Whether it be because of a wet floor or when playing sports, a slip and fall can cause intense physical pain. Especially when you aren’t prepared to stop yourself during a fall. This can keep you from performing your job, affecting your financial well-being as well. Amidst this, compensation from a fault lawsuit can help ease the recovery but requires proving someone else’s fault. You can increase the chances of proving someone else’s fault by following the following tips.
Prove Dangerous Property Conditions
The first step to strengthen your case is to show that the property owner did things to create dangerous conditions on the property. For instance, a lobby might have unnecessarily slippery flooring, or the staircase of a public building may be missing handrails. Other hazardous conditions include uneven steps, wet floors (without warning signs), and insufficient lighting. Also, it’s important to watch out for loose rugs, potholes in parking lots, or unnecessary obstacles. These are hazards that should be taken care of by a third party, a property manager, or an employee. If they fail to do so they could be held liable for this accident.
Prove the Property Owner’s Negligence in Fixing Conditions
To prove the case, you will need to show that the owner knew about the dangerous condition but failed to address it still. As evidence, a camera or records may show similar previous accidents or there may have been requests to fix the condition. For instance, a leaky roof, due to low maintenance or checks, causing a puddle of water could be considered negligent. Similarly, the inability to put up warning signs for obstacles or wet floors can also fall under negligence. A slip and fall lawyer from Salamati Law can help you locate such potential evidence of negligence.
Provide Evidence of Loss
It’s imperative to provide evidence of any loss you incurred directly because of the accident. The losses, or the damages, can be financial or emotional. Financial losses can include costs associated with physical therapy, medication, or tests. You may also have to take time off work, which could lead to lost wages, or the injury may hinder your earning capacity in the future. Here, it’s especially important to keep a record of all medical expenses and lost wages. Non-economic damages, however, are harder to prove and quantify. Nevertheless, you can prove such losses by providing documentation from a therapist or personal journals. Testimonials from friends or family may also help here.
Common Slip and Fall Injuries
Knowing common injuries can help get an idea of ones that are easy to get compensated for. Such injuries can be physical or mental. Physical injuries like incapacitating hip fractures, TBIs, slipped or herniated discs and bone fractures take up the biggest chunk of such lawsuits according to CDC. As these leave injuries that are hard to bounce back from. Conversely, depression and anxiety, fear of steps, prolonged recovery, and loss of interest in activities are some easier-to-prove mental and emotional injuries. These injuries can change your life forever, all because of someone’s negligent actions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you should ask yourself if you took all possible precautionary measures to prevent the slip. Check camera footage for any warning signs you missed. Then, check whether the condition existed for a while. If it had only been there for a short time, the owner could argue that they didn’t have enough time to correct it yet, and, therefore, is not responsible. Finally, file the lawsuit soon after the injury, with all medicals documented.
