dispute, the defense lawyer will probably request that you go to a doctor (typically selected by the defense lawyers, and paid for by the property owner's insurance company) for an independent medical exam (IME). The purpose of an IME is to provide all parties with an independent evaluation of your injuries.
You may feel, because the other side selected the physician, it will not be an impartial evaluation. That isn't necessarily the case. Most physicians do not want the reputation that they can be “bought and paid for” and will typically provide an evaluation that is genuinely independent. An IME can actually be very helpful to your case if it confirms the injuries you have alleged. But you do need to be careful. Get more Tips on the IME in an Injury Claim.
]]>Money. Perhaps the most obvious benefit of filing a slip and fall lawsuit is the possibility that you will receive a significant judgment -- in the form of a monetary award of personal injury damages -- for your efforts. Having more money is rarely something anyone complains about.
And following a slip and fall accident, you may be in real need of money. You may have gotten seriously hurt, might have incurred substantial medical expenses, and you may require extensive future medical treatment. On top of all that, you might be unable to work. Collecting money to take care of those needs has obvious value. In addition, you may receive a certain amount to compensate you for your “pain and suffering” on top of the more easily-defined economic losses described above.
You May Help Others Avoid Injury. A less obvious benefit of filing a slip and fall lawsuit is you may help prevent others from experiencing a similar injury. Property owners, as you might expect, do not want to be sued repeatedly for the same hazardous property condition. If you file a lawsuit, the property owner will almost certainly do something to eliminate the hazardous condition, greatly reducing the chance that others will come along and endure the same kind of injury that you suffered.
Expensive. This is the other side of the economic coin: Litigation is expensive. It costs money to file your Complaint with your state's civil court. It costs money to hire an expert witness (if one is necessary). It costs money to pay a court reporter to attend and transcribe all of the depositions that may take place. It costs money to copy and mail documents and letters. After all of these expenses are deducted from the amount you recover, your lawyer will probably take 25 to 40% of what is left (depending on the particulars of your contingency fee agreement).
Time Consuming. Lawsuits do not resolve overnight. In fact, they rarely resolve in less than six months. It is hard to place an average amount of time a slip and fall lawsuit will take, but it could take up to a year, and maybe longer. One of the frustrations litigants regularly deal with is the amount of time it takes to resolve their dispute.
Difficulty of Proof. One of the things you have to prove in a slip and fall lawsuit is that the property owner had notice of the hazardous condition that caused your fall. Occasionally, this is easily done; but often, it is difficult. Property owners are allowed a reasonable amount of time to discover and remedy hazardous conditions. So you will also have to prove the length of time the owner was aware of the condition was unreasonable.
Deposition. A deposition is a question-and-answer session with the property owner’s lawyer. Your answers are given under oath, and a court reporter will record every word spoken. Depositions can be grueling. You can be certain the property owner’s lawyer will have extensively researched your background. If there is anything in your medical records or background you would rather not discuss openly, you may want to reconsider filing a lawsuit.
A variety of injuries can result from a slip and fall. If the injury is a bruised knee, or a slightly sprained ankle, it may not be worth the hassle of going through a lawsuit. However, if you suffered something like a broken arm or a debilitating back injury and you have incurred a significant amount of medical bills -- and maybe even missed time at work as a result -- it is probably worth taking your case to court.
Learn more about Resolving Your Personal Injury Case.
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