There are many types of personal injuries, from car accidents to medical malpractice. One of the most common is the slip and fall. These accidents can result in severe injuries, particularly for older individuals. When a property owner, manager, or tenant has been lax in maintaining the property and someone is injured as a result, the injured party can file a claim to be compensated for their injuries, pain and suffering, and more. However, sometimes people do not realize that someone else is responsible for their injuries. They may assume that they tripped or slipped on their own when the reality is that the property owner did not maintain their property appropriately and caused the injured party to trip or slip. If you have been injured on someone else’s commercial or residential property, an experienced New Hampshire personal injury attorney with Friedman & Bresaw, PLLC may review your claim and aid you in getting the compensation you deserve. Call (603) 707-4800 to book a consultation and get more information about seeking compensation for your injuries.
What Is a Slip and Fall?
A slip and fall, also known as a trip and fall, is an accident that occurs when someone loses traction and falls on the ground. There are same level and elevated level slips and falls. Slips and falls that are same level occur when someone slips and falls on the same height, such as wet floors or icy sidewalks. Elevated level slips and falls occur when someone slips and falls to a different height, such as falling down a flight of stairs or from a loading dock to the ground. Elevated level slip and fall accidents tend to have more severe injuries as a result of the height difference, but either same level or elevated level accidents can result in severe injuries or even death.
Slips and falls are personal injuries, like car accidents or product defects. Slips and falls are a specific subset of personal injuries called premises liability.
What Is Premises Liability?
Premises liability are legal claims arising from accidents that occur on someone else’s property where the property owner is alleged to have failed to maintain a reasonably safe environment, leading to an injury. The claim can be asserted against the property owner, manager, or occupier, depending on who is responsible for the property’s maintenance. However, the ultimate responsibility for the property lies with the property’s owner, which means that even if the maintenance is delegated to someone else, including independent contractors, the property owner can still be held responsible.
While the injured party can file a claim against the property owner for their injuries, it is important to note that New Hampshire uses comparative fault in personal injury cases. Per N.H. Rev. Stat. §507:7-d, an injured party can still recover damages for their injury even if they are partially at fault. However, this only applies if the property owner is more responsible for the injury than the injured party. The injured party must be less than 50% responsible for their injuries. Additionally, compensation is reduced by the amount of fault attributed to the injured party. Therefore, proving that the property owner was negligent and solely responsible for an individual’s injuries can be crucial to getting the compensation they deserve.
Common Hazards That Cause Slips and Falls
Slip and fall accidents can occur for many reasons. Some hazards are more common than others and as a result, are more responsible for slips and falls. The National Floor Safety Institute indicates that hazardous floors cause half of all slip and fall injuries. They also state that falls are the leading cause of accidental injury and death for elderly individuals. Essentially, any situation where a walking surface is not properly maintained and presents a tripping or slipping risk can be a slip and fall hazard. An experienced slip and fall attorney with Friedman & Bresaw, PLLC may be able to help you determine whether your injury is the result of a hazard that the property owner could be liable for.
Wet or Slippery Floors
There are many things that can make a floor’s surface slippery or wet. Condensation, rain or snow tracked inside, spilled liquids, and a recent mopping are just a few ways a floor can become wet or slippery. While some of these hazards may be unpreventable, such as rain or snow being tracked inside, property owners can still take steps to prevent injuries such as putting up “Wet Floor” signs or installing floor mats to collect the rain or snow as people wipe their feet on them.
Loose Carpet or Rugs
Rugs are frequently placed on slick surfaces without any measures taken to hold them in place. Carpets are installed with tack strips and staples that are meant to secure them to the subfloor and keep them from moving. However, sometimes those tack strips and staples can become loose or fall out completely. This means that both rugs and carpets can be loose and cause an individual to slip and fall. A carpet is more likely to cause someone to trip, as they may catch their foot under a loose edge of the carpet. A rug may bunch up and cause someone to trip, or it could slide beneath their feet and cause them to slide along and fall. Both can result in significant injuries.
Uneven Surfaces
Uneven surfaces, such as cracked sidewalks, uneven tiles, or loose floorboards, can cause a slip and fall by causing the individual to trip when they do not lift their foot high enough to clear the higher surface. Even a poorly maintained carpet can create an uneven surface that can be a danger.
Icy or Snowy Ground
Because it is a northeastern state, New Hampshire offers several months of cold weather that can cause snowy or icy conditions. Many individuals would shrug this off and chalk injuries due to snow or ice as being caused by nature and therefore, no one’s fault. However, while snow or ice might be natural, property owners or occupiers still have a legal obligation to ensure it is cleared or brought to the attention of those coming onto the property. If they do not, they may be negligent and thus liable for the individual’s injuries.
