If you have been involved in a slip & fall accident, it might be a bit complicated to place an exact and accurate value on your lawsuit. There are quite a few things to be taken into consideration and it is undoubted that working with a professional lawyer is going to be the best way to properly assess the value of your case.

Things to consider after you slip and fall

You need to proceed with taking the necessary actions as soon as the accident occurs. You need to make photos of your injuries as well as the site of the accident. Furthermore, you have to write down everything that happened and see if you can get witness statements. It is also important to get medical care in order for the professionals to assess your injuries. You have to understand that what could now seem like a minor incident could turn out to be something incredibly complicated afterwards and you need to take action immediately. All of the aforementioned steps are going to provide you with evidence that’s going to be crucial if you decide to proceed forward to taking legal action. You should also go ahead and contact a professional personal injury lawyer in Burlington as soon as you possibly can in order to meet any pending deadlines as there might be some.

Assigning the value to your case

There are several things that you would want to consider after you’ve been involved in a case of this type and they include:

·         Location of the accident

·         How much coverage from the insurance is available

·         The financial state of the defendant

·         The stability of your arguments

·         The severity of your injuries

The value of your case is going to be a combination of all of the above and that’s why you need to make sure that you’ve properly assessed all of the mentioned points. Your lawyer is going to do that for you so don’t worry. However, it is important that the lawyer you choose has plenty pf experience dealing with all aspects of similar cases. You should also be aware of the fact that up until the jurors rule on the verdict, these amounts are absolute estimations and there is nothing certain about them. Sure, some types of damages could be properly assessed such as the expenses for the medical treatments but even then the jurors could decide to fend off some claims and approve others. Your lawyer represents your rights and tries to get you the maximum compensation possible.

With this in mind, being able to accurately estimate the value of your claim is going to be incredibly important for a wide range of good reasons. For starters, this is going to determine the amount of court fees and taxes that you’d be subjected to in order to move the case forward. This is absolutely essential and it’s also something that you should take into thorough consideration.

The truth is that individuals are often injured or hurt on premises which aren’t theirs. They are commonly owned or currently occupied by a third party. The slip and fall accidents can very well result in some incredibly grave and serious injuries such as hip injuries, broken ankles, a variety of orthopedic injuries and even traumatic brain damages and spinal cord injuries, even though the last tends to happen more or less is rare. However, chances do increase when you slip and fall on your head or have a bad fall that leads to slipped disk or spinal cord injuries.

Recover monetary damages

If this is the case, you have to be well aware of the fact that you are fully entitled to recover the monetary damages for you’re the losses that you’ve incurred. The majority of the times, however, the insurance which is placed to protect the owners of the property as well as their managers or other contractors is going to take care of the damages that you’ve had to incur. However, in some cases you are also going to be able to file a civil lawsuit pursuing what you haven’t been repaid by the insurance company.

The slip and fall accidents on the territory of the province of Ontario consist the majority of the premise liability claims in the courts. The law which governs these claims is the Occupiers’ Liability Act and it has been enacted back in 1990. Interestingly enough, this particular act, as well as some others, has never been altered or amended which speaks to the effectiveness of the provisions in it.

Occupiers’ Liability Act

In any case, the liability which is set forth in it is rather broad and it aims to protect the victims of such incidents, regardless of who the current occupier is. This means that you can file your claims towards the owner or towards the tenant, depending on the current case. The Occupiers’ Liability Act doesn’t specify the conditions under which the accident must have occurred but there is an extensive legal practice in that direction. With this in mind, the most common causes for slip and fall accidents in the province of Ontario are as follows:

–          Unmarked step-downs

–          Inadequate and improper lighting or lacking thereof

–          Trip hazards

–          Uneven surfaces

–          Slippery floors or sticky once

–          Snow and ice which hasn’t been properly cleared

There is, however, one way under which the occupier of the hazardous premise can avoid legal responsibility. This is achieved by placing a warning sign or a label which serves the purpose of letting people know of the potential danger. By doing this, the duty of care is transferred onto the person who is passing by on the premises and the owner is no longer liable. The solution is quite fair as it’s not always possible to eliminate the potential hazard immediately.