Whether it occurs in a public location such as a grocery store or bank, or on a residential property such as your best friend’s or cousin’s house, slipping and falling can have a significant impact on your life. Whether you suffer mild injuries or severe ones, or have property damage such as an expensive watch that is broken in the fall, you are entitled to be reimbursed for the expenses incurred. You may be dreading the idea of waiting for a court date and testifying before a judge and possibly a jury, leaving your fate to these strangers who do not know you or understand what you have been through. Fortunately, many slip and fall cases settle out of court. If you would like to explore the legal possibilities for your case, call Friedman & Bresaw, PLLC at (603)707-4800 for an appointment so we can review your case and determine how we may be of assistance.
What Are Slip and Fall Cases?
Slip and fall cases are a type of personal injury where a person is injured on someone else’s property. These are also known as torts, or civil wrongs that cause harm to another individual. The property owner is typically liable for the damages incurred. These types of cases are often caused by poor conditions on the property, such as torn carpet, poor lighting, narrow stairs, changes in flooring, wet walkways or floors, or broken or cracked sidewalks.
Slips and falls are a form of premises liability and require proving negligence on the part of the property owner, manager, or other responsible party, building a strong case, trying to negotiate a fair settlement, and if that fails, going to trial. Because of all that is involved, these cases can be drawn out. Injured parties often hope for a settlement, believing that it will be quicker than going to trial.
Do Most Slip and Fall Cases Settle Out of Court?
The United States Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics found that in 2005, bench and jury trials accounted for an estimated 4% of all tort dispositions. All torts include other types of personal injury cases, such as car accidents, medical malpractice, product liability, and animal attacks. Premises liability, under which slip and fall cases are categorized, accounted for less than 20% of all tort trial cases in 2005. This means that slip and fall trials were an even smaller percentage of the 4% of all tort dispositions.
Those numbers indicate that yes, most slip and fall cases do settle out of court. However, individuals should not count on that as every case is unique and their case may be one of the rare ones that does go to trial.
How Long Does a Slip and Fall Case Take to Settle?
There are many factors that play a role in determining how long a slip and fall case takes to settle. Generally, slip and fall cases can take nine months or more after medical treatment is complete to settle.
Injury Severity and Maximum Medical Improvement
The severity of an individual’s injuries may play one of the biggest roles in how long slip and fall cases take to settle. Before the claim can be settled, the injured individual must reach maximum medical improvement. Maximum medical improvement (MMI) does not mean completely healed nor does it mean being restored to the same health or physical condition as before the slip and fall.
Maximum medical improvement means that the individual has recovered as much as they are going to. MMI indicates that the person’s condition is stable and that their condition will not improve with continued treatment. In some cases, the individual may still have treatment, such as taking medication or getting physical therapy to maintain their stable condition, but MMI indicates that this treatment will only maintain their condition, not improve it.
Collecting Evidence and Proving Negligence
Another factor that plays a significant role in how long slip and fall cases take to settle is proving negligence and collecting evidence of that negligence. Proving negligence requires proving:
- The other party occupied, leased, owned, or controlled the property
- The other party failed to use reasonable care in either repairing the dangerous condition or warning others about the dangerous condition
- The injured party was hurt
- The lack of warning or repairs to the dangerous condition is the primary reason the injured party was injured
These things are proven with evidence that must be collected. This evidence may include videos, photos, witness statements, medical records, police or other accident reports, lease or ownership papers, income documents, insurance policies, or expert witnesses. In some cases, evidence such as work requests or emails detailing the dangerous conditions may also be evidence.
Commercial or Residential Property
Slip and fall cases that occur on residential property tend to settle more quickly. This is because private individuals often do not have the resources to fight a claim for long periods. Additionally, residential property is often privately owned, even if the resident is leasing the property. This makes it easier to identify who is in charge of maintaining the property and, thus, who is responsible for the condition that caused the slip and fall.
Commercial properties tend to be owned by corporations, sometimes extremely large ones. These larger corporations tend to have more financial resources and legal advantages that allow them to take more time to fight the claim. Additionally, in some cases, the corporation may own the property but lease it to other businesses. This can complicate determining who would be liable for the dangerous condition. If the property owner also engages a property management firm, separate maintenance company, or others, there may be additional parties that must be vetted to determine who is liable.
Insurance Involvement
Insurance involvement can also lengthen the settlement process. Insurance companies do not want to pay more money than they have to, so they will want to take their time in examining the claim to try to find anything that might allow them to reduce or deny the claim. In particular, they may look for evidence that the injured party is responsible for their own injury, even if they are only partially liable.
Another factor is whether the insurance company negotiates in good faith. This means they give the claim a thorough investigation before attempting to deny it, not doing things to deliberately slow down the settlement process or threatening to go to trial repeatedly, and settling the claim for the policy limits if given the opportunity to do so. If they do not do those things, or engage in other tactics that deliberately draw out and make the settlement negotiation longer and more difficult than it needs to be, they may be negotiating in bad faith. If an insurance company negotiates in bad faith, an attorney may recommend ending negotiations and taking the case to court. Friedman & Bresaw, PLLC may be able to assist you if you believe the insurance company in your case is not negotiating in good faith.
Negotiating Medical Liens and Bills
In many slip and fall cases, medical providers agree to wait until the individual’s claim is settled to receive payment. They do this in exchange for guaranteed payment. Instead, they place a medical lien against the settlement. In some instances, because payment is guaranteed from the settlement amount, these providers will be willing to negotiate a lower fee. This is best done while settlement negotiations are still ongoing, as providers may be more willing to take the lower fee when the settlement amount is still unknown.
These negotiations, like the settlement negotiations, can take time and can draw out the settlement process. Sometimes, the settlement negotiation may be complete and the individual will have to wait for their settlement money because negotiations for the medical liens are not complete.
How Long Do I Have to File and Settle My Claim?
Filing and settling a claim are two different things. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated section 508:4 states that the statute of limitations for personal injury cases is three years from the date of the injury or the date that the individual should have discovered the injury. This is to prevent people from filing claims years after an accident, when evidence may no longer exist and details from both parties and any witnesses may no longer be clear.
The Rules of The Superior Court of the State of New Hampshire state that to comply with the statute of limitations, an action (case) is considered commenced on the date it is filed. In other words, as long as the individual has filed their lawsuit within the statute of limitations, their settlement or lawsuit does not have to be completed within that time frame. If the claim is filed within the statute of limitations, the individual can continue to negotiate past the statute of limitation’s expiration date and still be able to take the case to trial if it becomes necessary.
What If I Am Partially At Fault for My Injuries?
Some states only allow an injured person to recover damages if the other party is solely liable for their injuries. New Hampshire is not one of those states and instead, uses comparative fault and apportions damages based on each party’s share of fault. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated section 507:7-d states that an injured person can recover damages as long as their amount of fault is not more than the other party’s. In other words, if the injured person is less than 50% responsible for their injuries or property damage, they can recover damages. If the injured person is more than 50% responsible for their injuries or property damage, they cannot recover damages.
How a New Hampshire Personal Injury Attorney May Assist With Your Claim
Slip and fall cases can be complicated, and the time it takes to settle them can feel neverending. An experienced attorney may be able to assist you by gathering evidence, finding expert witnesses, communicating with the other party and their attorney, negotiating with the insurance company, and if it becomes necessary, representing you in court to get the full and fair compensation that you are entitled to. If you are looking for a Belknap County, New Hampshire personal injury attorney, call Friedman & Bresaw, PLLC at (603)707-4800 to learn more about our services and how we may be able to assist you.to discuss the case with a seasoned Meredith criminal law attorney.
