Slip and fall accidents can occur quickly and happen in unlikely places — from public property to workspaces to privately-owned establishments — and leave you dealing with severe injuries and unexpected costs.
Life-altering injuries and emotional trauma could cause you to miss work time, alter your daily routine, and cause mounting medical expenses. Where can you turn for help? If a property owner or manager neglects their duty of care to protect others and you fall due to unsafe conditions, you may be owed compensation.
Nevertheless, insurance giants can be reluctant to offer a fair settlement for your slip and fall, and could even deny your claim for compensation. A slip and fall lawyer in Fort Wayne, Indiana can advise you on the merits of your case, guide you through the legal process, and fight for the justice you deserve.
Contact Yosha Law for an obligation-free case evaluation today.
What you need to know about slip and fall accidentsÂ
In Indiana, falls are the leading cause of death for adults over 65. Slip and falls are also the leading cause of missed work time. Data from the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) reveals that slip and falls often cause fatalities and permanent injury.
Even a minor slip and fall accident can have devastating consequences and result in significant injury. If you’re experiencing pain and suffering in the aftermath of a slip and fall, you’re not alone — 6.8 million people are hurt in slip and fall accidents every year.
A slip and fall lawyer in Fort Wayne can help you negotiate your insurance claim and advise you on whether or not you should file a personal injury lawsuit.
The legal definition of a slip and fall
Legally, you may be entitled to compensation if you’ve experienced a slip and fall on someone else’s property and can prove that they are liable for your injuries. Failure to maintain safe conditions is considered a breach of the standard duty of care property owners hold and may lead to proof of premises liability and gross negligence.
What is premises liability?
Premises liability holds property owners legally responsible for accidents that occur on their property due to a failure to maintain safe conditions (or the presence of hazardous conditions).
If a slip and fall accident occurs on federal, state, or city property due to unsafe conditions, the appropriate government body may hold premises liability.
Here’s an example of premises liability:
If you fall at a restaurant’s entrance, and the restaurant’s owners or managers have failed to clear the entrance of unsafe icy conditions and don’t have warning signs posted, the manager on duty at the time of your fall may be liable, and ownership may hold premises liability. Â
Gross negligence in a slip and fall case
In a slip and fall case, gross negligence goes beyond standard liability. This legal term refers to a complete breach of the standard duty of care. A property owner may be found liable for gross negligence due to actions (or inactions) that reflect a flagrant and conscious disregard for the safety of others.Â
Yosha Law, a personal injury law firm in Fort Wayne, will investigate the scene of your accident, a pattern of gross negligence by the property owner — for example, previous accidents that occurred due to similarly unsafe conditions — and obtain testimony from forensic experts and anyone who can testify to the conscious malicious actions of the at-fault party or their established pattern of knowingly putting others in harm’s way.Â
A slip and fall accident attorney in Fort Wayne might also use physical, photographic, and video evidence to prove gross negligence and will also establish the following:
- Duty of Care:
The universal standard of care for which we are all legally responsible.
- Breach of Duty:
Proof that the defendant (s) in your case violated the duty of care by demonstrating a blatant disregard for the safety of others.
- Causation:
Proof that the defendant (s) actions or inactions directly led to your slip and fall and resulting injuries.
- Damages:
Proof, such as documented medical expenses and expert testimony from medical professionals, that any physical, mental, or emotional injuries you’ve suffered are the direct result of the defendant (s) breach of duty of care.
For example, if your employer sends you into an obviously dangerous work environment without proper safety equipment or training, and as a result, you slip and fall, the employer may be found to have been grossly negligent.
In contrast, ordinary negligence is held to a lower legal standard than gross negligence. An example of ordinary negligence in a slip and fall:Â
A private establishment owner forgets to place a warning sign on a newly mopped and slippery floor, causing your fall. Although the owner is responsible, they have not exhibited gross negligence in this instance.
