North Carolina Slip and Fall Attorney
Slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere and to anyone. You may slip and fall in a grocery store aisle, on a sidewalk in front of someone’s home, or in a hallway of a university building. When a fall occurs on someone else’s property, the owner may be liable for your medical expenses, lost wages, and other losses caused by the incident.
Many people don’t think about how serious a slip and fall can be until it happens to them or someone they love. A fall can result in serious injuries, including broken bones, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and soft tissue injuries, all of which may require extensive medical treatment and leave a victim with lasting impairment.
If you were injured in a slip and fall, contact Stewart Law Offices for a free consultation with one of our North Carolina slip and fall attorneys. We’ll review the incident, explain your options for seeking compensation, and walk you through the next steps to take. We have extensive experience in slip and fall litigation and are here to help guide you throughout he legal process.
How to Prove a Slip and Fall Case in North Carolina
To recover compensation for a personal injury claim for slip and fall damages in North Carolina, you must prove the property owner or manager was negligent.
In premises liability cases like those involving slips and falls, this means establishing the following four elements:
- A hazardous condition existed on the property. This could be a puddle in a grocery store aisle, a loose railing on a staircase, or poor lighting in a cluttered hallway.
- The property owner knew or should have known about the hazard. This can involve demonstrating that the hazard was recurring, long-lasting, or that it had been previously reported.
- The property owner failed to fix or warn visitors about the issue. For a wet floor in a store, this could mean employees didn’t clean it up or put out a wet floor warning sign.
- The hazardous condition caused your injury. To do this, you’ll need various types of evidence, such as accident scene photographs, surveillance footage, eyewitness statements, and medical records.
Slip and fall injuries happen every day, but your ability to recover fair compensation may depend on whether you hire an experienced Charlotte slip and fall lawyer.
How Liability Is Determined in a Slip and Fall Accident
Determining liability in a slip and fall accident case involves identifying the party responsible for maintaining the property and establishing what type of property visitor you are.
In some cases, identifying the party responsible for maintaining the property is simple. A business owner may own the property where the business operates. However, it can get more complicated if the business owner rents the property. Then, you must determine whether the business or property owner is responsible for maintenance.
If your injuries occurred on residential property, you may need to identify whether the residents own or rent it. If they rent, the company or individual from whom they rent may be liable.
Premises liability cases also require establishing what type of visitor the injured party was according to North Carolina law. These visitors could include:
- Invitees are those on a property for business purposes, such as customers in a store.
- Licensees are social guests on a property who are not there for business purposes.
- Trespassers are those on a property without the owner’s permission.
In general, invitees are owed the highest duty of care, while trespassers are owed the lowest. Our legal team can investigate your case and explain if you have a viable slip and fall lawsuit and against whom.
What Type of Compensation is Available
The compensation available through a premises liability claim covers economic and non-economic losses caused by the accident. Economic losses are those with tangible value, while non-economic losses are those with personal, intangible value.
Examples of losses you can seek compensation for include:
- Past and future medical expenses related to your slip and fall injuries
- Wages you lost while recovering from your injuries
- Wages you will lose because of how your injuries impact your ability to work
- Physical pain and emotional suffering you experience because of your injuries
- Loss of enjoyment of life caused by your injuries, preventing you from engaging in activities you once enjoyed
- Accommodation for permanent disabilities your injuries caused
How much compensation you can recover will depend on the specific circumstances surrounding your claim.
North Carolina Time Limits for Filing a Slip and Fall Claim
Under North Carolina’s statute of limitations for personal injury cases, slip and fall accident victims have three years to file a personal injury lawsuit against the parties responsible for their injuries. You must file your lawsuit within this period to protect your right to obtain compensation. An experienced lawyer for slip and fall cases can file the lawsuit on your behalf within the time limit.
What If I’m Partially at Fault for My Slip and Fall Injury?
Under North Carolina’s contributory negligence rule, if you are partially at fault for your slip and fall injury, you cannot recover compensation. Because this law is so strict, it’s vital that you work with a highly experienced slip and fall lawyer on your case.
The at-fault party’s insurance company will likely try to say that you contributed to your injury so that they can deny your claim. For example, if you slipped in a puddle in a grocery store, they may say that the incident happened because you were looking at your phone rather than where you were walking.
A skilled slip and fall attorney can gather various types of available evidence to show that the other party was at fault for the incident and that you were not.
Contact Our Slip and Fall Lawyers in NC
If you were injured in a slip and fall accident in North Carolina, contact Stewart Law Offices for a free consultation with one of our knowledgeable and compassionate slip and fall lawyers. Our law firm has over 25 years of experience handling cases like yours, and we’re committed to helping you seek maximum compensation.
For your initial consultation, you can come to our office, or we’ll send a lawyer to your home or the hospital to meet with you directly. Our lawyers will be available throughout your case to answer your calls and respond to your messages. We never charge a fee unless we win money for you**, so you don’t have to worry about how you’ll pay for our services.