Inadequate Signage
Inadequate signage can be a problem in multiple ways. Inadequate signage can mean that there is no “Wet Floor” sign near a spill or it can mean there is no sign to indicate that a flight of stairs is steep. Signs should also be placed to warn people of uneven floors, recently mopped or waxed floors, and if there is construction or other work taking place that may impact an individual’s ability to walk through an area without the risk of slipping and falling.
Poor Lighting
Poor lighting can range from weak or flickering lighting to not enough lighting to no lighting at all. Not being able to see where they are trying to walk clearly is a huge hazard for someone to slip and fall. Bright, ample lighting should be installed in dim locations and if improving the lighting is not an option, signage should be installed to ensure awareness of the poor lighting conditions.
Liquid or Other Spills
Liquid spills, such as water or coffee, contribute to wet floors. However, other spills can also contribute to a slip and fall accident. For example, a box of pens or pencils spilled onto the floor could cause someone to slip and fall if one gets under their foot and rolls. Thumbtacks can also roll under someone’s foot, or they can stab through a shoe and cause someone to stumble and fall.
Recently Waxed Floors
Mopping and waxing floors makes them look shiny and beautiful, but it also makes them hazardous to walk on. Freshly applied wax is still slick and easily transfers from the floor to the bottom of a shoe. This means that not only is a freshly waxed floor a hazard by itself, but it could potentially cause the wax to adhere to someone’s shoe and cause them to slip and fall on other surfaces as well.
Walkway Clutter
Storage can be a problem for both homes and businesses. Whether it is storing inventory in a hallway because there is no other place to put it or putting a box down in front of a door so the person can run back to their desk for a keycard to open the door, walkway clutter can be a serious hazard for slips and falls. Individuals can be injured as they try to ease around this clutter or they can be injured because they are unaware the clutter is there and come into contact with it. If something must be placed in a walkway, even for a short period, it should be stacked neatly to one side with a clear path to pass it, and there should be signage to indicate its presence.
Poorly Maintained Stairs or Steps
Whether it is two steps up to the front door or an entire flight of stairs to the second or third floor, stairs and steps that are not properly maintained can be a significant risk. Stairs or steps can be too narrow or wide, wet or slippery, have loose carpet, or a number of the other hazards. If stairs are made of wood, the wood can rot, causing the stair tread to disintegrate beneath someone’s foot or a handrail to dislodge and allow the person to fall over the edge to the ground below. Metal stairs can have sharp edges or dents that create uneven surfaces and cause people to trip and fall.
Proving Liability in a Slip and Fall Accident
Merely slipping and falling on another person’s property is not enough to file a claim against them. The injured party must prove the property owner or occupier is liable. They do this by proving four points.
Property Owner Owed a Duty of Care to the Injured Person
The first point that must be proven is that the property owner owed a duty of care to the injured person. A duty of care is a legal obligation that requires the property owner to maintain a reasonably safe environment for people entering their property. In other words, the property owner has a responsibility to make sure that people who come onto their property will be safe and unharmed. This can include providing warnings about known dangers, taking reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable injuries to visitors, and identifying and addressing potential hazards.
Duty of care is not the same for every individual entering a property. Someone who is invited to the property, either by personal invitation or as a customer in a store or restaurant, is owed a high duty of care because the property owner specifically wants them to be there. On the other hand, a property owner does not have as strong a duty of care, if any at all, for someone who is trespassing on the property, particularly if they are doing so in the commission of a crime.
Property Owner Breached the Duty of Care
The next point to prove is that the property owner breached the duty of care that was owed to the injured person. This is done by showing that the property owner failed to act in a manner that another reasonable person would have acted in the same situation. This means proving that they did not take the necessary precautions to protect against harm, and that this failure to take appropriate action resulted in the injured party’s injuries.
This point is often proven with expert testimony and documentation of the property owner’s actions (or inactions) that led to the injury. For example, evidence may include multiple reports from employees over several months that the hazard existed and photos that the hazard was never corrected. Other evidence may include medical records and witness testimony from others who were present and had knowledge of what occurred.
Injured Person Was Injured
The third point to prove is that the individual filing the claim was injured. If there is no physical injury, there is no claim. Proving that the individual was injured typically requires medical records that show what injuries were sustained, the treatments required, and the individual’s abilities once they have reached maximum medical improvement.
