If you’re like most people, you’ve fallen at some point – and maybe even gotten injured. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are approximately 50 million doctor’s office and ER visits each year for accidental injuries like trips and falls. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of bad luck. In other cases, your fall may have been caused by a negligent property owner.
If you fell on someone else’s property because of a hazardous condition, you could file a premises liability lawsuit against them. This is a special type of personal injury lawsuit that seeks to hold property owners responsible for failing to either fix dangers on the property or warn others about them. Our West Virginia personal injury attorneys will work hard to help you recover financial compensation for your lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering, and other losses.
Johnstone & Gabhart is dedicated to helping accident victims get the money that they deserve for their injuries. We offer free initial consultations and never charge a fee unless we recover money for you through a settlement or verdict at trial. Contact our law firm today to schedule an appointment with a West Virginia slip and fall accident attorney.
Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents
Sometimes when we fall, it’s simply a matter of our clumsiness or not watching where we are going. For example, you might be distracted while walking your dog and fall because you missed stepping up on a curb. You might also trip over your untied shoelace and take a tumble.
In other situations, however, people are hurt when they fall due to a dangerous condition on someone else’s property. This can happen in any number of ways. Common causes of slip and fall accidents include:
- Slippery surfaces (including icy or snowy sidewalks)
- Spills or leaks
- Uneven walking surfaces, like crumbling concrete or broken tile
- Poor lighting
- Broken or missing handrails
- Defective stairs
- Broken furniture
- Torn or loose carpeting
- Failure to rope off construction sites or post warning signs
- Uncovered cables or cords
While many people can just get up and brush themselves off after a slip and fall, others may suffer serious injury. It isn’t unusual for a person to break a bone or hurt their back/spine when they slip and fall. If they hit their head, they may even suffer a brain injury. If you think that you might have been hurt after falling, you should seek medical attention promptly to get a diagnosis and treatment for any injuries.
If your fall was caused by a hazardous condition on someone else’s property, you might be able to file a lawsuit against them. Our law firm can work with you to help you understand your rights – and get you the money that you deserve for your injuries.
When Can You File a Lawsuit for a Slip and Fall?
Slip and fall cases fall into the category of premises liability lawsuits, which are a type of personal injury claim. Generally, you can recover financial compensation in a personal injury case if another person caused your injuries through their negligence (carelessness), recklessness, or intentional behavior.
Premises liability cases are a bit different from other types of personal injury claims (like car accidents). Instead of having to prove that someone else caused your accident by doing something like speeding, you will have to show that a person who owns, occupies, or manages a property caused your injuries. This requires proving a few different things.
To start, you will usually have to prove that you were legally on the property. West Virginia recognizes three types of visitors to a property:
- Invitees are people who have express or implied permission to be on a property. This may include guests who visit a home or customers of a business. Property owners owe invitees the highest duty of care.
- Licensees have permission to be on someone’s property, but not through invitation. For example, a salesperson or a guest that you were not expecting would be considered a licensee. Property owners still owe licensees a high duty of care (although this duty is less than for invitees).
- Trespassers are people who do not have permission to be on a property. Property owners have a limited duty to trespassers. Generally, they cannot intentionally harm a trespasser.
Property owners generally have a duty to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition. This duty includes regularly inspecting their property for hazards. If you were legally on a property as an invitee or a licensee, then you will need to prove the following to recover in a slip-and-fall lawsuit:
- There was a dangerous condition on the property where you fell;
- The property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous conditions; and
- The property owner failed to either fix the dangerous condition or warn people about it.
For example, if you are shopping and fall on a piece of broken sidewalk, you might be able to file a lawsuit against the business owner. The key is that the business owner either knew or should have known about the dangerous condition and didn’t take steps to protect people from it.
Importantly, there is an exception for “open and obvious” hazards. Under West Virginia law, property owners do not owe others a duty to protect them from open hazards. In the example above, if you walked directly into a large planter on the sidewalk because you weren’t paying attention, then you probably can’t file a slip-and-fall lawsuit against the business owner because the planter was reasonably apparent.
There is also an exception to the general rule that trespassers can’t recover money for a slip and fall. The law treats children differently, specifically when it comes to what is known as attractive nuisances. An attractive nuisance is something attractive to children but also dangerous – like a swimming pool.
While property owners usually don’t owe a duty of care to trespassers, if they have an attractive nuisance on their property and a child gets hurt on it, then they could be held liable. Property owners must take steps to secure an attractive nuisance – like putting up a fence around a pool – to prevent children from getting hurt.
It can be hard to know whether you have a viable claim for your slip and fall accident given the complexity of the law. If you were hurt in a fall, your best option is to schedule a free consultation with a West Virginia slip and fall attorney. During your appointment, we will listen to your story and offer you legal advice on your options for pursuing a legal claim.
Pursuing Compensation for a West Virginia Slip and Fall Case
In a premises liability case, the accident victim typically files a claim with the property owner’s insurance company. For businesses, this usually means filing a claim against their commercial liability policy. For individuals, this involves filing a claim against a homeowner’s or renter’s policy.
This can be uncomfortable for many people when the property owner is a friend or relative. Keep in mind that your loved one has insurance (and pays premiums) for situations just like this. They also wouldn’t want you to be in financial distress because of your accident at their home.
If you do file a claim, you may be entitled to compensation for all of your losses. This compensation is referred to as damages. There are 3 types of damages:
- Economic damages: these damages compensate you for direct losses. Examples of economic damages include lost wages, reduced earning capacity, property damage, medical expenses, and future medical treatment.
- Non-economic damages: these damages pay you for your indirect losses. It may include money for pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, scarring, and disfigurement.
- Punitive damages: these damages are only available in more unusual slip-and-fall cases where the at-fault party acted intentionally or recklessly (like playing a “trick” that resulted in an injury). Punitive damages are meant to penalize a wrongdoer.
Insurance companies work hard to minimize the amount that they have to pay on slip and fall cases. They may question the severity of your injuries, try to blame you for the fall, or claim that their policyholder couldn’t have known about the hazard. Our West Virginia slip-and-fall accident lawyers will thoroughly investigate your case and work hard to get you the compensation that you are entitled to under the law.
Slips and falls can result in serious, life-changing injuries. If you want to get the money that you deserve for your injuries, we are here for you. We will take on the big insurance companies for you and work to get you top dollar for your losses.
Help for Slip and Fall Victims
A slip-and-fall accident can leave you with medical bills, lost wages, and a lot of suffering. You may also be confused about what your rights are or how to go about filing a claim. Our law firm will advocate for you and help you achieve the best possible outcome for our case.
From our law offices in Charleston, Johnstone & Gabhart represents accident victims across West Virginia. We are committed to helping our clients get a fair settlement for their injuries, whether that means negotiating a settlement or taking your case to trial. To learn more or to schedule a free consultation with a West Virginia slip and fall accident attorney, call us at 304-343-7100 or fill out our online contact form.
