Frequently Asked Questions | Slip & Fall Injury Claims

Colorado Springs Slip & Fall Law Firm

Find quick explanations to the most pressing concerns regarding claims for injuries sustained from slipping and falling.

When someone loses their balance and falls to the ground, this is known as a slip and fall mishap. Since every slip-and-fall incident presents its circumstances, the details of these situations might vary widely. However, there are always the same concerns whenever someone sustains an injury from falling.

If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall accident, we’ve got the answers to your most pressing questions regarding what to do next and how to get compensated fairly.

After a Slip and Fall, What to Do

Does My Fall Require Me to See A Doctor?

Yes. You should get checked out by a doctor after falling, just to be safe. Get to your regular doctor, the nearest hospital emergency room, or a walk-in urgent care facility immediately. You may have difficulty getting compensation if you wait too long to get treatment for your injuries.

You should see a doctor immediately if you don’t think anything is wrong. Tripping and falling can cause injuries that don’t always appear immediately.

Make sure your doctor knows everything that happens when you go for treatment. The details you provide will strengthen the record of your injuries’ connection to the slip and fall incident.

After receiving medical care, you will inevitably receive bills from each provider. You’ll need these receipts as proof in your slip and fall lawsuit, so don’t throw them away.

Do I need to notify the property owner or report this?

Yes. You should immediately inform the owner if you were hurt on someone else’s property. Tell the owner as quickly as possible if injuries prevent you from doing so.

Instruct the management on the spot to create a report detailing your slip and fall accident. Every company has its version of an incident report. Employees are expected to fill in the blanks, mark off the appropriate boxes, and briefly explain what happened.

You should also submit a letter to the property owner within a few days following the accident informing them of your intention to file a claim for damages.

Does My Claim Require Me to Compile Evidence?

Yes. You should begin gathering evidence in the early aftermath of your slip and fall. Your injury claim will require ongoing evidence gathering.

First, document the accident scene and your injuries using photographs and video if your condition permits. Take clear photos of the tripping or sliding hazard.

Collect the information of anyone who saw your fall and write it down. Collect their names if any staff were present at the scene or offered assistance afterwards.

Do not assume that a business or other establishment does not have a surveillance video system just because you cannot see any evidence of it. After that, you’ll write a spoliation letter to the store, asking them to keep any surveillance footage or other evidence that could help support your claim.

Don’t throw away your tumble-down attire. You can use the clothes you were wearing at the time as proof of how badly you were hurt. Don’t bother cleaning them; just toss them in a bag.

If you were injured and unable to collect evidence immediately following the accident, you should return to the scene as soon as possible or send a friend to do so on your behalf.

Should I Release All Liability?

No. After an accident, you should never sign any agreements or waivers that the property owner or an employee of the property owner gives you. By signing, you may be giving up your future legal options, including the ability to sue for damages related to an injury.

Get the Money You Deserve After an Accident

What Do I Need to Do to Establish Liability for My Accident?

In most cases, proving that a property owner was at fault for an accident requires demonstrating that the owner knew or should have known about a dangerous situation but did nothing to remedy it.

In a premises liability suit, negligence occurs when the property owner or business must ensure the safety of its customers or clients but does not do enough to address an unsafe condition.

When Should I Seek Compensation After a Slip and Fall?

Send a notice to the property owner’s insurer once you’ve collected that data. The insurance company will then open your slip-and-fall claim.

You should begin thinking about settling your injury claim once you have fully healed from your injuries sustained in the slip and fall and have acquired evidence of all your damages.

You can figure out how much your claim is worth by totalling up all your hard expenses and then multiplying that number by a factor of one or two to account for your mental anguish.

Send a demand letter to the insurer once you have calculated the value of your claim. The demand letter states the exact sum you’d like to receive to settle your claim.

As soon as the claims adjuster receives your demand letter, you can begin negotiating a fair settlement for your slip and fall accident.

What Is the Average Timeframe for a Claim Settlement?

A claim can be settled in months for minor injuries sustained in a slip and fall accident.

Generally speaking, victims who handle their claims have a little easier time settling if they come into the negotiations well-prepared and structured.

It may take more than six months to obtain a settlement if your serious claim and your injuries are complex. An experienced attorney should always handle personal injury claims involving serious or complex injuries.

If your claim for damages following a slip and fall accident is rejected, you may wonder what to do next.

An insurer may deny a slip-and-fall claim if there is insufficient proof of the property owner’s negligence or if the nature of the victim’s injuries is an issue.