To ensure that this point can be proven, the individual should seek medical treatment and file an accident report as soon as possible after the slip and fall accident occurs. These two steps will provide much of the evidence needed to prove the claim. Injured individuals should also gather evidence, such as photos of the hazard, proof that the property owner was aware of and failed to correct the hazard, and witness statements while the accident is still fresh in people’s minds.
Injury Was the Result of the Breach of the Duty of Care
The final point that must be proven to prove liability in a slip and fall accident is that the injury was the result of the property owner’s breach of the duty of care. This means that the injured individual must be able to prove the link between their injury and the property owner’s failure to maintain a safe environment. For example, the individual must be able to show the property owner knew about a rotten wooden stair, failed to repair the stair or warn the individual about it, and when the individual stepped on the rotten wooden stair, their foot went through, causing lacerations and a severely sprained ankle when their foot hit the ground beneath the stair. On the other hand, if the individual was getting into their car and their hand slipped off the steering wheel and broke a finger on the gear shift, this would not be an injury resulting from the property owner’s failure to repair or replace their rotten wooden stair.
Damages That Can Be Recovered in a New Hampshire Slip and Fall
New Hampshire allows slip and fall victims to recover several kinds of damages. The specific damages that a victim may receive are dependent upon the type and severity of their injuries and several other factors.
Medical Expenses
Medical expenses cover all of the individual’s medical expenses related to their slip and fall injuries. Both current and future medical costs are included, though it is recommended that individuals wait until they have reached maximum medical improvement before settling a claim to ensure they do not get a smaller settlement than they deserve.
Medical expenses can include doctor’s visits, prescription costs, physical therapy, rehabilitation, surgeries, hospital stays, and medical travel. Individuals should keep all bills and receipts from their medical expenses to ensure they are fully reimbursed.
Lost Income
When an individual’s injuries are severe enough to cause them to be out of work, they can claim lost income. Lost income will replace any income lost while recovering from their injuries and compensate them for any projected loss of future earnings if they cannot return to their previous employment as a result of the injuries.
A stay-at-home parent can also recover for lost income, which includes the value of all the unpaid services they provide such as housekeeping, childcare, and meal preparation. They may also be able to recover lost future wages, if they had planned to return to work eventually and the injury changes that plan. Additionally, if their spouse is required to take time from work to help them recover, they may also be able to recover their spouse’s lost wages.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering covers intangible damages that can occur from a slip and fall injury. These damages include things such as loss of enjoyment of life, mental anguish, and the pain and suffering associated with recovering from their injuries.
Additional Damages
Slip and fall victims can also request additional damages in their claim. These damages can be for disfigurement and disability if they have permanent disabilities or disfiguring scars. Loss of consortium provides damages for the impact the injury may have had on the individual’s marriage. Out-of-pocket expenses such as home modifications, housekeeping assistance, medical equipment such as wheelchairs or crutches, and other medical supplies can also be recovered as damages in a New Hampshire slip and fall claim.
Statute of Limitations on Slip and Fall Injuries in New Hampshire
The statute of limitations is very important, as it limits the amount of time individuals have to file their claim. N.H. Rev. Stat. §508:4 provides victims with three years from the date of the injury to file their slip and fall claim. However, in cases where the injury and its causal relationship to the accident were not discovered and could not have been discovered reasonably, the individual is given three years from the date the injury is discovered or should reasonably have been discovered.
While three years may sound like ample time to file a claim, these claims can take a long time to prepare, negotiate, and either settle or take to trial. The statute of limitations simply means that the claim must be filed within that time period; it does not have to be completely resolved. However, as time passes, evidence disappears or becomes harder to keep track of and the memories of victims, property owners, and witnesses’ memories of the incident begin to fade and become less clear about what happened. The sooner the claim is filed, the better as this allows the evidence to be collected and safely stored, witnesses to be deposed and their statements recorded before their memories of the incident become too murky to be relied on.
How a Personal Injury Attorney May Be Able to Assist You
While their name may sound innocent and minor, slips and falls are often quite severe and can result in significant injuries that cause you severe distress. Between the physical pain of your injuries, emotional suffering, impacts on your relationships with others, and lost wages combined with medical bills, a slip and fall can create enormous stress for you. A personal injury attorney with Friedman & Bresaw, PLLC may be able to assist by removing some of that stress. An attorney may be able to support you by gathering evidence, recording witness statements, negotiating with the property owner, and keeping your claim moving forward while you focus on recovery. Schedule your consultation and explore your options for holding the appropriate party responsible for your unnecessary injuries by calling (603) 707-4800.
