What Are your rights in regards to loss compensation
Our experienced attorneys will fight until you received what is rightfully yours.
Lawsuits stemming from slip and fall accidents in North Carolina are one of several types of “premises liability” cases. They generally occur when you suffer injuries from a fall on someone else’s property. There is no strict liability in North Carolina for these types of cases, meaning that in each case the injured party must be able to show that specific elements are met in order to recover any money. The experienced personal injury attorneys at Plumides, Romano & Johnson, PC will fight to recover compensation for your specific pain and suffering, lost income, medical bills and any decreased quality of life. Contact PRJ Law today for a free consultation to evaluate your situation.
Slip and fall incidents can result in very serious injury, including broken bones, traumatic brain injury (“TBI”), spinal cord injury, internal bleeding, and paralysis. Such injuries can have a catastrophic effect on a person’s life, livelihood, and ability to care for their family. Our attorneys have seen these devastating consequences firsthand and strive to recover the absolute maximum for any individual so injured.
What are some examples of conditions that cause slip and falls?
- Exposed/uncovered holes
- Insufficient lighting
- Slippery floor surfaces
- A missing or defective stair
- Ice or snow that has not been appropriately attended to
- Standing water
- Damaged or poorly maintained floors
- Uneven walkways
- Lack of posted warning signs
If you or a loved one was injured in a trip and fall in a parking lot, sidewalk, building, or other property owned by another person, speak to a North Carolina personal injury attorney to evaluate your individual case and understand your options.
- Construction site injuries
- Falling objects
- Dog bite cases
- Drowning cases in unsafe pools
- Insufficient lighting or security
- Criminal assault cases
What do I have to prove to have a case?
The crux of any premises liability case, whether it involves a slip and fall accident or another type, is that the property owner was negligent in how they inspected, repaired or maintained the grounds.
The elements are the same of those in any other personal injury case, meaning that you must show that the property owner owed those on the property a certain duty or standard of care; that they breached that level of care; that this breach caused your injuries; and that you were in fact injured by that breach.
Property owners in North Carolina have a duty to ensure that their property is safe for guests, visitors and the public. Negligence in slip and fall cases can take the form of a property owner failing to post warnings about hazardous conditions (i.e. posting a “wet floor” sign), neglecting to inspect the property regularly, failing to act on reported dangerous conditions, and failing to provide appropriate supervision and management for the property.
I was injured on someone else’s property, but…what if I was in an area where I wasn’t supposed to be?
A significant issue in many slip and fall cases can be that of contributory negligence. Unlike almost every other
Unlike almost every other state, North Carolina still follows this harsh doctrine, which states that if you are even just one percent responsible for whatever caused your injury, you cannot recover anything in a personal injury suit. Meanwhile, if the same situation had occurred next door in South Carolina, you would only be subject to the comparative negligence doctrine, which holds that you can still recover if you are partially at fault—just only in the percentage for which you were not responsible.
For example, say you were in a hurry one night and ducked under the caution tape wrapped around an exposed pothole in your Charlotte apartment complex as a shortcut back to your place, tripped and broke your ankle. You probably would not be able to recover damages from complex management in that scenario. This is opposed to a comparative negligence state, where your fault in the accident would be calculated (say, 70 percent) so you could recover the remainder in damages (30 percent in this example).
Of course, not every situation is as cut and dried as the one above, and it takes an individualized evaluation of your specific situation to know what claims and case strategies you have available. If you or a loved one has been injured in a slip and fall accident on someone else’s property, consult with a personal injury attorney to protect your rights as soon as possible. You have three years from the date of injury to file a claim, but important evidence needs to be gathered soon after the event that may otherwise be lost.