If you visit a personal injury lawyer for a consultation, you can tell them your story regarding the injuries you sustained in a slip and fall accident caused by another party. After your attorney listens to your story, they will assess your case.
Slip and fall cases can involve several complex issues. It is not enough to prove a hazard existed and caused you to slip. You must demonstrate that the occupant or property owner acted negligently and allowed the hazard to exist. When Philadelphia, PA personal injury attorneys perform an assessment of your case, they will consider the following:
How Personal Injury Cases Work
Everybody should exercise reasonable care, so they do not harm other people. Such duty applies if driving a car, practicing a profession, or opening premises to guests. Failing to exercise reasonable care and harming others could have the negligent party facing a lawsuit.
Some slip and fall accidents do not support a personal injury claim. If you sustained injuries that didn’t result from the negligence of a party, you might not be able to successfully sue for compensation.
Elements that Must be Established in Personal Injury Cases
To determine if you have a good personal injury case, your attorney will have to establish the following:
- Breach of Duty. A breach can occur when someone faults to exercise reasonable care and injured another person. This applies to property owners or occupants who did not take reasonable measures to look for hazards, investigate hazard warnings, warn people of hazards, and fix hazards.
- Causation. For your personal injury case to push through, you must prove that the breach of duty caused your injuries. One of the components of causation includes the breach falling in the sequence of events that led to your injury. This applies to property owners who ignored the warnings of customers about their torn carpet, which caused them to trip on it. Another component is a breach causing foreseeable injuries. This doesn’t mean the property owner or occupants must foresee your injuries. Rather, this means the breach should be a kind that could foreseeably cause injuries. For instance, if you sustained injuries after a skateboard crash on a small sidewalk crack, your injuries might not be foreseeable based on the crack’s size.
- Damages. If you suffered injuries, your damages include medical bills, diminished quality of life, and lost income. Even if you sustained minimal injury damages, you can still suffer damages. But your attorney must determine if the value of your case will justify a personal injury claim.