How do Comparative Negligence Affect the Slip and Fall Cases
When you slip and fall, you may wonder if you can claim whether or not the injury is on the business or on you?
In some cases, that could be a resounding yes. Here, we’ll look at slip and fall basics, liability, and the idea of negligence and how it falls into all of this.
What is Slip and Fall
Slip and fall, or slip and fall cases are essentially cases where you prove that the owner of that property wasn’t able to maintain it properly, and not being reasonable with care, or doing something wrong.
Sometimes, it’s because the property isn’t safe, but that doesn’t’ automatically mean negligence either. You’ll need to prove that the owner of the property should have known or did know that the premises weren’t safe, and then they didn’t take the precautions necessary to fix this issue.
All About Comparative Negligence
Comparative negligence is whether or not the plaintiff (person who was injured) was negligent when they got into the accident. This is where the jury will look at the evidence of the property, and then the negligence of the defendant that’s there too.
This is usually done by proving that the plaintiff wasn’t paying attention and performed negligence. The plaintiff must then prove that they aren’t, so the defendant must show that the plaintiff was being unsafe and careless, so by balancing out both of these factors, they can determine who is at fault.
How is this Done?
The fist is determined by the fact that the negligence I determined after. In the cases of slip and fall, if the jury doesn’t find the defendant careful and they’re negligent, thane that’s over. There’s no need to look at the negligence of the plaintiff, or business in this case.
However, if the jury sees the defendant was negligent, then it’ll look at the plaintiff as well, and if they find that the plaintiff was negligent as well, they need to compare who is more at fault.
They might find that the injury the plaintiff caused was partially the negligence of the plaintiff, but the defendant got the lion’s share of it, so then they’ll be partially at fault.
It’s important to understand comparative negligence does reduce how much of the plaintiff needs to pay, and of course how it determines the verdict of the case as well.
Types of Negligence
Some states follow different kinds of what’s called “negligence rules.” One form is called “pure” negligence, which is essentially where the plaintiff has a reduction of the percentage at fault, and they’re paid equally.
Most of the time it’s “modified” though, which is essentially where the fault of the plaintiff is not more than the defendant when it comes to fault, in order to get the compensation back. If the plaintiff is over half at fault, the plaintiff doesn’t get anything. but if it’s half and half, the plaintiff can still win, since it’s considered half fault.
Some states do need the plaintiff fault to be lesser than what the defendant has, and if the negligence is half and half, and if the plaintiff has it less than that, then the plaintiff loses.
There are a few states that use contributory negligence as well, and this can be harsh. If the plaintiff does lose even a little bit, they won’t get a thing.
It’s important to understand the different aspects of slip and falls before you start to do this, since it can affect the way the case goes.