What Is the Average Slip and Fall Settlement?
The average settlement amount for slip and fall cases can range anywhere between $10,000 and $50,000. However, averages do not always paint a complete picture. Slip and fall cases settlement amounts have a much wider range than the mean (average) portrays.
If you have been in a slip and fall accident, it is important to note that the amount of compensation you receive hinges on a few different factors and that you may be entitled to far more than the average settlement amount.
What Is a Slip and Fall Accident?
The term “slip and fall accident” refers to more than just slipping and falling on a slick spot or a banana peel. Also known as premises liability cases, slip and fall cases encompass injury accidents that occur on someone else’s property.
In claims for compensation involving slip and fall accidents, the property owner and/or the tenant are the individuals or entities that face liability for failing to maintain a property in a safe manner.
Common examples of premises liability accidents include:
- Slips and falls at businesses due to failure to clean up spills
- Falls on stairways due to broken or faulty steps
- Accidents due to poorly lit walkways or doorways
- Accidents caused by missing or faulty handrails
- Injuries occurring on elevators
- Falling objects
Premises liability also contemplates dangerous substances on one’s property that can cause sickness and death, such as toxic or hazardous waste and materials.
Keep in mind that just because you have an accident on someone else’s property does not necessarily mean that you have a claim for compensation. Your slip and accident attorney will have to prove certain elements in your case to seek compensation successfully.
How Are Slip And Fall Settlements Calculated?
The calculation of slip and fall settlements can vary based on several factors, and there is no one-size-fits-all formula. Slip and fall settlements are typically reached through negotiations between the injured party and the responsible party often with the involvement of insurance companies.
Factors That Determine Slip and Fall Cases Settlement Amounts
Despite the average slip and fall settlements amount, each slip and fall case presents unique situations that affect the ultimate compensation a victim receives. And even when cases are nearly identical, some of these factors can cause such cases to have wildly divergent results.
The Nature of the Injury
The nature of the injury a person sustains in a slip and fall accident plays a major role in slip and fall cases settlement amounts. Generally speaking, the more serious the injury, the higher the compensation is likely to be, but not necessarily.
For example, if a person breaks a finger during a slip and fall, their medical treatment will be far less costly than a person who falls and breaks their neck or experiences a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
However, the seriousness of an injury and its resulting medical treatment are not the only factors that determine ultimate compensation. In fact, in some cases, a person with a broken finger could eventually end up with a higher compensation award than a person with a broken neck if they suffer deeper losses.
The Extent of Losses
The nature of a victim’s injury heavily influences the extent of their losses. But this does not necessarily mean that victims with serious injuries always get more than those with less serious ones.
The reason for this discrepancy can be explained by taking a look at the types of losses slip and fall victims can pursue in slip and fall cases. Take lost wages. A victim of a slip and fall accident who must miss work because of their injuries can pursue compensation for lost wages.
So for instance, if a person who makes minimum wage experiences a TBI that leads to two months out of work, that person can seek compensation for their lost wages, among other damages.
Now consider a professional musician who makes six figures and breaks their finger in a slip and fall, leading to two months of no performances. Although their injury is not as serious as a TBI, their compensation will likely be higher because they make much more money than the victim who experienced the TBI.
Other losses that a victim can claim for a slip and fall injury include:
- Medical care and expenses, including treatment, medication, and rehab
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress and mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
In the case of fatalities, victims’ families may also seek to recover end-of-life care expenses and expenses related to the burial and funeral of their loved one.
The Strength of the Evidence
Strong evidence is essential for maximum compensation. In some cases, however, evidence of a premises owner’s liability or evidence of certain damages might be lacking. In cases such as these, defendants sometimes have wiggle room to reduce the slip and fall cases settlement amounts of compensation they are willing to pay.
For this reason, personal injury attorneys work diligently to collect and preserve the evidence they need to recover full compensation for their clients.
The Presence of Experienced Counsel
According to various studies and data, injury victims who have an attorney representing them typically receive over four times the amount of compensation than those who try to take on insurance companies alone. This helps explain how two victims who suffer the same injuries under very similar circumstances can get such different results.
Sadly, insurance company adjusters are quite adept at persuading injury victims to forgo counsel and accept quick and easy payouts for the injuries they have sustained. They are also skilled at using victims’ words against them to either reduce or outright deny valid claims for compensation
Find An Attorney For Slip and Fall Cases Settlements Amounts
Injury victims in need of maximum compensation should always remember that the only professional who has their best interests in mind is the personal injury attorney.
If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident, you may deserve to be compensated for your injuries and losses. If you live in Maryland then Talk to our injury lawyer in Baltimore.
Contact an experienced attorney from The Joel Bieber Firm for a free consultation and learn more about slip and fall cases settlement amounts.
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