Winning a slip and fall personal injury case seems straightforward. If you are hurt through the negligence of another, you should receive just compensation, right?
This should be easy to answer. But it’s often far different in practice.
Any personal injury case rests on the victim’s ability to prove a defendant’s negligence. Due to the nature of slip and fall cases, this essential evidence is often challenging to produce. Proving your claim usually requires more hard work than just producing a police report.
The attorneys at Thistle Law are well suited to help you navigate this difficult corner of personal injury law. They have the experience to understand the pitfalls of these cases, and the empathy to fight hard to ensure you receive just compensation.
Why Slip and Fall Cases Are Among the Hardest Personal Injury Cases to Win
When a person is injured in a car or truck accident, liability can be fairly straightforward. There are police reports and eyewitness accounts for starters. Camera footage, skid marks, and trucking logs can all help build a successful personal injury case.
Slip and fall cases are usually quite different. Unlike car accidents, they rarely occur in front of eyewitnesses — property owners are less likely to neglect highly-trafficked areas.
Whereas the rules of driving are well-established, the rules of premises liability are less so. To prove negligence in a slip and fall case you need to:
- Establish the defendant’s duty of care toward the plaintiff
- Demonstrate that the victim incurred physical and/or monetary damages
- Prove that these damages were caused by the defendant’s failure to address a potential hazard
- Show that the defendant had the time and awareness necessary to remedy the danger
It isn’t enough to show that you were hurt on someone else’s property. You must also show that the property owner could have prevented such a situation through appropriate action within a reasonable timeframe.
Whose Fault Is it Really?
There’s another big ingredient for establishing fault in order to win your slip and fall case — you have to prove that you did not cause the accident yourself with your own careless actions.
Were you looking at your phone when you fell into that hole? You might not have injured yourself if you’d been paying attention to your surroundings, or so the argument from the defendant might go.
If you slipped off of a sidewalk in New Jersey and broke your leg, does NJ own the sidewalk? Would the state of New Jersey be liable? Wherever your fall takes place, liability could fall on the shoulders of one, or any number of parties.
The liable party could be a:
- Homeowner
- Landlord
- Business owner
- Large corporation
The fact is, fault is rarely straightforward. That isn’t always a bad thing for your case.
Pennsylvania is a modified comparative negligence state, meaning that as long as you were not more than 50% responsible for your injuries, you can claim compensation for them.
How to Gather Evidence to Win a Slip and Fall Case
Your lawyer can help you determine what evidence you might need, but you can help by collecting evidence such as:
- Photos of the scene and your injuries immediately after the accident
- Medical records
- Witness statements — even if there were no witnesses to your accident, a witness of the unsafe conditions that contributed to it can help your case
- A schedule of safety inspections at the business
- Security camera footage
- Cell phone records showing you were not on your phone at the time of the accident
A Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help with Your Slip and Fall Claim
If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall due to someone else’s negligence, you deserve to be compensated for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. The skilled Philadelphia slip and fall lawyers at Thistle Law can help you determine how much your case is worth, and help you decide whether to settle out of court with the other party.
Recovering from a slip and fall is stressful and time-consuming, but you don’t need to do it alone. The attorneys at Thistle Law are compassionate and knowledgeable about personal injury claims and can help you gather the evidence you need to prove your case. Contact our office for a free consultation today by calling 215-525-6824 or by filling out this form.