Common causes of slip and falls
A slip and fall lawyer in Fort Wayne may see personal injury cases that are the result of a variety of causes. However, almost all valid claims stem from a property owner’s failure to maintain safe conditions Some of the most common include:
- Broken or warped floorboards
- Broken furniture
- Broken stairs or railings
- Exposed wiring
- Exposure to hazardous materials
- Failure to maintain building and safety codes
- Falling ceilings
- Icy or wet walkways
- Loose or uneven carpet or floorboards
- Poor lighting
- Poorly maintained roofs, sidewalks, and parking lots
- Potholes and cracksÂ
- Slippery or wet floors
- Unmarked holes on the property
Schedule your free consultation with Yosha Law today
Who’s liable for a slip and fall in Fort Wayne?
When a Fort Wayne personal injury lawyer takes your case, determining liability is one of the first steps they’ll take to strengthen your claim. Although a property owner may hold full liability for your slip and fall, the responsibility may fall on multiple parties. For example, if a privately-owned restaurant is leased through a commercial landlord, both the restaurant owner and landlord may be at fault in your slip and fall.
The following parties could also be determined to be liable in a slip and fall:
- Contractors
- City, state, and federal government agencies
- Employers
- Employees
- Homeowner’s association
- Maintenance workers
- Property Managers
- Safety Inspectors
- Tenants
Indiana laws that could impact your claim
Before you proceed with an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit, it’s important to understand the state laws that could impact your slip and fall claim. Remember, insurance companies have teams of lawyers who will look for ways to deny your claim or offer you appallingly low compensation for the trauma you’ve endured.
Although it may be tempting to accept a quick, lump settlement insurance payment, once you’ve done so you no longer have a valid claim on future compensation. If your injuries are permanent or life-altering, you may incur ongoing costs that you won’t be able to pay with an initial settlement offer.
The following Indiana laws may impact your case as well.
Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations in Indiana, as established in state code § 34-11-2-4, is two years from the date of your slip and fall accident. This statute allows you ample time to build your case and also protects plaintiffs from frivolous or extremely old claims.
The court may extend the filing deadline if you were mentally incapacitated or under the age of 18 at the time of your slip and fall.Â
Comparative Fault
Comparative fault laws (or modified comparative negligence) can also impact your personal injury claim and may decrease the amount of compensation you can legally seek.Â
A Yosha Law slip and fall lawyer in Fort Wayne will work diligently to prove that you are not even partially at fault for your accident as insurers and defense counsel will try to poke holes in your case and blame you for the circumstances that caused your fall.
According to Indiana Code § 34-51-2-5, modified comparative fault means the following :
- If you’re responsible for over 50% of your slip and fall, you do not have a legal path to compensation.Â
- If you hold less than 50% but over 0% of the responsibility for your fall, the amount of your compensation may decrease to reflect your contribution to your injuries.
For example, if you fell on a wet floor while intoxicated, you may be responsible for over 50% of your slip and fall and will no longer be able to seek compensatory damages.
What to expect in a slip and fall claim   Â
Although the unique circumstances of your slip and fall may extend or hasten the progress of your claim, you can anticipate the following general steps to occur in the process:
- File a police or incident report
- Contact the insurance company to file a claim
- Schedule a free consultation with a Fort Wayne slip and fall lawyer with Yosha Law
- Determine the merits of your case based on your attorney’s advisement
- Calculate the compensatory damages you’ll seek based on both the measurable and immeasurable losses you’ve incurred
- Your lawyer will use their resources to launch an investigation into your slip and fall, collect evidence, and interview witnesses
- Your slip and fall lawyer will represent you in all negotiations with the insurance companies
- If an agreeable settlement cannot be reached, you can file a personal injury lawsuit
- Negotiations will continue — over 95% of personal injury lawsuits are settled before they reach the courts
- If a settlement figure still cannot be agreed upon, your case will go to court
- Your lawyer will fight on your behalf in court, and your trial may take anywhere from several days to several months before a verdict is reached
Schedule your free consultation with Yosha Law today
How Yosha Law can help
At Yosha Law, our clients become a part of our extended family. We stand ready to help and understand that your slip and fall and its unique impact on your life and on those you love is important. You’re not just another case number here — we care passionately about your recovery and about finding the justice you deserve.
