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Many people are concerned when they sustain an injury at a friend’s house because they clearly don’t want to sue their friend. But what happens when you have thousands in medical debt because of a genuine accident? If this slip or the fall was a genuine accident, then you have every right to pursue compensation through their insurance provider. If they don’t have an insurance provider, then the situation becomes more complicated, but you still need to seek out compensation to cover your economic and non-economic losses.
To get started on your recovery, you need to understand your injuries and identify opportunities to recover compensation for the damages. Then you need to contact a Cincinnati personal injury attorney.
Understanding Your Injuries
Spinal cord injuries and head injuries are among the two most common injuries to come from slip or trip situations. It’s possible for people to fall and hit their head and then experience swelling, loss of consciousness, concussions, and more serious brain trauma. Often when people slip and fall, there’s a high likelihood that they’ll hit their head on a nearby object. Not necessarily that head and spinal cord trauma come from the impact on the ground but the impact with other objects during the fall.
One common situation is someone slipping in the kitchen and hitting their head on the edge of the counter or an open drawer during their fall. Another common situation is someone slipping in the bathtub and hitting the bath nozzle during their fall.
Typically your injuries have come from other objects or even the structure of the home itself. Other common injuries include cuts, abrasions, severe tissue damage, soft tissue injury, and even broken bones.
Assessing the Damages and Opting for Coverage Options
A look at hospital costs relating to severe traumatic brain injury was done in 2019, and per patient, those costs range between about $2000 to over $400,000. Of course, the differences ranged on the need for treatment and the severity of the injury and that person’s ability to leave the hospital sooner rather than later. We already covered that head trauma is one of the most common injuries to come out of slip and falls, and there are one of the most common injuries to happen in a household.
These in-hospital costs are only one factor of your damages, and you may need to work with your family and some experts to determine all of the damages you’ve sustained from this fall. The time that you spent away from work, the financial strain on your family and more can blame factors in How you decide to move forward and seek compensation.
Homeowners Insurance Coverage for Slip and Falls
Homeowner’s insurance should cover all manner of slipping falls. The question that often comes up during these claims, however is whether the homeowner had the opportunity to correct the problem, which led to the slip or trip. In most situations, even if the homeowner was not aware of a leak, exposed root system, or instability in flooring, a slip and fall claim is still possible.
One of the primary purposes of homeowners retaining homeowner’s insurance is to help avoid personal liability claims directly against the person. What happens instead is very similar to car insurance coverage where the homeowner pays a premium, and then the insurance company should provide coverage for all damages in the event of a liability claim.
Even in situations where the person is renting the property, the landlord is often responsible for retaining liability insurance for the premises. So if your friends are renting, then it may take them out of the picture entirely and would instead be a claim against their landlord.
Getting Support Through Your Slip and Fall Claim with a Personal Injury Attorney
Most people underestimate the damage that can come from slipping and falling, especially in a home you’re familiar with. Debris left out on the floor, liquid on the ground, and uneven surfaces can all contribute to unexpected falls. Typically homeowners and renters are pretty careful, especially when they have friends over. But accidents happen. Your friend may not have realized that the tree in the backyard had an exposed root system that could easily be tripped over. Additionally, your friend may not have realized that their child spilled juice or water on the ground before you slipped.
The important thing to understand is that finally, a lawsuit against the homeowner is not a personal attack. At Young, Reverman, and Mazzei, our team of experienced and compassionate attorneys can help you file the lawsuit to address the damages through homeowner’s insurance. Ideally, recovering damages will have minimal impact on your friendship.