Just because your claim was refused doesn’t mean you’re out of luck. In these cases, you and the adjuster must negotiate the rejection like any other issue.

If you simply cannot produce sufficient evidence, you may still be able to settle your claim for a nuisance value. That is to say; the adjuster will likely offer you a pitiful sum just to get you off their back.

Small claims court is another option for seeking compensation from the negligent party.

Get in touch with your lawyer ASAP. If you were seriously hurt in the slip and fall incident and can prove negligence on the property owner’s part, you may be able to take your case to a higher court. Remember that settling a case arising from a slip and fall is likely more costly and time-consuming than settling a lawsuit arising from an injury.

Calculating the Value of a Slip and Fall Claim

How Much is My Slip and Fall Case Worth?

The specific dollar amount of your case depends on the details of your claim or lawsuit.

The Value of My Accidental Fall Case

• The severity of your injuries
• The degree to which the owner was responsible for your accident
• The amount of evidence that supports your case
• How much work you had to miss because of your injuries
• Whether you endured pain and suffering because of your fall

Every one of these factors will affect how much your case is worth. The possible monetary damages in a slip and fall case must be determined on a case-by-case basis due to the unique circumstances of each incident.

After sustaining an injury due to a slip and fall, am I eligible for financial compensation?

In the event of a slip and fall, you have the right to seek monetary compensation. The financial and emotional losses you’ve incurred due to your injuries make up your “compensatory damages.”

Common examples of economic harm include:

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages – both past and future
• Out-of-pocket expenses
• Property damage

The term “pain and suffering” refers to the non-monetary damages that a plaintiff might seek.

Punitive damages are possible in some cases of slip and fall lawsuits. In most circumstances, only large corporations are eligible for punitive damages. They are given to help deter future bad behaviour by punishing the guilty party.

When I think about how much pain and suffering I’ve been through, how do I even begin to quantify it?

Damages for emotional distress are difficult to calculate because there is no standard for measuring pain and suffering. However, there are methods to determine how much money you should receive for your suffering.

They are typically determined by summing the sufferer’s monetary losses and multiplying that total by one to five. Your agony and suffering were significant, and your financial losses were $3,000. For this case, you can roughly estimate a value between $6,000 and $9,000 by multiplying by a factor of three to three and a half.

If they have solid evidence, most injured sufferers can successfully obtain pain and suffering compensation worth two to three times their hard costs. When you handle your injury claim, it might be challenging to obtain larger non-economic compensation.

The Likelihood of Success in a Slip and Fall Case

Does the Accident Victim Always Come Out on Top?

Unfortunately, not all people hurt in a fall can effectively settle an injury claim or win a favorable award in court.

Winning a complex slip and fall case without legal representation is challenging. For instance, a victim of a slip and fall may not always be able to prove that the property owner is at fault. The burden of proof in such circumstances will be higher than in others.

In addition, the property owner or the insurer may argue that the injured party was partially to blame for the incident. If that happens, you might not get any compensation or less than you were originally promised, depending on how much of the blame lies with you.

Determining fault is always difficult when it comes to claims for injuries sustained after a drunken slip and tumble.

Does that mean I have no case if I already had an injury?

You should be able to settle a claim for a re-injury of the same body part even if you already have an injury to the underlying tissue. However, the insurance company may try to dispute your claim by arguing that your injury was already there before the accident.

Let’s say a man hurt his wrist playing tennis and is now experiencing pain. The insurance company will likely reject his claim if he sustains a similar wrist injury in a subsequent fall and claims it was already damaged during the tennis incident.

No automatic policy will reject your claim because of a previous injury. Seek the advice of an attorney experienced in personal injury law if this occurs.

Should I hire a lawyer if I have a fall and get hurt?

In the event of a slip and fall, not every victim will need the assistance of a qualified slip and fall attorney. You may be able to settle your slip and fall injury claim if the circumstances are simple and your injuries are small.

Claims get more difficult if the insurance company tries to place the responsibility on you or the maintenance business. There could be multiple parties who share responsibility for your losses.

Hiring a lawyer is wise whether your injuries are severe or your claim is complex. Before finalizing your claim’s resolution, you may consult with an attorney. You can always get a lawyer involved later, even if you initially opt to represent yourself.

Most accident lawyers will offer free initial consultations and accept cases on a contingency fee basis. Without a settlement or court award, you owe your lawyer nothing.