How do I protect myself from a slip and fall lawsuit?

As the snow starts to melt, walkways become even more slippery. If you worry about a slip and fall injury at your home or business, read this post. You’re not alone worrying about slip and fall injuries. Particularly with the increase in people working form home where walkways may not be attended to as carefully the chance of injury or lawsuit is likely higher than other years.

For those not well versed in the value of personal injuries, check out our personal injury calculator. We developed the personal injury claim calculator with the professional expertise of doctors and lawyers that are experts in this field. For those wondering whether protecting themselves matters, this calculator shows the financial  liability which you could face if someone gets injured and hires a slip and fall attorney.

Why would I be liable in a slip and fall claim?

There are a couple of conditions surrounding a slip and fall claim that lead to property owners paying a lot of money to the injured person. These conditions include:

The property owner inadvertently caused a hazardous situation that resulted in a slip and fall injury.
As the property owner, you failed to recognize and remedy a hazardous situation.

The first situation is less likely. However, the second example could easily occur at work or at home. Either way, you are the responsible party. Therefore, you are the person liable for the damages in the injury.

Whether you are at risk of slips and fall lawsuits or not, it always makes sense to buy insurance from the best insurance companies. Typically the best insurance companies are not the companies with big advertising budgets. Find out how good your insurance company is with a free rating.

A Winter Time Example

Do you live in an area where it gets cold and snowy in the winter? Imagine a winter storm dropping several inches of snow on your sidewalk, driveway or parking lot. You’re a busy person. Therefore, the snow doesn’t get cleared before it thaws and freezes. Unfortunately, after thawing and freezing became a sheet of ice. Now there’s a real danger of someone slipping and falling. There’s good news and bad news in this situation.

The Good News

Property owners are usually not held liable if the dangerous condition was obvious.

The Bad News

Are there conditions where the danger isn’t obvious? For example, with the sun low in the sky during the winter, or darkness setting in early, the person injured could claim the area was poorly lit. Therefore, the accident is your fault. Also, not being liable doesn’t necessarily mean the injured party won’t file a lawsuit. Hence, you could incur legal fees, even if you’re not responsible.

Protecting Yourself From Slip and Fall Lawsuits

First, remedy hazardous situations as quickly as possible. Not doing so brings significant financial risk.

Second, carry liability insurance. Liability insurance, whether personal or commercial, protects you in the case that you are negligent. This means, when the other party can make a case that you, or your employees, are at least partially at fault, that’s when your liability insurance protects you.

Homeowners insurance policies have a limit on how much liability insurance is offered. Therefore, if you have a high net worth, consider an umbrella or excess liability policy for additional coverage.

Getting the Right Liability Insurance

Yes, not all insurance is created equal. Some insurance companies like to collect premiums, but don’t like to pay claims. Actually, that’s why ValChoice exists, to identify those companies so you can avoid them. Among other things, we let you know which companies do a poor job of handling claims.

An easy way to make sure you have good insurance is to buy insurance from the best insurance companies. Click the buttons below to find the best auto insurance companies and best home insurance companies in your state. Surprisingly, the best companies vary, a lot, from state to state.

Note: ValChoice does not receive any compensation from insurance companies for rating them. We use data filed with state insurance commissioners to characterize the performance of companies.

About Dan Karr

Dan has been a CEO or Vice President for high-technology companies for over 20 years. While working as a Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales for a technology company, Dan was seriously injured while commuting to work. After dealing with trying to get insurance companies to pay his significant medical bills, or to settle a claim so Dan could pay the medical bills, he became intimately aware of the complexity of insurance claims. Dan founded ValChoice to pay forward his experience by bringing consumers, insurance agents and financial advisors easy-to-understand analysis needed to know which insurance companies provide the best price, protection — claims handling — and service.