Slip and fall accidents can be costly and lead to serious health risks. They are among the most common causes of injuries and deaths nationwide. The National Floor Safety Institute even reports that, annually, over 1 million emergency department visits are due to these incidents.
In West Virginia, several high-value slip and fall cases have been tried. One example is the Ankrom v. Walmart lawsuit involving a woman who slipped and fell after a shoplifter pushed her. She claimed negligence on the part of Walmart and won over $16.9 million, which paid for her years-long medical procedures.
If you have suffered from a slip and fall accident in Virginia like the plaintiff in the case above, this article can serve as your comprehensive guide regarding the steps you should take. It defines what a slip and fall accident is, its common causes, and the usual injuries that result from it. It also provides information on the types of insurance policies that can cover slip and fall injuries, as well as resources to help you obtain justice.
In West Virginia, a slip and fall injury results from tripping, slipping, or stumbling and then falling onto an object or the ground. It is directly caused by the hazard present on a negligent property owner’s premises.
Legally, these cases fall under premises liability law, which governs accidents that happen on someone else’s property and states that owners are responsible for their guests’ health and safety. Owners are responsible for the proper maintenance of their premises, the installation of necessary safety features, and the prevention of spills and debris that can harm others. Slip and fall claims can be made when they occur in restaurants.
The common causes of slip and fall accidents include the following:
Uneven pavement: This may be due to cracked and broken pavements. It may also be caused by not leveling the ground properly before laying down the pavement and not adding a warning sign after.
Wet floors: These include spills that have not been cleaned up and the absence of posted signs indicating the hazard. Leaky roofs and faulty rain gutters also make floors slippery.
Structural damage: This includes premises that are not properly maintained, which causes the collapse of structures such as stairwells.
Falling debris and objects: These include trees and rocks and may be due to phenomena such as storms.
Inadequate safety features: These include missing handrails and a lack of non-slip walking surfaces.
Inadequate lighting: This includes walkways that are not properly lit, making visitors unable to see uneven flooring and stairs.
Icy sidewalks and walkways: These are areas that are not properly salted or cleared of ice.
Some injuries that West Virginia slip and fall laws consider compensable include the following:
Traumatic brain injuries.
Broken bones.
Sprained wrists and ankles.
Soft tissue injuries.
Dislocated shoulders.
Knee injuries.
Nerve and spine damage.
Chronic pain.
Bruises and cuts.
Slip and fall claims and lawsuits in West Virginia are based on the theory of negligence, or the failure of an individual to use reasonable care. For a West Virginia slip and fall law firm to consider a case viable, the injury must be directly caused by or tied to the hazard. To prove their case, the injured must establish the four elements of a negligence claim:
Duty of care: The victim should prove that the negligent party or the defendant owed them a duty of care. They must establish their status on the property, whether as an invitee or a licensee/social guest. Property owners owe invitees the highest duty of care and trespassers the lowest. Invitees and licensees are entitled to recover damages.
Breach of duty: The victim should establish that the negligent party violated or breached that duty by proving the existence of a hazardous condition on the property.
Causation: The victim should establish that the owner of the property knew or should have known the existence of the hazardous condition.
Damages: Finally, the victim should prove that they suffered injuries due to the hazardous condition and the defendant’s negligence.
If the victim is able to demonstrate these four elements, then they may be entitled to damages or compensation for their injuries.
Some strong pieces of evidence that West Virginia slip and fall lawyers can obtain and use in a case include the following:
Pictures of the hazard: These should be taken as soon as possible after the accident to capture the actual condition. Doing this will prevent the defendant from making fixes and claiming that no hazard was present.
Property records/lease agreements: These are documents that help show who the property owner is so that the victim can make a claim against the right person.
Accident report: This is a report to the police or property owner regarding the incident. It comprises a written description of the details of the date and time the injured spoke to the owner of the property. Accident reports can include statements gathered by the police from witnesses that support the claim.
Settlements for slip and fall cases in West Virginia may amount to one and a half to five times the cost of special or economic damages, which are tangible losses such as medical costs and reduced earning capacity. Meanwhile, non-economic damages pertain to pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and emotional trauma.
