A slip and fall injury can be a minor or devastating one, and these injuries can occur in a variety of settings. These include a shopping mall and construction site, and the cause of the injury can vary depending on location. If a slip and fall accident causes you inconvenience and pain or forces you to fail to work, then it’s a good idea to hire a slip and fall lawyer. This is because a slip and fall attorney can help you identify the party that is liable and assist you to know your rights. This article explains key things to know about a slip and fall accident.
Understanding a slip and fall accident
From a legal perspective, it’s important to know that a slip and fall accident refers to a specific type of personal injury that happens at a place or property that someone else owns. When this happens, liability is usually on the operator or owner of that premise.
The circumstances that lead to a slip and fall injury may vary significantly. For instance, they can happen when a shopping mall fails to offer signage to warn you of wet and slippery floors. It can also occur when a worn carpet installed in a restaurant causes you to fall or it can also happen outside a building if you fall because the sidewalk is badly maintained.
But when a slip and fall accident happens in your workplace, then worker’s compensation insurance covers you. The entitlement to these benefits can preclude you from getting any claim from your employer.
However, if the slip and fall accident was due to the negligence of third parties like a subcontractor assigned to do maintenance and cleaning, then you have good reasons to go for a premises liability claim. In all these cases, you need to find an experienced slip and fall lawyer to evaluate your case so that they can identify the liable party.
Types of liability
There are usually two types of liability when it comes to slip and fall accidents. There is negligence that refers to when someone like a property owner, an individual, or a leaseholder neglects to notice and rectify any potential danger, such as worn carpet, broken tiles, and uneven sidewalk. The problem with this type of liability comes when you have to prove that the liable parties had enough time to handle the problem.
Another type of liability is carelessness where the liable party caused the accident. The scenario in this happens where the other party left something that has a potential to cause slip and fall accidents in a place where you cannot usually expect to find such a hazard.
The role of your slip and fall attorney can be to negotiate with the insurance company if the liability is accepted but they offer a lower amount of compensation than you are entitled to or expected. If liability is denied, then the attorney can investigate the accident to prove that there is liability and negligence in court.
