Anyone that owns a piece of property, no matter how small, is expected to maintain that same building or area of land. If someone who was allowed to come onto your property were to get injured, while visiting that spot, you, the owner could be liable for any injuries.
Actions to be taken by victim of a slip and fall incident on some other person’s property
• Learn whether or not the homeowner has homeowner’s insurance
• Report any injury to that same insurance agency as soon as possible
• If the homeowner has refused to give the name of his or her insurance company, prepare to sue the same homeowner.
Process used by those companies that have sold protection/coverage to homeowners
• The company’s adjuster contacts the appropriate policyholder.
• The same adjuster then contacts the claimant.
• The adjuster asks for copies of the medical bills.
• The adjuster seeks proof of the statement about the claimant’s wages.
• The adjuster and the claimant try to settle the matter out-of-court.
Most companies that sell homeowner’s insurance will agree to pay some portion of the claimant’s medical bills, following a slip and fall incident. Personal injury lawyer in Medicine Hat knows that claimants that hope to charge the property owner with liability for any injuries must prove that the owner’s negligence caused the incident/accident.
Challenges to any effort at proving that the owner’s negligence caused the accident/incident
If claimant slipped and fell on the owner’s premises, a defense team would seek to know what sort of footwear was on the claimant’s feet when he or she slipped and fell.
If claimant had slipped, before falling on the owner’s premises, a defense team would try to show that the victim/claimant had not been paying attention to where he or she was walking, at the time of the unfortunate incident.
The claimant’s attorney would have to prove that the owner of the premises had known or should have known about the potential danger that existed in his or her residence, or on his or her land.
Dangers on a property, other than those that could cause a slip and fall incident
A weak railing on a balcony, or a weak banister on a staircase; a torn carpet on a staircase. Failure to install a banister along every stairway, including that outside. The owners of commercial properties should make note of that potential danger.
Failure to care for any growth in the garden or on the landscaping around a given piece of land: That includes small lots, as well as large ones. If anyone were to pass a small lot, and get stung or bitten by a bug that has made its home in a stump, the lot’s owner could be held liable for the resulting injury.