The process of establishing liability in Chattanooga slip and fall cases varies with every claim. However, individuals seeking damages should begin working with a skilled slip and fall lawyer who can prove the hazardous condition, how long it was there and what the property owner should have done about it. In order to do this, an attorney may need to look for other people who have been injured on the property to use as witnesses.
Impact of Age on Liability Cases
A lot of times defendants try to say an older accident victim is not entitled damages for one of two reasons. The person falls because they are old not because there is a problem with the property. The victim’s injuries are the result of old age rather than the result of a fall. When Establishing liability in Chattanooga slip and fall cases, attorneys try to turn these arguments around on the defendants by remarking age. They may say that an older person is obviously going to come to the person’s property so the person’s property needs to be safe for older people and that older person is easy to hurt.
They are more likely to get hurt when a person allows dangerous conditions to exist on the person’s property. But those are the ways that age factors into it. Everybody is treated the same under the law. The person’s duty to a 10-year-old is the same as the person’s duty to a 90-year-old. If there is a danger there and it hurts a 10-year-old, the person owes money to the 10-year-old and if it hurts a 90-year-old, the person owes money to the 90-year-old but they might owe a lot more money to the 90-year-old because they might get hurt a lot worse than a 10-year-old got hurt.
Where Will Slip and Fall Cases be Heard?
Slip and fall cases are almost always brought in circuit court. A case for smaller injuries can be brought in general sections court but after the person has a trial in general sections court, there is a direct appeal to circuit court where the person can get another trial with a jury. Most of the time, the cases are in Hamilton County circuit court. If the person has an out-of-state defendant, it could actually get removed to federal court, the person has district court but that is unusual for a slip and fall case.
Common Defendants in Chattanooga
Common defendants in slip and fall cases are any type of retail store for discount stores like Wal-Mart, Target, Food City or Publix. It also includes clothing stores because things get dropped on the ground. Lawyers have experienced cases against apartment complexes where apartment complexes do not maintain their sidewalks or there is water or ice where water should not be. They do not keep their drains falling properly and speaking with a lawyer about these conditions can benefit a potential clients ability to claim damages. They can help you begin the process of establishing liability in Chattanooga slip and fall cases.
Evidence in Chattanooga Slip and Fall Claims
Evidence in Chattanooga slip and fall claims mostly includes the testimony of the person who fell and anybody who was with them at the time. Any type of records of inspection, cleaning or repairs are important to collect before proceeding to trial with an experienced slip and fall lawyer. Proving the extent of the victim’s injuries is good evidence as well, and that requires testimony from doctors.
Witness Testimony
Witnesses are extremely important as evidence in Chattanooga slip and fall claims. Often, juries are hesitant to accept the testimony of the person who was injured without other witnesses. Other witnesses can help verify that the details of the cause of the victim’s fall and any injuries that occurred.
Corroborating an Injury Claim
The types of information that a victim can and should collect before filing a claim include photographs of the scene and area where the injury occurred. In order to have useful evidence in Chattanooga slip and fall claims, individuals should also collect medical records from any doctors and medical facilities that they visited.
They also need to take photographs of any visible injuries they have, such as cuts, bruises, scrapes, scars, slings, and casts. It may be critical to have as much evidence of injury as possible before pursuing a personal injury case.
These records and evidence can help individuals corroborate the claim they are pursuing. Seeking medical attention can help the injured party have records of their injuries and their attorney can present them in court.
How Evidence Can Affect Who Is Responsible
Evidence in Chattanooga slip and fall claims can change who the responsible party is. If a repair company is at the site working on the ceiling and they spill sawdust on the floor, causing a customer to slip and fall, the injury might be the fault of the repair company rather than the owner of the space.
Chattanooga Slip and Fall Demand Letters
Chattanooga slip and fall demand letters include a description of how the incident occurred, describing in detail what the injured party believes the property owner did wrong and why that owner should be liable for the losses the individual has suffered.
The demand letter might then describe the losses in detail, summarizing the medical treatment and all the medical charges incurred. A slip and fall lawyer can also provide copies of medical bills and records that verify information.
Who Receives the Demand Letter
The demand letter goes to the defendant or more commonly the defendant’s insurance company. Most businesses and also most homeowners with homeowner’s insurance have liability insurance that protects them from claims and that pays claims on their behalf when a person gets injured on their property because of some dangerous condition on the property. A slip and fall lawyer can send a demand letter to that insurance company in most cases.
