Accidents are bound to happen in warehouses. In most cases, there is little or no harm done.However, a serious fall could result in life-altering injuries. These incidents are referred to as slip and fall accidents. However, the reality is that you could trip, stumble over something, or lose your footing and it would still fall into this category.
How would you proceed after a warehouse slip and fall, what are your rights, and what are the potential outcomes of such an incident?
Slip and fall incidents in a warehouse
Most of these accidents happen when surfaces are wet and slippery, resulting from a leaky roof, beverage spill, or leaking oil from machines such as forklifts. Someone can also trip over an uneven patch of flooring, such as cracked cement or broken tiles.
You do not need to fall for an incident to be deemed a slip and fall, say attorneys at the Felicetti Law Firm. It could result in you stumbling, overextending or twisting a joint, or crashing into something to maintain your balance.
Identification of liable parties
It is easy to identify the defendant as the company that operates that facility in a warehouse slip and fall, it is easy to identify the defendant as the company that operates that facility. However, if that business is renting a warehouse, is the owner or tenant liable for damages?
This can be a gray area. If the condition that caused a slip and fall is structural, an owner should be held liable. However, where a tenant’s actions created the conditions for a slip and fall, they will be responsible for damages.
Getting a lawyer’s help can be invaluable in determining who should assume financial responsibility for a slip and fall incident. It will save you the time and expense of pursuing the wrong party.
Liability insurance
A warehouse owner and tenant should have liability insurance to cover slip and fall incidents. You can claim your medical expenses, wages for lost working time, and unspecified damages, such as emotional and psychological issues that arose from your slip and fall.
An attorney can assist you in calculating a reasonable amount for a claim. Keep good records of medical bills, doctors’ notes that book you off work, and any other expenses you incur.
Proving a defendant’s liability
It seldom happens that employers create conditions that expose employees to harm on purpose, and it is unlikely to be the case should you experience a slip and fall. Instead, you will need to prove that the employer behaved negligently.
The responsible parties should have been able to foresee that the conditions could cause an injury. For example, it makes sense that a wet floor is slippery, and an employer is negligent if they do not insist that cleaners put up warning signs when they are mopping.
Your attorney can request maintenance logs, cleaning schedules, and video footage of the fall during a lawsuit. These can be powerful tools in proving that the employer behaved negligently and could have prevented the incident.
Witness testimony is also convincing in court. If anyone saw what happened, ask them to write an account of what they witnessed, and ensure that you have their contact details when this matter goes to court.
Few slip and fall cases wind up before a judge in court. During the deposition phase, lawyers for both plaintiff and defendant meet to assess the claim and any evidence and agree on settling your claim. Only if this effort is unsuccessful will court dates be scheduled. Your lawyer might urge you to accept a reasonable financial offer to avoid the expense and inconvenience of a court case.