Damages that may be incurred by the plaintiff in the future — such as future pain and suffering, medical bills, and lost wages — need particular kinds of evidence to be evaluated accurately.
If the claimant can prove that the negligent party acted intentionally or recklessly, they can also claim punitive damages.
Some factors that may affect how much a case is worth include the following:
The severity of injuries: More serious injuries typically translate to higher compensation.
Insurance policy limits: This is the highest amount that can be paid by insurers. If damages exceed the limit and the defendant cannot pay the balance, then the settlement amount may be limited.
Lawyer representation: Claimants who hire a lawyer may receive higher compensation compared to those who do not.
Negotiations: Skillful negotiation with insurers, especially by attorneys, may likely result in higher compensation. Effective negotiation increases the reward by an average of around $30,700.
The modified comparative negligence doctrine: A victim can only recover damages if their degree of fault is 50% at the most. However, the compensation they can receive is reduced by their percentage of responsibility.
An injured victim in a slip and fall case may file a claim with the negligent party’s insurance provider. At-fault parties may include businesses and residential property owners who have insurance policies. An employer’s workers’ compensation insurance also covers slip and fall claims.
A business owner’s policy, or BOP, is a bundle or package combining commercial property insurance and general liability insurance. Liability insurance can pay for the medical costs arising from a slip and fall. Some of the injuries the policy covers are bone fractures, traumatic brain injuries, chronic pain, nerve damage, and even death.
Typical policy limits for BOP insurance amount to $1 million for a single claim and a total of $2 million for the entire lifetime of the policy, which is usually a year.
Renters’ and homeowners’ insurance can be used in cases of slip and fall accidents that occur on a residential property.
Homeowners’ insurance usually covers the following:
Medical payments.
Medical costs beyond the medical payment coverage limit.
Non-medical damages, such as lost wages.
Pain and suffering.
It is worth noting that medical payments may be approved without necessarily showing proof of negligence. Victims may be reimbursed as long as they have proof that they were hurt on the property. Homeowners’ and renters’ insurance plans usually have a personal liability coverage limit of $100,000, which may be increased for additional costs.
For slip and fall accidents that occur in the workplace, injured victims can turn to their workers' compensation insurance. This coverage applies as long as the incident occurred while the employee was doing their job. They can file a claim without needing to prove that their employer was at fault.
The statute of limitations for slip and fall claims in West Virginia is two years, starting from the date that the injury occurred. If you are eligible to claim benefits, then you need to file it as early as possible because the limit of two years may not be as long as most people think. Consulting with a lawyer, researching and gathering evidence, and filing the claim itself take considerable time. Once the time limit is reached, the claim will be dismissed by the court without any reservation or consideration, except in very specific cases.
The discovery rule states that, in certain cases, this limit may be waived. The clock does not start ticking until the injured victim knows or should have known, through reasonable diligence, that they incurred an injury from the accident. This situation may apply in cases where the injury manifests long after the accident has occurred.
The American Bar Association’s Free Legal Answers website enables individuals to ask civil legal questions virtually, with the answers provided by pro bono lawyers in the state. The site helps with various areas of law, such as persal injury.
The WV State Bar Lawyer Referral Service is a public service project intended to help people find a local attorney who has the experience and qualifications to handle their specific issue. It allows them to have a 30-minute consultation with a lawyer for $25 or less.
The program is made possible through the cooperative efforts of West Virginia civil legal service providers. The platform provides information on a wide range of practice areas, including personal injury, criminal law, human rights, disability, workers’ compensation, and insurance law.
Pro Bono Net’s LawHelp program is a nationwide organization that makes legal knowledge accessible to all. It helps people understand their legal rights and connects them to nonprofits that offer legal assistance locally. LawHelp provides free legal rights resources, self-advocacy tools, and court forms. It has a network of statewide legal information portals and links to other trusted legal help sources.
LawHelp is made possible through partnerships with pro bono, court-based, nonprofit legal aid programs. It has been helping people navigate the legal system and making the law fairer for all for over 20 years.
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