The purpose of Chattanooga slip and fall demand letters is to begin settlement negotiations. It is a statement that demands the responsible person or party pay a certain amount. In exchange for damages, the injured party will release the person from any further liability in the case. This means if the person pays the requested amount, they will not get sued.
What a Demand Letter Must Prove
Chattanooga slip and fall demand letters must prove that the property owner displayed negligence by allowing something dangerous on their property and that danger resulted in a personal injury. Negligence cases need to prove that a dangerous condition caused a physical injury to the individual’s body. After proving owner responsibility, the injured party needs to prove the damages they are owed.
Proving Responsibility
The key to proving whom the responsible party is is who is in control of the property. Who has the legal right and the legal authority, and therefore the legal obligation, to keep the property in a safe condition, to inspect the property, to know what is going on in the property. There a many ways of establishing liability in Chattanooga slip and fall cases. To prove that the failure to meet their obligations caused the fall can be done in a lot of different ways. Sometimes it is obvious and sometimes it is not obvious. Often, when it is not obvious, the person has to hire experts.
Notice in Chattanooga Slip and Fall Cases
Notice in Chattanooga slip and fall cases means that the property owner knew or should have known that the dangerous condition existed on their property.
Determining notice requires knowing how long the hazard has been there, whether there have been reasonable inspections, if the owner had time to clean it up or warn the individual that was on the premises.
Difference Between Actual and Constructive Notice
Constructive notice contrasts with actual notice in Chattanooga slip and fall cases. Actual notice is when the property owner has real knowledge of the dangerous condition. Constructive notice means the property owner should have known and has no excuse for not knowing of the dangerous condition.
Even if an attorney cannot prove that an owner or employee actually saw a spill occur, they can prove constructive notice by proving how long the spill has been on the floor.
Why Notice Matters
The injured person loses if notice cannot be proven. The injured person has to prove that the owner knew or should have known of the dangerous condition and if the injured person cannot prove that the owner had that notice of the dangerous condition, the person cannot win the case. “Owner” refers to whomever controls the property: it could be a tenant, somebody who is employed there, or any number of otherwise involved parties.
Comparative Negligence in Chattanooga Slip and Fall Cases
Chattanooga, along with the rest of Tennessee, is a comparative negligence or comparative fault jurisdiction. That means that if a person gets hurt because of somebody else’s negligence, but the injured person was also negligent, then the jury compares the negligence of the defendant with the negligence of the injured party.
The person who got hurt is only able to recover the percentage of their damages in proportion to the other person’s fault, unless the injured party is 50 percent or more at fault. If the injury is more the owner’s fault than the individual’s, they can recover the portion of damages equal to the amount that is the owner’s fault.
If a person was not paying full attention, they can still recover for notice in Chattanooga slip and fall cases. It means that just because the person was not perfectly attentive to their own safety and the person got hurt that the person who caused the dangerous condition does not have to pay anything. It saves a lot of cases because, a lot of times, there is some degree of responsibility on both the person who gets hurt and the person in control of the property.
Common Defenses in Chattanooga Slip and Fall Cases
The main defense against slip and fall victims is claiming the fall was the victim’s fault. The defense might try proving that the victim was not paying attention and they could have prevented the fall. As a result, the defense will try using this argument to prove that the property owner should not have to pay.
Sometimes, they try to point fingers at other people by claiming ignorance to who spilled the substance that caused the victim to slip. They may try to point a finger at a contractor or a designer by saying something was not designed or made properly. Most defenses try to place fault elsewhere.
In practically every case, the defendant argues that the victim was not hurt or that the victim is trying to make up their damages. The defense may claim the victim might have been hurt somewhere else or that their injuries were preexisting.
Contact Our Chattanooga Slip and Fall Lawyers
Establishing liability in a slip and fall case can be complex, especially when questions of notice, comparative fault, and evidence come into play. Property owners and insurance companies often dispute claims, making it important to understand your rights and the strength of your case.
The Chattanooga slip and fall lawyers at Gary Massey Injury Lawyers can help gather the necessary evidence, determine who is responsible, and handle communications with insurers or opposing parties. Contact us today for a free case review.
