What amount of compensation should I settle a slip and fall injury claim for?
Posted By
on Mar 28, 2011 6:48pm PDT
Walking down a public sidewalk. Shopping through a department store. Using the bathroom at your favorite restaurant. These are are potentially dangerous environments that can cause serious injury. Slip and fall claims can result in major claims for compensation, including losses for medical bills, lost wages, and other forms of economic and non-economic damages. Business owners and public entities have a duty to the general public and patrons to maintain their premises safe and free of known, and potentially unknown, dangerous conditions.
In Missouri there are three classifications of persons that may potentially have a slip and fall claim when they are injured. Invitees and licensees are the two highest classifications of persons to whom a duty is owed. An invitee is a patron of a business. An licensee may not necessary be a patron, but is still welcome on the premises. A good example of a licensee would be a dinner guest in a home, or a person who runs into a gas station to use the public restroom. The final classification is a trespasser, to whom almost no duty is owed.
If you are an invitee or licensee on a premises, and you slip or trip on a hazard and are injured, you may potentially have a legal right to compensation from the owner of the premises or the person in charge of maintaining the premises. In some situations a third-party is in charge of maintaining a premises that is actually owned by another entity. A good example would be a shopping mall that hires a third--party contractor to remove snow and ice from the parking lot. If you slip and fall on ice in the mall parking lot, a victim could potentially have claims against both the mall and the contractor that was in charge of removing the snow and salting the pavement.
Contacting a St. Louis personal injury lawyer or slip and fall attorney is the first step at determining what types of compensation you will be entitled to. Understanding the forms of compensation in a
personal injury claim is the first step at protecting your interests and legal right to recovery.