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 I work for Clayton homes,in Tennessee, I sell homes on commission only, Monday Aug, 25 I went out to lock up the homes and fell down the front steps (4-5 wooden deck steps)with nothing to make them slip resistant. It was raining so I was holding an umbrella when I fell. The other person who was there went out the backdoor did not see me fall. I cut my foot and hurt my tailbone. I did not wait for anyone to help me up. I went back in and we got a band aid for my foot and filled an accident report out and I drove myself home still in pain.The next morning I went to the Dr. got XRays I have a Fractured Coccyx, I am currently going thru workmans comp and being sent for an MRI because I am having other back pains.
Do I need to consider a Lawsuit?
Thanks
Stacy
Answer Hi Stacy,
I take it that the worker's comp claim is filed with your employer's coverage. Workers traded that sure system of compensation for any tort claim versus their employer when your state adopted the workers compensation system many years ago. There are exceptions for willful and wanton disregard, but that is not the case here.
So, the issue for you is to see whether or not there is some third party against whom you could file a claim in tort. That claim has three elements of proof.
#3. I will take the shortest one first: you will have to prove your damages. This is no problem in your case inasmuch as you have obvious pain and medical bills.
#1. It MUST be against some party OTHER THAN your employer. Maybe this home was being sold by your employer, but it was constructed without a handrail and hence it violated the building code. As such, the builder would then be your tort defendant. Even if your employer owned the home, maybe it was not fully accepted, and there was something the builder should have done.
#2. You MUST demonstrate that the party that built the stairs or maintained or used the premises was negligent. There is no automatic liability against a business; one has to show negligence on their part. Maybe they should have put in a handrail, as is usually required. Or maybe non-skid surface, or some other thing that one would expect a reasonable builder to do. . In any case, one can weigh the benefit of providing that safety feature (whatever it is) versus the burden in cost.
Premises Liability (Slip Or Trip And Fall Accidents) http://www.settlementcentral.com/page3006.htm 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.
The builder IS NOT AN INSURER OF YOUR SAFETY. You can recover ONLY if you can show that the business was negligent, and even then, your award will be reduced TO THE EXTENT OF YOUR OWN NEGLIGENCE IN FAILING TO WATCH WHERE YOU WERE WALKING. The property owner will raise this defense in an effort to reduce your award.
Now, once again let’s look at your own liability. It 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-third at fault, and be prepared to defend on the basis set forth above.
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 premises and take some photos. Show the eyelevel distractions of what would have caught your eye as you walked down the stairs (i.e. maybe a sales poster or sign?).
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.
I trust that my 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.
