Does anyone have time for a slip-and-fall injury in today’s busy world? Certainly not, but they happen all the time, and the injuries can be serious and disabling. They might even prevent you from being able to work and earn a living while you’re recovering.
Let’s say you were innocently going about your day after work, shopping for dinner supplies for your family early one evening at the grocery story. Unbeknownst to you, a broken bottle of water had released its contents onto the floor of the store, and even though it had been there for hours — and security camera footage can prove it — the grocery store did nothing to clean up the mess.
You slipped and fell, and it wasn’t your fault
Unfortunately, you slipped and fell in that mess. As a result of the fall, you broke your tailbone, your ankle, your wrist and you fractured a tibia in your lower leg. Now, you can’t sit at the computer at your job and you can’t even type. You’ll be down for the count for quite some time, recovering from your injury and unable to earn a living.
Is there something you can do to get the money to pay for your medical care and lost income resulting from your injuries?
You can hold the grocery store financially liable
Every slip-and-fall case is different. However, when you have sufficient evidence — such as security camera footage — to show how a grocery store was negligent, you may be able to pursue financial damages in court.
The elements of proving negligence in a slip-and-fall case are fairly straightforward:
— First, you need to show that you were owed a legal duty by the at-fault party. For example, grocery story owners and managers have a legal duty to keep their premises free and clear of obvious dangers that could harm their patrons.
— Second, you need to show that the at-fault party breached its duty. For example, let’s say a grocery store clearly ignored a spilled bottle of water for hours, and neglected to clean it up. This would be a breach of the grocery store’s duty to keep its premises safe.
— Third, you need to show that the breach of duty directly caused your specific injuries.
Seek financial damages by filing slip-and-fall accident claim
A New Jersey personal injury lawyer can evaluate your potential claim for damages to determine if you have a viable claim. He or she can then assist in negotiating with the at-fault party for just compensation. Your lawyer can also help you to draft and litigate your slip-and-fall accident claim in court.