Are Slip-and-Fall Cases Hard To Win?

Imagine you are at work, school, or grocery shopping, and you hit the ground suddenly. You are unsure about what is happening, but you know you are in pain. The period immediately following the accident might be completely different from what your life was previously. Now you visit the doctor’s office more frequently, and you have physical therapy appointments. You can’t go back to work, but the bills continue to pile up. What do you do now?

Slip-and-fall accidents are common across California and the United States. Unfortunately, some land and business owners might fail to maintain the safety of their property, which could lead to serious accidents for their guests and patrons. If you have suffered an injury in a slip-and-fall case, you may have a legal right to pursue compensation.

The road to seeking damages after a slip-and-fall accident can be a long and difficult process. You may need an attorney to help you understand your legal rights. The attorneys at Arash Law help our clients pursue compensation for their losses after a slip-and-fall accident. Contact us at (888) 488-1391 or through our online chat function to schedule a free, no-obligation first consultation.

How Common Are Slip-and-Fall Cases?

Millions of people across the United States suffer from injuries caused by slip-and-fall accidents each year. Slip-and-fall accidents account for a significant number of emergency room visits for Americans. Anyone can be the victim of a slip-and-fall accident.

According to the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI), of all slip-and-fall accidents that happen at workplaces, the demographics of victims are split equally between men and women. The NFSI also found that nearly 70 percent of fall injuries were among people aged 75 and older.

Retail workers are vulnerable to slip-and-fall accidents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Per the CDC, slip-and-fall accidents are the most common cause of injuries in retail stores.

What Are Common Injuries In Slip-And-Fall Cases?

People who have suffered slip-and-fall accidents may sustain injuries, including hip fractures, bruises, broken bones, head injuries, and sprains, as well as temporary or permanent disability.

Can You Pursue A Slip-And-Fall Case?

Slip-and-fall cases are decided based on facts and evidence, just like any other negligence claim. Every negligence case must prove four elements. The validity of your case depends on demonstrating each of the factors listed below.

Duty Of Care

Every property owner owes each of their guests or patrons a duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid dangers that will cause harm. “Reasonable care” means that every property owner must act as a reasonable property owner would under similar circumstances. For example, a reasonable business owner will clean up a spill and place a warning sign around the area.

Breach Of Duty

A property owner breaches their duty to their patrons and guests when they fail to act reasonably.

Causation

Your lawyer must prove that the property owner’s actions caused your injuries. Causation may be the most difficult element of negligence to prove. An experienced attorney can help you show that your losses are directly connected to the actions of the property owner.

Damages

Every plaintiff must show that they suffered losses, injuries, or other damages to pursue a slip-and-fall case. A slip-and-fall lawyer can help you assess the extent of your losses and keep them in mind when helping you pursue a valid claim.

What Does “Reasonableness” Mean?

The standard for reasonable care is sometimes difficult to understand. As stated above, each property owner must act as a reasonable property owner would in similar circumstances. But what does that actually mean?

If your case goes to trial, the facts will be presented to a judge or a jury, and they will decide whether the defendant acted reasonably. Although there are no hard and fast elements that a defendant must establish to prove they acted reasonably, fact-finders may weigh factors similar to the following to determine the reasonableness of the defendant’s actions:

• Was there a way to make the hazardous condition safer? Judges and juries may examine the evidence and decide if the property owner should have made the condition less dangerous. Examples of how a property owner can make the condition or obstacle safer include adding safety signage, relocating the hazard, or preventing access to the dangerous condition.
• Was there a justification for the hazard, and did the justification exist at the time of the plaintiff’s injury? A dangerous condition being present may be justified if the condition cannot be changed or made safer.
• Did the dangerous condition exist long enough for the property owner or their employee to fix it? For example, if a plaintiff falls in a restaurant after slipping on spilled water, the plaintiff must prove that the water was on the floor and the property owner or their employees knew about the spill but failed to clean it up and warn customers about the slippery floor.
• Did the property owner have a policy for checking their property for potential hazards? If a policy exists, did the property owner log each time they or their employee checked for hazards? The defendant should prove they followed the policy immediately before the accident happened.

