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Slip, trip, and fall accidents are extremely dangerous. Depending on the height of the fall, the surroundings, and other elements, slip and fall victims could suffer disabling injuries. Besides the physical injuries, injured victims often sustain damages such as costly medical expenses, lost wages, pain, and suffering, as well as mental or emotional anguish.
A Bluffton slip and fall lawyer might be able to help you seek just compensation. They could provide legal advice and knowledge throughout the process so that you could make well-informed decisions about your legal recovery. Call today and find out how a local personal injury attorney might be able to assist you.
Understanding Liability
Often, when someone slips and injures themselves, it is the result of an accident. Other times, there are cases where a person intentionally trips someone. Those types of cases would fall under an intentional tort such as a battery.
A majority of slip and fall cases occur due to the negligent actions of a property owner. If a property owner or their employee caused the dangerous condition, knew or should have known of the hazard and failed to rectify it, or failed to warn visitors of the dangers, they could be held liable for damages. For example, if a supermarket employee caused a spill and failed to clean it up within a reasonable amount of time, and a shopper slipped and sustained an injury, the supermarket could be found liable.
What is a Property Owner’s Duty of Care to Visitors?
Property owners owe a duty of care to all visitors that enter their premises. The duty of care that a property owner owes depends on the type of visitor. There are three categories of visitors, including trespassers, licensees, and invitees. Landowners do not owe a duty of care to trespassers unless they are aware there are visitors on the property, or they are children. Owners must protect children trespassers from dangerous hazards that could potentially cause injury, such as a swimming pool.
Property owners owe a duty of care to licensees who are social guests such as friends and family. Owners have a duty to warn licensees of any potentially dangerous hazards.
Invitees, business patrons, are afforded the greatest protection. Property owners must maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition for invitees. A skilled Bluffton slip and fall attorney would have to prove that the owner failed to keep the property in a safe condition, for example, failing to clean a slippery substance off the ground.
What Damages Could I Recover for a Trip and Fall Claim?
A slip and fall attorney in Bluffton could help plaintiffs seek economic and non-economic damages for their injuries. Economic damages reimburse plaintiffs for monetary losses such as lost wages and medical bills. Property damages may also be sought. For example, if someone falls and breaks their phone, they could seek the value of the phone in their damages.
Non-economic damages are more difficult to assess because they are not based on monetary value. They reimburse plaintiffs for the emotional losses that they have suffered as a result of their injury. Common examples include pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Filing a Claim
Plaintiffs have three years from the date of their injury to file for personal injury damages under South Carolina Code §15-3-530. If the injured claimant fails to file their claim within the three-year deadline, they may be unable to recover compensation for damages.
Reach Out to a Bluffton Slip and Fall Attorney Today
A slip and fall injury could cause devastating damage. Injured individuals could sustain severe injuries, which could be costly to treat. Fortunately, a seasoned attorney could help you seek compensation for your injuries and damages.
Let a Bluffton slip and fall lawyer advocate on your behalf and help you hold reckless property owners accountable for their negligence. Call today to learn more about how an attorney at Schiller & Hamilton could help your case.