Emily heads out to do some grocery shopping. While browsing the aisles, she slips in something wet and hits her head on the tiled floor. As Emily nurses a nasty bump, she wonders, “Are slip-and-fall cases hard to win?”
They can be, but with the help of Carmel’s trusted injury lawyer, you’ll have a decent shot at seeking fair compensation. Find out what you must do to win a slip-and-fall case below.
Why Slip-and-Fall Cases Can Be Challenging To Win
Slip-and-fall cases can be tricky to win because, sometimes, it’s the store owner’s word against yours. “I saw you running in the aisles,” the owner might say, even if it’s not true. How can you prove otherwise if the store doesn’t have cameras (or the owner erased the footage)?
Comparative negligence might also affect your case. You can’t recover damages if you’re more than 50% at fault for the fall. You can bet that the store owner will try to minimize their degree of fault as much as possible.
How To Win Your Carmel, IN, Slip-and-Fall Case
So, are slip-and-fall cases hard to win? Sometimes, yes. However, you can prevail if you follow these steps.
Gather Evidence
Just as you need strong evidence for a car accident case, you must also collect good evidence for a slip-and-fall accident. Without evidence, you’re unlikely to win your case.
Photos and video footage serve as reliable evidence. After a fall, take pictures of the accident scene. Look for wet floors, spilled food, damaged tiles, and anything else that might have caused your fall.
The business probably has cameras if you’ve fallen in a public place, such as a store, bank, or post office. Ask the store owner to retain this footage and give you a copy. If they refuse, a Carmel lawyer can subpoena the footage to help with evidence collection.
See a Doctor
It’s crucial to see a doctor after a fall because you can’t tell how injured you are without a full evaluation. Common injuries from a slip-and-fall accident include:
- Broken bones
- Head and brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Nerve damage
- Paralysis
Once you’ve seen a doctor, you’re better poised to prove that your injuries were due to a slip-and-fall accident. This is helpful because some property owners will try to blame your injuries on pre-existing conditions.
Prove That the At-Fault Party Acted Negligently
Now comes the potentially tricky part: proving negligence. To prove negligence, your attorney must establish that:
- The property owner owed you a duty of care.
- The property owner had notice and knowledge of hazardous conditions on their property.
- The owner ignored the hazardous conditions, thus breaching their duty of care.
- The owner’s duty of care violation caused your injuries.
Let’s go over what each of these factors means in plain English.
Duty of Care
Property owners are obligated to keep their properties safe for guests. For example, owners must:
- Promptly clean up spills
- Check floors for torn carpeting, raised tiles, or other damage that could cause a fall.
- Remove items and debris from the floor in publicly accessible areas
- Post warning signs near employee-only areas
Notice and Knowledge
This simply means that the owner knew about, or should have known about, the hazard. For instance, let’s say there were a few broken floor tiles in a grocery store. An employee alerted the owner to the damage, so they obviously knew about it.
Breach of Duty
If a property owner knows about or should have known about, a hazardous condition yet fails to fix it, that’s called a breach of duty.
Causation
This term means that the owner’s breach of duty either directly caused or contributed to your accident. You must also prove that the accident caused compensable damages, such as medical bills and physical pain.
Need Help With Your Slip-and-Fall Case? Call Our Carmel Firm
Are slip-and-fall cases hard to win? Not with the right lawyer by your side. Stewart & Stewart Attorneys will fight to win suitable compensation for your injuries. A Carmel attorney can also help if there are no witnesses to your slip-and-fall accident.
For a free consultation, call (800) 333-3529.