Our initial, obligation-free consultation can help you to discern the next steps you should take and answer any questions you may have before you proceed.
Yosha Law holds a 98% success rate in beating an insurer’s final offer, and most of our referrals come through our existing clients. A successful outcome is never guaranteed, but we’ve won significant, 6 and 7-figure verdicts for many of our satisfied clients, including a $7.5 million verdict in a slip and fall against a national car rental company.Â
For over six decades, we’ve battled for the underdog and won successful verdicts against insurance giants like Geico, Progressive, State Farm, and many more. A slip and fall lawyer in Fort Wayne stands ready to fight for you.
Compensatory damages in a Fort Wayne slip and fall
Compensation in a personal injury case is categorized by the different types of damages you can claim. Damages allow the losses you’ve suffered to be legally recognized and classifying them helps the courts to determine the compensation you should receive.
A slip and fall lawyer in Fort Wayne can advise you on what damages you should include in your claim and calculate them to determine the amount of compensation you should seek.
Here are the definitions and examples of the types of damages you can claim.
Economic Damages
Economic damages (also called special damages) signify the measurable losses you’ve suffered. These are losses that have a set monetary value and can be proven by documented bills, receipts, and more.Â
Economic damages after a slip and fall include:
- Assisted Living Costs
- Home Healthcare Costs
- Lost Wages (including bonuses, raises, and tips)
- Medical Expenses (doctor’s appointments, hospital stays, prescriptions, surgeries and treatment)
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages (also called general damages) signify the immeasurable losses you’ve endured after a slip and fall. These damages do not have a concrete monetary value, but are often the result of life-altering trauma.
Financial compensation will not make up for these losses or heal you, but it can help to alleviate the stress of financial burdens and allow you to focus on your recovery.
Non-economic damages after a slip and fall include:
- Back Injuries
- Chronic Pain
- Disfigurement
- Emotional Trauma
- Loss of Quality of Life
- Neck Injuries
- Paralysis
- Pain and Suffering
- Spinal Injuries
- Third-Degree Burns
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Wrongful Death
Punitive DamagesÂ
Punitive damages are rare in general personal injury cases. However, they are often sought in cases that prove a defendant’s gross negligence. Although your attorney may advise you to seek punitive damages, they are usually tacked onto a successful verdict by a judge or jury.
The courts recognize punitive damages as punishment for a grossly negligent defendant and use these damages to set an example to deter others from displaying the same behavior.
For example, if you slip and fall at work and discover that your employer was cited by OSHA on numerous occasions and failed to repair safety hazards, a judge or jury may determine that punitive damages are warranted in your case.Â
In a case that includes a punitive damages award, the plaintiff receives 25% and the remaining 75% is automatically allocated to the Indiana Violent Crimes Victim Compensation Fund.Â
Slip and Fall FAQ
How much will a slip and fall lawyer in Fort Wayne cost me?
Yosha Law attorneys work on a contingency basis. This means that you won’t face exorbitant initial fees or have to worry about paying us when your case is ongoing. We only get paid after we’ve achieved a successful outcome in your case.
Does a warning about safety hazards negate liability?
If a property owner or manager has posted clear signs about safety hazards and you slip and fall anyway, their liability may be limited to ordinary liability only. However, failure to maintain safe conditions still means that they are at least partially at fault for your accident.
If I sue a homeowner, will they be responsible for my compensation?
If you suffer a slip and fall at the home of a family member or friend, you may feel reluctant to file a personal injury lawsuit. However, homeowner’s or renter’s insurance will cover these costs. Although your loved one’s insurance rates may increase as a result, they will not owe you out-of-pocket compensation.
