North Carolina Slip And Fall

Slip-and-fall accidents are among the most common kind of personal injury lawsuits. If you were injured in a North Carolina slip-and-fall accident on someone else's property, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries.

Just as it sounds, a slip-and-fall accident occurs when you trip over or slip on something on the floor, then fall down and injure yourself. A slip-and-fall accident may also be known as a:

• Trip-and-fall accident, when you trip over a foreign object
• Stump-and-fall accident, when you trip over an impediment while walking
• Step-and-fall accident, when you encounter an unexpected failure or hole while walking

Slip-, trip-, stump-, step-and-fall accidents can occur from problems such as water, ice, grease, or food on a walking surface. They can also occur from a poorly maintained walking surface, including broken floorboards or crumbling steps, and in poorly lit areas.

When there is a potentially dangerous walking surface, the property owner (or tenant) and the person who is walking on the surface bear some responsibility for preventing the slip-and-fall and avoiding injuries. The property owner must keep the property safe. Anyone who encounters a slippery or otherwise dangerous walking surface must also exercise reasonable care to avoid hurting themselves.

In a slip- and-fall lawsuit, each party has some degree of responsibility. The injured party has to show that he or she exercised reasonable care when walking on the dangerous surface, and the property owner has to show that he or she took reasonable care to keep the property safe.

Slip-and-Fall Injuries at Work

If you are involved in a slip and fall injury at work, you normally cannot sue your employer under state personal injury laws. Work-related injuries instead would be covered under North Carolina workers' compensation laws.

Compensation for a Slip-and-Fall Injury

If you are injured in a slip- and-fall accident, you may be entitled to compensation for:

• Past, present, and future medical bills for treatment related to your injuries
• The repair or replacement of any property (such as eyeglasses) that was damaged or destroyed when you fell
• Lost wages for time off from work (including time spent going to doctor's appointments and physical therapy)
• The cost of hiring someone to do household chores that you're unable to do because of your injury
• Permanent disability and disfigurement stemming from the accident
• Emotional distress stemming from the accident
• Any future earning ability lost due to your injury
• Any other costs you've incurred because of the accident

North Carolina courts will look at the comparative liability of each party (in other words, how much responsibility the injured party bears and how much responsibility the property owner bears for the injury). This percentage of liability is then used to calculate how much the property owner must pay in damages or compensation to the injured party and how much of the cost the injured party will have to bear.

How Long Do You Have to File a Claim?

North Carolina law gives you three years from the date of your slip-and-fall injury to file a claim against the party at fault. (This is known as the statute of limitations.) If you and your North Carolina personal injury lawyer are unable to negotiate a settlement with the property's owner or tenant (or with their insurance company), you should consider filing a lawsuit before the statute of limitations runs out.

Additional North Carolina Slip & Fall Resources

Information about the North Carolina Courts System

Lawyers.com information about North Carolina personal injury laws