Why Is It Hard To Pursue A Slip-and-Fall Accident Case?

Slip-and-fall cases have unique challenges that may not be present in other negligence claims. The outcome of your claim will depend on your ability to prove each element of negligence. However, slip-and-fall cases can be difficult to prove in the likely scenario that there is a lack of evidence.

In other negligence cases, such as car accident claims, there are many potential sources of evidence to help support the claim. After a car accident, you may rely on traffic camera footage or a police report to establish liability. If you get hurt in a slip-and-fall accident case, it is unlikely that you can rely on such evidence.

Slip-and-fall accident victims may need an attorney to help them demonstrate their injuries. An accident attorney can support your claim by assisting you in the following ways:

• Searching for proof that the property owner had an opportunity to remove a hazard but failed to do so.
• Speaking with those who witnessed the accident, interviewing them about what they saw, and preparing them for depositions and trial.
• Finding any video footage available of the accident that shows an obstruction that the property owner failed to address.

What Is Premises Liability?

Premises liability is a body of law that requires property owners to remove or warn guests of hazards on the property. Under premises liability, the property owner is held legally responsible for injuries, property damage, and other losses the victim may suffer. You could be entitled to pursue financial compensation if you slipped and fell due to unaddressed hazards present on another’s land or business.

How Can A Slip-and-Fall Accident Plaintiff Prove Liability?

Establishing fault (i.e., liability) is crucial, as the burden of proof in these cases lies with slip-and-fall plaintiffs. An experienced slip-and-fall injury attorney can help you establish fault and seek financial compensation for your injuries and losses.

There are two significant questions that must be answered as an accident victim tries to prove liability in slip-and-fall cases. Those questions are:

• Was the property owner negligent?
• Who are the potentially responsible parties?

Theories Of Liability In Slip-and-Fall Cases

To prove that a defendant is at fault for a slip-and-fall accident, a plaintiff and their legal team will likely have to prove one of the following theories.

The Property Owner Actually Caused The Dangerous Condition

Under this theory, a plaintiff must prove that the property owner’s actions caused the dangerous condition. For example, did the property owner leave an obstacle in a walking path, and was it reasonably foreseeable that someone would slip and fall because of it?

The Property Owner Should Have Remedied The Hazardous Condition, But Did Not

The plaintiff must prove that a reasonable property owner would have identified and removed the hazardous condition. The plaintiff must also prove that the property owner had ample time to remove or fix the danger before the accident happened.

The Property Owner’s Employee Acted Negligently

The law allows injured plaintiffs to seek reimbursement for their losses from a business if its employee’s negligence caused the accident. In slip-and-fall cases, an employer may be found liable for injuries caused by an employee’s failure to put up a warning sign, clean up a spill, etc. This is known as vicarious liability.

Can I Seek Damages If I Am Partially At Fault?

It is the defense’s job to challenge the defendant’s responsibility and disprove your injuries. If the opposing side cannot outright disprove your damages, they may argue that you were partially at fault for your injuries.

Comparative Fault

Some states follow a contributory negligence system where plaintiffs who share any fault for an accident cannot pursue compensation. However, California follows a different system called comparative negligence.

Comparative Negligence

In comparative negligence states, plaintiffs may seek a partial settlement even if they share some responsibility for causing the accident. Under comparative fault, the plaintiff’s damages award will be reduced based on the amount of fault. For example, if your losses total $100,000 and you are 20 percent at fault for the accident, your award will be reduced to $80,000.

California Comparative Negligence Law

Under California law, an accident plaintiff can pursue a financial settlement or jury award even if they partially caused an accident. California slip-and-fall accident plaintiffs can still seek compensation even if they are 99 percent to blame for the accident.

How Is Fault Found?

Jury members decide who is at fault in a slip-and-fall accident and also assign the percentage of fault to each side of the case. A jury may consider the following as they review the facts of your case, determine fault, and assign a percentage of fault.

