Fall injuries increase in autumn and winter with hazards like wet leaves and slippery surfaces. When these incidents occur in a public setting such as a shopping center parking lot, the injured person may be eligible for legal compensation.
Learn more about slip-and-fall negligence in North Carolina if you or a family member experiences a debilitating injury after falling.
The standard of fault
When someone files a legal claim after a slip and fall injury, the insurance company or court will evaluate the circumstances of the injury. To receive compensation, the plaintiff must prove that the property owner or manager failed to meet an expected duty of care. For example, he or she stopped to get groceries on a rainy day and slip and fall in the story, resulting in a painful back injury. The store did not have a wet floor sign to protect its customers, so the court awards damages.
Contributory negligence
North Carolina allows injured individuals to collect compensation after an injury even if they share some fault. Returning to the example above, imagine the injured person wore high heels since she shopped after work. The defendant argues that she has some fault in the incident. In this case, the court would reduce the available monetary damages by the plaintiff’s determined fault percentage.
As with other types of personal injury cases, claims involving premises liability have a three-year statute of limitations in North Carolina. Document the circumstances of any slip-and-fall incident so you can protect your financial interest from the significant expense of medical bills and lost wages.