All of us trip or slip and fall once in a while. Thankfully, most falls cause nothing more than some bruising and embarrassment. However, sometimes falls leave people with significant or even permanent injuries.
When you fall on property that belongs to another party, the property owner could be liable to pay your damages. Landowners and lessees must maintain their premises to be safe for people who come upon the property.
Contact a seasoned personal injury attorney immediately when are hurt in a fall on someone else’s property. A Somerset slip and fall lawyer could investigate the incident and ensure you receive appropriate compensation for your injuries.
A fall can cause significant medical problems. Even when the injury heals completely, a fall can disrupt your routine, generate unexpected expenses, and cause unnecessary inconvenience. If a property owner’s negligence contributed to the fall, the property owner is liable for all losses which are caused by the incident.
A fall’s impact causes painful bruising and swelling that might temporarily limit your range of motion. Falls can also cause other, more severe injuries, including:
Unusual circumstances might result in other types of injuries, such as:
The party whose negligence caused the fall is responsible for any resulting damages, and a diligent Somerset slip and fall attorney could ensure you receive comprehensive compensation for the full extent of your injuries.
The liable party in a slip and fall lawsuit could be the property owner if the owner maintains control over access to the property; however, someone other than the owner might be liable in some cases. For example, a store might lease space in a plaza from a commercial property developer. If a patron slips on a spill in the store, the store operator is likely responsible for paying his or her damages. However, if the customer tripped on a fixture, the plaza owner is responsible for maintaining, the owner/developer could also be liable. Further, if an outside contractor is involved – such as for snow and ice removal, or repairing defects on the property, that contractor may have liability.
A proactive legal professional could investigate a claim to identify all the potentially responsible parties. Asserting claims against multiple parties with insurance coverage means you are more likely to receive fair compensation. It is important to start quickly, because you as the visitor may not know which entities are involved, and the statute of limitations requires that all claims be filed within two years of the incident.
A slip and fall claim seeks monetary damages for the losses you suffered because of the incident. Even relatively minor injuries can lead to significant economic and non-economic losses. A skilled slip and fall lawyer in Somerset could help you document all your accident-related losses and compile them into a strong legal claim.
You could seek damages for all medical treatment and ancillary services you received and will need in the future. You could claim lost wages and benefits if the fall prevented you from working. If the fall caused property damage, you could seek reimbursement.
Your dedicated legal counsel could help you prove these losses through Explanation of Benefits forms, receipts, invoices, personnel records, tax forms, and similar documents.
The responsible party is also liable for your non-economic losses. These include damages for pain, embarrassment, inconvenience, disfigurement, and the accident’s other intangible impacts. You could prove these non-economic losses through your own testimony and testimony from medical experts and family members. Photographs and video evidence could also help prove non-economic damages.
Sometimes an injured person’s conduct had a role in the incident, such as an individual texting while climbing stairs and tripping on a stair runner. In other situations, the victim’s conduct played a partial role in causing the fall.
42 P.S. § 7102 requires the jury to allocate fault among all players involved in causing the incident. If the jury decides you were partially to blame, you can still make a recovery. However, your award will be reduced by your own percentage of fault. For example, if you are 20% at fault, your award will be reduced by 20%. If you are 51% or more to blame, however, you cannot make any recovery. An experienced lawyer could work to prove that your actions played no role in the accident leading to your injuries and that the defendant is to blame.
Contact a Somerset slip and fall lawyer as soon as possible if you fell and sustained injuries while on another party’s property. The negligent party that failed to keep the premises safe could be liable for your damages.
Do not try to manage a slip and fall claim without legal advice. Call Marcus & Mack today to discuss your case with a well-practiced attorney.
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