If you have sustained injuries in a slip-and-fall accident, our Boston slip and fall lawyers can help you get fair compensation for your losses. Slip-and-fall incidents are often caused by the negligence of the entity responsible for a given property, building or premises. So you can seek damages to cover the medical costs and other unexpected expenses caused by the injury. Here is a look at various aspects of a slip and fall compensation claim, especially when you are filing one in Boston.
Places Where Slip-and-Fall Accidents Can Occur
Slip-and-fall accidents can take place virtually anywhere. Here is a look at some common places where such accidents occur and result in liability claims against the owner or operator of the property.
- The interior, lobby, parking area, park or common area of any office building
- The work premises
- The interior as well as parking and other exterior property space of a hotel
- A commercial property such as a shopping mall or a supermarket
- A home where you are visiting or have been invited
- At a road where unnatural and unexpected buildup, without any forewarning, has caused an injury
- A restaurant or public bathroom
- A construction site without suitable warning signs
Damages You Can Seek in Slip-and-Fall Claims
A slip-and-fall injury, much like other personal injuries, can range from minor to critical or even fatal. When you suffer an injury like this, you are entitled to a broad range of compensatory damages. The actual amount of the damages can vary from case to case and you should consult Boston slip and fall lawyers to get a general estimate for your claim.
Here is a look at the types of damages you can apply for in a slip-and-fall compensation claim:
Medical costs: These include the short-term medical costs of your treatment as well as any long-term costs towards full rehabilitation and recovery.
Lost wages: A slip-and-fall injury is very likely to leave you bedridden for a period. Even if it is not that worse, you may not be able to resume your job for a period. You can seek damages to cover these wage losses as well as expected future loss of earnings.
Pain and suffering: It is possible to recover non-economic damages in lieu of pain and suffering in a slip-and-fall accident. Massachusetts law does not place a cap on the maximum amount of non-economic damages in such a case. However, the actual amount will depend on the seriousness and nature of the injury.
Useful Evidence to Back Your Slip-and-Fall Claim
As with any personal injury case, you must back your slip-and-fall injury claim with evidence. As plaintiff, the proof of burden lies with you. The more genuine evidence you can provide to support your injury claim, the more you are likely to win the claim and get a fair compensation.
Different types of evidence can be used in a slip-and-fall claim. The key piece of evidence is the medical care and treatment you receive following the injury. The medical reports, bills and testimony from the treating doctor can all prove vital in substantiating your claim.
If you fell at a place with surveillance cameras, the video from the cameras can be an important piece of evidence. This is why should you should seek to get a copy of it as soon as possible. Sometimes, it may simply be impossible to recover a copy without the help of good Boston slip and fall lawyers.
You should take photographs of the scene where you incurred a slip-and-fall injury, especially if the hazard that caused your injury is still on the spot. Finally, witness testimony serves a vital role in all personal injury claims, and this is true for slip-and-fall cases as well. You should try to get the contact details of any eye witnesses of the incident so that they can later be asked to testify in a court of law.
Massachusetts Slip and Fall Laws
Massachusetts has a number of laws in place that govern slip-and-fall cases. When filing a compensation claim, it is critically important that you are informed about these laws and observe them in your claim.
Statute of Limitations
The broader statute of limitations for personal injury cases also applies to Massachusetts slip and fall cases. You have three years from the date of the injury caused by a slip-and-fall to file a compensation claim. If a claim is filed after the statute has expired, it is very likely that the claim will fail.
Comparative Negligence
Massachusetts has a comparative negligence rule that applies to all personal injury cases, including slip-and-fall accidents. This means that if your negligence partly contributed to your own slip-and-fall injury, the amount of damages you receive will be reduced in proportion to the percentage of the fault.
For instance, if you are entitled to $20,000 in damages and are found to be 20% at fault in the incident, the actual damages you receive will be $16,000. In this way, the more you are found at fault, the greater will be the percentage of amount trimmed from the designated sum.
However, if you are found more than 50% at fault in a slip-and-fall accident, Massachusetts laws stipulate that you will not receive any damages.
Why Our Boston Slip and Fall Lawyers Can Help You?
When file a slip-and-fall claim, the property owner you hold liable is very likely to counter your claim with various objections. As mentioned above, the burden of proof will be on you as the plaintiff. This is why you will need the services of a reliable lawyer to help you prepare the claim and file it.
Here at TorkLaw, our qualified attorneys aim at helping you recover the maximum amount of compensatory damages in a slip-and-fall accident. We have a long experience in the area and fully understand the local legal landscape. If you or a loved one has suffered slip-and-fall injuries in Boston, look no further and get in touch with us.