Have you ever sustained any personal injuries due to a slip or trip or fall on someone else’s property? And did you know who will be held responsible for such an injury?
Such unforeseen incidents often happen in offices and shopping malls. It may happen due to a slippery or wet floor. Another reason for such accidents is uneven floor surfaces or any obstacles lying on the floor. It may occur on slippery or wet stairs as well.
The consequences of such slips, trips, and falls are sometimes quite serious. Injuries may be minor on most occasions, but in quite a few cases, people suffer very serious injuries. Often people ignore such incidents, especially when the injuries are mild.
But one should know his legal rights in such accidents, whether the injuries are minor or serious. These accidents come under the ambit of personal injury lawsuits.
What is a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
Under the prevailing laws in almost every part of the world, if you sustain an injury due to negligence or any other act of another person, you can claim the damages through your attorney through a personal injury lawsuit.
Mainly there are two types of claims under personal injury lawsuits, compensatory and punitive. As the name suggests, a compensatory claim means you will be reimbursed the cost of injuries caused due to the other party’s negligence. On the other hand, a punitive claim means the other party will be fined for his negligent act, which caused injuries to someone.
What is the difference between Slip and Fall and Trip and Fall?
Slip and fall and trip and fall are two different occurrences. Both incidents look similar, but it makes a lot of difference when filing a personal injury lawsuit. Read this article to learn about slip, trip, and fall.
Slip and Fall
Mainly, slips happen when you are walking on a slippery or wet floor. The Slipperiness of a surface may be due to various factors. It may include waxing the floor or some slippery materials lying on the floor, such as ice, or spilling slippery materials, such as beans. The front foot of a person walking on such a floor may slip upward and outward, resulting in your fall. It is most likely that in such an incident, you will fall backward.
Trip and Fall
Trips often occur when you are walking on an uneven surface. Trips may also happen if there are some obstacles on the surface, whether some leftover items or a fixed obstacle on the floor. When a person comes across such a hurdle on his path, his foot strikes with it, and the person falls forward.
So, the slip and fall and the trip and fall are two different happenings. Your attorney will need to know the factual status of your fall when claiming compensation for your injuries.
What types of injuries are caused due to a fall?
The personal injuries caused due to a slip, trip, and fall may vary on a case-to-case basis. The intensity of the injuries may also vary. However, we can list some of them most likely to happen.
- Broken bones may include the backbone, wrist, arms, feet, and legs.
- Neck injury.
- Spinal cord damage.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries.
- Concussions.
- Wounds and cuts.
- Shoulder, Knee, elbow, or ankle injuries.
- Muscle injuries.
- Chronic and recurring pains.
Who is responsible for your slipped, trip, and fall injury?
Often it is hard to ascertain the exact culprits in a slip trip and fall incident. You may fall due to your negligence, but in more than 95% of cases, it is due to the negligence and fault of another person.
The owners and management of the commercial buildings are responsible for making their place safe for workers and visitors. So, in most personal injury cases, it is much more likely that the property management might be guilty. Apart from the owner and management, the tenants are equally responsible for the extent of their place in that building.
Generally, the building’s owners, tenants, and management are held responsible in the following instances.
- They left the floor wet. They were responsible for creating the hazard, such as washing and waxing the floor, but failed to wipe out the wetness properly.
- Some viscous or slippery material spilled on the floor and was left unattended. They failed to remove such material from the surface.
- Some items were left lying haphazardly on the floor of a shopping mall. The management was unable to clear the floor, which caused the trip and fall of a customer.
- The owner and management failed to display warning signs, such as “Wet Floor” and “Slippery when wet.” Many such alert signs must be displayed where and when required. It is the responsibility of the owner to do so.
- There might be a case where a visitor or client created the hurdle. Here both the management and the customer should be held responsible. However, the main culprit remains the owner or management; they should have managed to remove these hurdles.
What are the Instances where the fall victim will be held responsible?
- He did not follow the instructions and guidelines provided by the owner about the possible hazards a customer may face.
- He ignored the warning and alert signs displayed in the area where the incident happened.
- He entered a prohibited zone.
- He trespassed the place.
- He was busy with his mobile phone while passing through the area where he fell.
- He collided with another person due to the carelessness of either of them. In this case, the court must decide who the culprit is. The court will conclude based on evidence produced by the attorney.
What compensations can a court award to the victim of a fall?
The Court can award monetary compensation for the victim of a slip, trip, and fall incident on a case-to-case basis. Compensation may include:
- Medical treatment costs may include the cost of initial medical care, the cost of medicines, therapy, and surgery if required.
- The court may also award compensation for the number of days you might remain away from your work.
- Compensation can also be claimed, and courts often award them, regarding the emotional impacts of the accident.
- Courts often follow the concept of “comparative negligence.” It means that if the victim of a fall is also a contributor to the cause of the incident, his compensation will be reduced to the extent of his responsibility. If he is declared responsible for the incident up to 50%, his compensation can be reduced by the same percentage.
Conclusion
Awareness of the law is of much importance in every walk of life. You should know the rules, regulations, and laws about any incident. You are not required to learn everything about a certain law, your attorney can handle these details, but you must know the basics.
The same is true in the event of a slip, fall & trip, and fall incident. Many people don’t know they have a right to file a personal lawsuit through their attorney. Here’s when you must know at least basic awareness of the law. It is your right to claim compensation for such an accident.
So, try to maintain a certain level of awareness of laws. It will greatly help your personal life, especially regarding your injuries.
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