More than 540,000 slip and fall incidents occur every year, and more than 300,000 of them result in temporary or permanent disabilities. The responsibility of such an incident can fall on a property owner or business owner under certain circumstances. If you have recently suffered a slip and fall injury, then you should consider the possibility of requesting personal injury compensation.
What Is a Personal Injury?
A personal injury is a situation in which a person suffers an injury because of neglect. The courts may view your slip and fall occurrence as a personal injury if the owner of the property or the business owner failed to consider your safety and well-being. An example of a “slip & fall” accident that may qualify for a personal injury is a wet floor inside of a business establishment that has no warning sign in front of it. In this case, a person who falls may be eligible for compensation because the worker failed to notify the public of the dangerous situation.
Example of Slip & Fall Accidents
Another example of a slip and fall that could qualify for personal injury is a slip and fall on a tomato, mayonnaise drop, or pickle in a restaurant. The business establishment can be held responsible for a slip and fall in that situation because no one removed the item from the floor. However, the courts will have to find that the accused party knew that the harmful item was on the floor, and he or she did nothing to remove it.
Slip and Falls Can Occur Anywhere
A slip and fall can occur at a friend’s house or an acquaintance’s home. A person can slip on ice outside of a home or toys inside of a home. If you have found yourself in any of the aforementioned situations, then you can speak with an attorney about compensatory damages for your injury. Compensatory damages will cover expenses that you accumulated because of your slip and fall incident. They can cover medical expenses, lost work wages and more.
Proving Neglect in a Slip and Fall Case
To win a slip and fall case, your attorney must be able to prove neglect from the other party. A business can only be responsible for a slip and fall case if an employee or business person in the establishment spilled the item or refused to clean it. Your lawyer will have to prove that someone had knowledge of the spill, and that person was aware of the danger it could cause.
A slip and fall case is complex in that neglect is not always apparent.
Percentage of Fault in a Slip & Fall Case
The courts will always look at percentage of fault in a personal injury case. You will receive less of a settlement if you were partially responsible for your accident. Therefore, you must consider the events leading up to the accident and ask yourself if you could have avoided it in any way. For example, you cannot claim that a personal injury occurred if you slipped on something that you spilled. You may not receive a settlement if you slipped while you were distracted by something such as your cell phone or another person, and you overlooked the danger.
Normally, the judge will decide the percentage of fault, and it will affect the outcome of the case. It is possible that you can win a case and receive a settlement if you are less than 50 percent responsible for the incident. If you receive a $300,000 settlement, and you were 50 percent at fault, then your settlement would drop to $150,000.
How we can help you
Determining negligence and compensation in a situation involving a slip & fall accident is not always easy. The court must consider all elements of a case before deciding on proper compensation.
Have You Been Injured In An Accident Virginia, Maryland or Washington D.C.?
If you've been hurt in an accident you need to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Please contact us online or call our Vienna, Virgnia office directly at 703.991.7978 or our Rockville, Maryland office at 301.637.5392 to schedule your case consultation.
