What You Should Know About Slip and Fall Accident Claims

A fall injury is a serious occurrence that can result in lost wages as well as emotional distress. If you were injured in a slip-and-fall accident, you may be wondering what your legal rights are and what steps you should take after the incident.

Finding out where you stand and learning about slip and fall accidents and injury claims is critical before hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer to represent your slip and fall case. This article will define slip and fall cases and provide information on liability laws in Canada.

Slip and Fall Accidents: What Are They?

Slip and fall accidents, also known as trip and fall accidents, are personal injury incidents that occur when someone slips and falls on someone else’s property, such as a business, a shop, or a public street. In many cases, if you slip and fall and sustain an injury on someone else’s property, you may be able to file a premises liability claim.

Each year, approximately 42,000 workers in Canada are injured as a result of slip and fall accidents. Two-thirds of these incidents involve slips on the ground; the remaining third involves falls from high levels, such as ladders or stairs, and many victims file work-related injury claims.

What Are Some Examples of Negligence Caused by Slip and Fall Claims?

When property owners fail to adequately manage the hazardous condition of their property or public space, various examples of negligence occur. Here are a few examples of negligence that can lead to slip and fall claims:

There is evidence of wet floors.
The property’s lighting is inadequate.
Poorly designed stairs Damaged flooring with hidden hazards
Handrails that are loose or missing
Debris in the corridor
Sidewalks with cracks

In a dangerous condition, such as the examples given here, negligence can result in fall lawsuits and settlements, which may require the property owner to cover the victims’ damages through liability coverage.

How Do You Establish Liability for Slip and Fall Accidents?

To establish liability for a slip and fall case, you must have evidence demonstrating the owner’s negligence; the evidence must show that the party responsible failed to exercise reasonable care over the premises. As a result, retrieving photo evidence of where the fall occurred before filing a slip and fall claim is one way to prove liability.

You may also collect evidence, such as eyewitness accounts of the incident indicating that the property owner is at fault or video footage of the accident scene. In addition to this evidence, your medical bills and records, as well as a report detailing the slip and fall incident, are all valid documents that can be used to establish liability.

Assume a property owner is to blame for your injuries and has neglected to maintain their property. In that case, their liability insurance may cover your legal fees as an injured victim.

Can You Sue in Canada for a Slip and Fall?

In Canada, you can file an injury claim and sue the responsible party to recover compensation after a slip and fall accident. If you have incurred the following costs and issues, you may hire a professional fall lawyer to assist you.

Compensation for medical expenses
Treatment for the injury
Pain and emotional distress
Income loss as a result of injury
The cost of therapy and rehabilitation

Another option is to settle out of court by negotiating with the responsible party and their insurance company, which means you will receive a payment that the other party agrees to. In this case, you waive your right to pursue any future claims arising from the slip and fall incident.

How Does the Slip and Fall Claims Process Work in Canada?

The laws governing slip and fall accidents in the Greater Toronto Area state that legal claims must be filed within two years of the incident. After this time frame, you will be unable to file a lawsuit. With this timeframe in mind, you may file a claim with a professional legal team by following the steps below.

Stage One: Compiling the Required Data

The first stage entails gathering the necessary information about the case. An experienced personal injury lawyer will conduct investigations and request your medical records in order to determine the losses and injuries you have suffered.
At the same time, you must seek medical attention to recover from the incident and report any side effects to your doctor. You must inform your lawyer about your income loss, how you earn your living, any pre-existing injuries to ensure the incident did not affect your own injury, and how the incident occurred.

Stage two: file a lawsuit

The second stage may or may not include the filing of a lawsuit. Because many cases settle without a lawsuit, you may be able to settle the case without one. However, it is possible to settle a case too soon without fully understanding all of your injuries.

Depending on how quickly you recover, your case may be resolved quickly. Long-term injuries that may have an impact on your health for the rest of your life, such as chronic pain or arthritis caused by broken bones, will be of concern to professional personal injury lawyer teams.

Stage Three: Filing a Lawsuit

During the third stage, your attorneys will file the lawsuit. They will file legal documents in court and obtain information from the insurance company to learn more about the incident.
Gathering information from the building or property owner, including maintenance logs, is part of the lawsuit process. Under oath, your lawyer will conduct investigations and interviews with the property owner.

The fourth stage is mediation.

Following the lawsuit, mediation takes place between a mediator and the insurance company. A mediator will listen to the evidence and make a decision during the mediation. Even if you disagree with the mediator’s decision, you may request that the case be tried in court. The main goal is to try to close the case.

Stage 5: Trial

A trial is uncommon in slip-and-fall cases, but it is sometimes necessary to obtain fair compensation. Consult with your legal counsel to determine whether you should take the case to trial, which may entail explaining how your injuries have harmed you.

3 Common Misconceptions About Slip and Fall Incident Claims

Before you file a slip-and-fall claim, consider the following three common myths about such cases:

This is not true. Physical injuries are not the only reason for slip and fall claims. Many injured people may file slip and fall lawsuits for their pain and suffering, emotional distress, or financial losses.

Again, this is false. A warning sign cancels a slip-and-fall claim. Even if a property owner has posted a wet floor sign or a sign indicating hazardous conditions, you may still file a slip-and-fall claim. A sign does not help your case.
Slips and falls in public places do not qualify for a legal claim — this is untrue. In many cases, if you fall in a public place due to a cracked sidewalk, private entities must bear responsibility for the fall.

Request a Free Consultation with an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer

If you need legal help with a personal injury claim, our lawyers in Toronto can help you get the compensation you deserve. Set up a free consultation with our experts today to get the help and legal advice you need to handle your slip-and-fall claim.

Originally published at https://baronmag.ca on February 22, 2023.