Do I need a slip and fall lawyer?

First, a quick word on liability and damages, the two critical elements in any personal injury claim.

Liability and Damages

Liability refers to whether anyone may be held legally responsible for the injury or harm that you suffered. Damages, meanwhile, are the losses you suffered as a result of the injury. So the issue of “damages” is just legal-speak for what losses you have suffered and what compensation you are owed.

Making your slip and fall case

Proving these two elements are the backbone of any successful personal injury claim. And the key word in that sentence is “prove.” You may have had a slip and fall accident on someone else’s property. But pursuing your claim is not as simple as showing up to court--or the negotiating table--and saying “I broke my wrist on your property, please compensate me fairly.”

Frequently, the negligent property owner will deny responsibility or contest the extent of your damages. And likewise, an insurance company’s incentives generally run counter to your own. You would like to be compensated fairly and, broadly speaking, bigger awards are better. But the insurance company would prefer to pay out smaller sums to preserve their profits.

So you need to be able to prove that the property owner is at fault and bears legal responsibility for your injuries. And you need to be able to document the extent of your fall injuries and thus the appropriate amount of damages, which will include (but is not limited to) medical bills.

And this is where a slip and fall attorney comes in. An experienced personal injury attorney will know how to prove these respective elements in slip and fall cases, and be familiar with the tactics defendants and their insurance companies use to avoid responsibility.

There are several factors that should guide your decision about whether to hire a personal injury lawyer for your slip and fall case, because the factual circumstances for slip and fall accidents can vary greatly.

Whether you have serious injuries

You should definitely consider a slip and fall attorney if you have serious injuries from the accident. Generally speaking, the more serious your fall injuries are the more harm you have suffered, and therefore the more that you should be compensated. A slip and fall attorney can thus have a bigger impact and add more value as they fight for your best possible outcome.

If you were seriously injured, you might also need the money more. There may have been expensive medical bills, or your injuries may impact your ability to work your old job or manage daily activities.

Also, practically speaking, you will often be up against someone in their professional capacity, either the insurance agent or an attorney. And anytime one party is represented by an attorney and the other side is not, there is an imbalance. As discussed below, it may not be worth the hassle to hire a slip and fall attorney if you were in a minor accident and suffered no injuries.

But as the stakes get higher, the imbalance in legal representation matters more.

Whether you have minor injuries  

It may still be worth hiring a slip and fall accident attorney if you have minor injuries. Part of the issue is that it can be tricky to evaluate how serious your injuries are shortly after a slip and fall accident, and even minor injuries can turn into more serious or lingering injuries.

But, if you settled quickly--say because the insurance company offered to cover your medical bills and maybe even offered some money on top of that -- your settlement agreement will almost certainly require a release of all future claims. In accepting a settlement offer, part of the bargain is that you give up the ability to sue or file a personal injury lawsuit based on the accident later.

Whether you are confident engaging in negotiations and navigating legal issues on your own

If you are confident in your ability to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company, then you may not need a personal injury lawyer for your slip and fall case. Similarly, if you are comfortable in your ability to research issues of legal liability and any potential statutes of limitations, it may make sense to go it alone.

But legal issues are complicated, and you will inevitably have less experience negotiating insurance settlements than your counterparty simply because that is (presumably) not your day job. But for your counterparty, whether it’s an insurance agent or a defense attorney, it is their day job.

How much should I settle for a slip and fall?

For context, it is hard to precisely estimate the average settlement for a slip and fall case, but many cases settle for amounts between $10,000 and $50,000. But how much you should settle your personal injury case for depends on a number of factors.   

One set of those factors relate to the facts of your case. All of the following factors are highly fact specific and will impact how might be able to win in a settlement:

• The type of your injury
• The strength of your evidence
• The amount of demonstrable economic damages like medical expenses or lost wages
• The amount of any non-economic damages, often referred to as pain and suffering

Another set of factors, though, relate to your personal circumstances. For instance, your personal finances and your risk tolerance can, and should, influence what type of settlement offers you consider.

Is it hard to win a slip and fall case?

Slip and fall cases can be tougher to win than you might think. Remember, you have to prove liability to win a slip and fall case, which means that you have to prove someone is legally responsible for your injury. 

Proving liability in a slip and fall case generally requires proving negligence of the property owner. This often entails showing both that a dangerous condition existed on the premises, and that the property owner knew or should have known about the unsafe condition but failed to address it.

As you can see, that's already several different things you need to prove. And while some accidents are cleanly caught on camera, many are not. Similarly, perhaps people saw your slip and fall and could provide eyewitness testimony, but many accidents don't have witnesses who can corroborate the details. 

Thus, there is no one size fits all answer to whether it’s hard to win a slip and fall case, but it can be tougher than you’d think.

So, let's recap the question "should I get a lawyer for a slip and fall?" If your case is straightforward, your injuries minor, and you feel comfortable representing your own interests, then you probably don’t need to hire a personal injury attorney. And there is a financial benefit to representing yourself because you won’t have to share any of your award (compensation) with a lawyer.

But the more serious your injuries, or the more that is at stake, the more important it is to have an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side to level the playing field. Because whether it’s the insurance company or a defense attorney, there is an imbalance whenever one side is represented in our legal system and the other is not.

A a key thing to know is that most slip and fall attorneys work on a contingency basis, which means they only get paid if your claim is successful. For more information on the costs, check out our article on how much a slip and fall lawyer costs.

And many personal injury attorneys offer a free consultation, so it may be worth reaching out to a lawyer if you have questions whether you should pursue a slip and fall claim.