Corporations and their insurers may refuse to pay claims connected with slipping and falling incidents to avoid setting any precedents. They do not want to encourage other customers to make similar claims, perhaps fraudulently. A slip and fall lawyer in Boston, MA can tell an injured person whether that claim is valid, in the legal sense, regarding premises liability.
When Premises Liability Is Valid
Premises liability claims must fulfill certain characteristics to be valid. When the business can prove that the accident occurred due to the individual’s own negligence, receiving compensation is unlikely.
Two Examples
For example, if someone slips on a wet floor in a store and suffers a fractured bone, the person may have a valid claim. However, if a yellow caution sign had been placed by the wet area, the business and the insurer may refuse the claim. Either the person ignored the sign or was not paying attention.
A similar problem develops when someone is injured by trying to maneuver through an area that is marked unsafe or is obviously unsafe. A store that has a construction zone, for instance, may have signs and barricades to keep customers out of that area. Customers trying to take a shortcut past the barricades may slip and fall on an uneven surface, but they clearly chose to walk through the restricted area.
Dollar Amount of the Claim
Even when a claim is valid, trying to file a lawsuit with the help of a and fall lawyer in Boston, MA is generally pointless if the injury is relatively small. A sprained ankle may require medical treatment if it is severe enough, but the dollar amount is probably not worth suing over. Lawyers are unlikely to accept a case like this.
In contrast, if the person suffered a compression fracture in the vertebrae, a lawyer with an organization like the Law Offices of Burton J. Hass may provide legal representation. This type of injury may require hospitalization, physical therapy, and the temporary use of adaptive equipment. The individual may miss days or even weeks of work. Even after a full recovery, chronic back pain may be a lifetime problem.
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