• Did the plaintiff cause the accident through their own negligence?
• Did the plaintiff ignore adequate warning signs that were available at the scene?
• Was the plaintiff legally in the place where the accident happened?
• Did the plaintiff have a legitimate reason for being in the location of the injury, even if they did not have the lawful right to be there?
• Did the plaintiff act in a way that prevented them from noticing the danger, like texting and walking or being otherwise distracted?

What Does It Mean To Accept A Financial Settlement?

Only about five percent of slip-and-fall cases make it to trial. That means most resolutions are achieved after negotiating a settlement with the insurance company. So, what does it mean to accept a financial settlement?

Accepting a financial settlement ends your case. Afterward, you can no longer seek compensation for the same slip-and-fall incident. That said, consider only accepting a settlement offer after reviewing it to see if it closely considers your current and anticipated losses, such as future lost income and medical bills.

If the personal injury lawyer you work with builds a well-supported case, the insurance company may offer to settle your case without it having to go to trial. Whether you accept a settlement offer or not is an important decision. Consider all the pros and cons of settling your case. Among the things to consider are the following:

• Accepting a settlement offer allows you to avoid going to trial.
• You take the decision about liability, the assigning of fault, and the value of your claim out of the hands of the judge or jury.
• If you accept a settlement offer, you give up the right to file another claim related to the accident to seek damages.
• You receive the money to compensate for your injuries and expenses within a reasonable time frame.

How Long Does A Slip-and-Fall Case Take To Settle?

There is no guaranteed timeline for settling a slip-and-fall case. The length of time it takes to settle your claim depends on many different factors, not the least of which is keeping in mind that settling your claim while you are still being treated and your medical bills are continuing to increase may not be in your best interest.

Your case may be affected by:

• The extent of your injuries and losses.
• The amount of time it takes you to recover from your injuries.
• Whether you can reach maximum medical improvement or recover as much as you can, based on your physician’s opinion.

Consider Working With A Slip-and-Fall Accident Attorney

To pursue compensation in your slip-and-fall case, consider asking an experienced accident attorney to help you. Slip-and-fall accidents happen suddenly but may impact your life in the long term. Unrepresented slip-and-fall accident victims may find it challenging to decide whether to accept or counter a settlement, as well as identify whether their case needs to be taken to court.

Having a legal team working on your behalf may assist you in this regard. If you have a case, a slip-and-fall accident attorney can help you in the following ways:

• Negotiate a settlement with the insurance company.
• Prepare you, eyewitnesses, and expert witnesses, to testify at trial.
• Meet all applicable statutory deadlines.
• Answer your questions as your case progresses.
• Intercept third-party correspondence from bill collectors.
• Act as your advocate and present your case at trial.

How The Slip-And-Fall Attorneys At Arash Law Can Help

The skilled slip-and-fall lawyers at Arash Law have handled a number of slip-and-fall cases in the past and can offer you legal guidance after an accident. For decades, our team has been dedicated to helping clients pursue compensation for injuries and losses caused by others’ negligence.

Arash Law California can help you negotiate with insurance companies. During settlement discussions, they could help address any concerns that may arise regarding your claim. Here are some of the matters they could potentially help with:

• They can help you review any settlement offers you receive before your injuries have fully healed and, in some cases, before hidden injuries present themselves.
• Speaking with an injury attorney means they can help you handle any requests for recorded statements from an insurer. This may be beneficial for preventing you from making common mistakes, such as accidentally admitting fault for your slip-and-fall.
• Our lawyers can help examine and present medical documentation to address any disputes that may arise regarding the severity of your injuries.
• If there are disputes regarding the share of liability each party played in an accident, including your own, we can help gather and present evidence to prevent undue blame from being shifted your way.

The personal injury attorneys at Arash Law can help you build your case and develop a strategy that may address any issues in pursuing compensation that you may face after a slip-and-fall accident.

Contact Arash Law’s California Slip And Fall Accident Attorneys

If you have suffered an injury in a slip-and-fall accident in California, we’re ready to review your case and discuss your available legal options. You can contact us at (888) 488-1391 or use our online form to schedule a free, no-obligation first consultation. We look forward to speaking to you.