Can You Sue the City for Trip and Fall Accidents?
After a trip and fall accident on public property, you can sue the city for your injuries and other damages. A trip and fall lawyer will assess the evidence from your case to determine whether the city’s negligence led to your accident and injuries. At Philly Slip and Fall Guys, we will help you navigate the legal steps involved in suing a city. Here’s more information about municipal liability and trip and fall accidents:
Reasons To Sue a Municipality
Under premises liability laws, public property owners owe a duty of care to visitors. This means cities must keep areas like sidewalks, stairways, and parking lots in good condition and free from hazards like snow and ice. If you trip and fall due to a broken sidewalk, damaged staircase, or pothole, you can sue the city for compensation. The city’s failure to maintain the safety of their property prevents them from receiving full legal protection in personal injury cases. Other hazards that could cause trip and fall injuries include spills, unmarked hazards, and visual obstructions like untrimmed trees and shrubs. Our lawyers have a thorough understanding of premises liability and how it affects personal injury claims.
What To Do After an Accident
Seek medical attention immediately after an injury on public property. This creates a documented record of your injuries and treatments for use in your claim. Taking pictures of the accident site supports your claim that the city neglected to repair or maintain its property. Photographs of your injuries may also be used as evidence in your case. If you don’t call the police to file an official report, ask witnesses for their contact information. This allows you or a lawyer to contact them if witness testimonies are needed in the future. Police reports provide unbiased and official details about the accident, including times, dates, locations, and other contributing factors.
Hire a trip and fall lawyer to represent you during the legal process of suing the city. These professionals will analyze your case, gather more evidence, assess all your damages, and create a claim to fight for your rights. They will submit the claim and negotiate with the city and their insurer inside or outside the courtroom. If the city wants to keep the legal case out of court, they may agree to settle and provide you with compensation. If no settlement agreement can be reached, our team of lawyers will defend your best interests in front of a judge to help you receive the compensation you deserve. Taking your claim to court may extend the legal process.
Steps Involved in Suing the City
Before your lawyer can file your claim and begin the legal process, they must submit a notice of claim. This notice informs the city that you will be pursuing legal action against them. Without this notice, the city will not recognize your negligence claim. Your lawyer must file the notice with the specific city government department responsible for maintaining the property where your accident occurred. After notifying the city, your lawyer begins working on crafting a claim that explains how your injury occurred. The claim also covers why the city is responsible and how the injury has affected your quality of life. Filing your official claim with the city requires them to respond and negotiate a settlement. At Philly Slip and Fall Guys, we have experience filing negligence claims against the city of Philadelphia on our client’s behalf.
Types of Damages and Compensation
After your lawyer assesses your case, they will help you determine the type and amount of compensation you are entitled to depending on your damages. Three types of damages you can receive compensation for include include financial, non-economic, and punitive. Financial damages are measurable monetary losses caused by an injury. They include lost wages, medical bills, and future care costs. After an accident, you may experience non-economic damages like emotional distress, pain and suffering, and loss of companionship. Your lawyer may calculate your compensation for non-economic damages by assigning a monetary value to the severity of your injury and how it impacts your current and future quality of life. Compensation for financial and non-economic damages comes in the form of payment from the city or their insurance company.
Punitive damages result from gross negligence or intentional harm from the city. Compensation for punitive damages comes in the form of punishments for the negligent party. Actions that could warrant punitive damage claims include ignoring regulatory property upgrades or failing to meet structural safety codes after previous warnings. Injured parties don’t receive compensation for punitive damages. This is because the focus of punitive legal action is to push negligent municipalities to address and correct their actions.
Contact a Trip and Fall Lawyer
Philly Slip and Fall Guys can help you submit a claim against your city or state after a trip and fall accident. Whether the case involves broken sidewalks or missing warning signs, we’ll guide you until a verdict or settlement is reached. You can meet with our team by email or phone for a comprehensive consultation and case evaluation. Contact us today to schedule an appointment and learn more about our legal services.
