AboutDoctor Settlement Expertise 27 years of front line plaintiff`s trial lawyer experience in PERSONAL INJURY INSURANCE CLAIMS. Along with other attorneys and insurance adjusters, we have created a website to help injured people settle their own personal injury claims. With the help from feedback from hundreds of satisfied members, www.settlementcentral.com has become THE AUTHORITY for Internet personal injury insurance claim settlements. I am humbled and honored if people can benefit from my experience and current volunteer work in helping injured people. I hope I can explain things in a manner that is useful for the questioner. If not, do not hesitate to e-mail me and I will take a second shot at it! Best Wishes for your physical and financial recovery.
Experience
Life Experience: 27 years of front line plaintiff's trial lawyer experience
Organizations: American Trial Lawyers Association (AAJ)
Washington State Trial Lawyers Association
Awards and Honors:
I am humbled and honored everytime I am selected to help injured people. And when people give feedback that they have benefited from my experience and current volunteer efforts, then that is a double honor and award for me.
Question Hi. I have a few questions. What is constructive notice? What are ways to prove & establish constructive notice? Would deterioration of a porch prove constructive notice since it takes a while for deterioration to occur? Also the sides and railings are leaning outwards, wouldnt that help to establish constructive notice as well because that doesnt happen over night. A reasonable person that has control & is taking care of the premise would have discovered it? And notice the railings leaning?
Answer Hi John,
Your examples are EACH ALONE sufficient proof that a land owner or occupier should have known that the property was in a dangerous condition. The duty of such a person is to make such inspections as a reasonable person would make in similar circumstances. The inspections do not have to be like those of a building inspector, but as an owner would do, given the age of the structure and the exposure to the elements, etc.
If one were to see any of the conditions you described, then that person WOULD BE ON NOTICE that a further closer inspection is required. Failure to conduct that inspection IS A BREACH OF DUTY OWED to anyone who is going to be on that property. If a closer inspection would have revealed weaknesses or signs of age or deterioration at foretold structural weaknesses, then the FIRST failure to inspect is the NEGLIGENCE that caused any injuries from the failure of that structure was the proximate cause of any injuries from the failure of that structure.
You do not have to prove HOW the structure was constructed, but you DO have to prove that the owner or occupier was negligent for failing to do regular maintenance and to inspect the premises.
Here is the basic rule regarding premises liability claims. There is no automatic liability against a land owner; one has to show negligence on their part. But in this case, one can weigh the benefit of providing basic maintenance versus the burden in cost. Since the cost would be minimal to do basic inspection and repair—then the conclusion would be that the land owner or occupier BREACHED ITS DUTY OF CARE OWED TO VISITORS ON THE PREMISES.
Premises Liability (Slip Or Trip And Fall Accidents) http://www.settlementcentral.com/page3006.htm is an excellent review of premises liability or slip and fall accident confusion as to liability. There are three good examples on that page to show you the difference between liable property owners and those whom one cannot sue.
Now, let’s look at your own liability. The tortfeasor will claim that you should have seen any obvious defects. That assertion will not defeat your claim, but your negligence can be used to reduce the amount of your award. So here is your lesson: assume that they will claim that you are at least one-half at fault, and be prepared to defend on the basis that there was either a hidden defect or that your eye attention was drawn away for some good reason (i.e. climbing stairs).
DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED about that defense, but just be aware that it will be raised if your claim has any value. Without telling anyone about your visit, you and a friend should go into the property and spot the area and take some photos. Show the eyelevel distractions of what would have caught your eye as you walked down the ramp or stairs or wherever you fell.
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Gather Evidence: photos and witness statements
GET PHOTOS
Take your cell phone or small camera and take some photos of the area. GATHER ALL EVIDENCE NOW: DO IT QUICKLY AND QUIETLY, without notifying the store just yet. Leave that for later. http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0216.htm Evidence to Support Your Personal Injury Insurance Claim of Premises Liability, Slip and Fall.
GET WITNESS STATEMENTS: if you know of anyone who has experienced a slip and fall or even a near-accident at that store, then you can use their statement. Also, take a moment to get the statements of your family and friends down in writing. Prepare them that way for what they will be asked later on. Witness Statements Settle Personal Injury Insurance Claims http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0196.htm
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Be Prepared for the Kinds of Questions they Might Ask of you.
Of course we would like to avoid giving any recorded statement, so ask the questioner to send a list of questions since you do not think well in quick pressure situations. Fat chance she will do that, but you could try. At a minimum, you need to be prepared for an interview.
In addition to your unfortunate knee injury, consider other soft tissue injuries that you will want to mention. Read below about the significant back and soft tissue injury that I AM SURE WILL COME over the days following this injury. Be prepared to mention small aches and dull aches that you notice at night.
We have not made up a list of questions to expect for the premises liability part of the free side of my website, so you will just have to use the following as a guide to the range of questions to expect. This is a list of questions insurance adjusters ask http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0207.htm injured claimants.
Here are two pages that tell what to do now if you have already given a recorded statement to the adjuster.
OK, John—now it is to learn how to submit and settle your own personal injury insurance claims—DO IT YOURSELF SETTLEMENTS.
Here is a series of pages that you can review. Take what makes sense to you and don't worry about the rest. Just get a flavor of how the system works without spending a ton of time right now.
By the way, did you know that getting an early settlement is a favorite trick of the insurance adjusters? Please see my website wherein we show Insurance Claim Adjuster Secret Tactics http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0092.htm
Do It Yourself Advantages, or do these claims need an attorney? As for an ATTORNEY, this does not seem to be a case that involves any legal issues in dispute nor any large or complex damages. Why should you pay someone one-third to do what you can do yourself? Do-It-Yourself Personal Injury Claims; Eliminate Personal Injury Attorneys' Fees; Save Thousands of Dollars Settling Your Own Insurance Claim http://www.settlementcentral.com/page3011.htm
Without having to join my website, I have given a lot of free information on handling insurance claims without having to join as a member. Read the module at "5 Easy Steps to Do-it-Yourself Insurance Claim Settlement" http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0102.htm
This stuff is not rocket science, but it will take some effort on your part to read and cut and paste letter examples and to communicate. But hundreds of people are doing it each day, and they are getting good results.
What if you get only two-thirds the way to your settlement goal? Well, you can get as big a settlement as you can and then turn it over to an attorney and save a lot of fees. Thus, you could go it alone just to get an insurance settlement offer, and then take that insurance settlement offer to a personal injury attorney, thus exempting the amount of the offer from her fees. Do It Yourself Personal Injury Settlement Offer Reduces Personal Injury Attorney Fees http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0109.htm
FINAL TOPIC, John: Effective communication with insurance claims adjusters. Establish Firm, Professional, and Positive Relationships With the Insurance Injury Claims Adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0059.htm
Always communicate with the adjuster in writing, showing your own analysis of value. It is OK I guess to have one call or so, but no more. Always have your information and ammunition in writing to give to the adjuster.
Let him know that you are FIRM IN YOUR RESOLVE to get what you are demanding (NOT "asking", since that invites a counter-offer, but instead "demanding" as fair and reasonable compensation) by asking him what the options are to resolve the matter fairly should he not agree to a reasonable claim value. In other words, let him know that you will go through with a court filing if need be.
Remember these tips, do your homework, print out your evidence, show resolve to get your fair settlement, and you will DO JUST FINE.
I trust that my extra time here has produced some information that has been of value to you, and thus I would respectfully request that you take the time to locate the FEEDBACK FORM on this site and leave some feedback for me.
