If you suffered injuries while on someone else’s property, you might be wondering what damages you can recover. This blog will provide a brief overview of slip and fall damages, but you will want to talk to a Little Rock premises liability attorney if you’ve been involved in an Arkansas slip and fall case and want to fully understand how these cases work.
Many people have their slip and fall injury cases dismissed on procedural grounds, like missing the filing deadline, without ever having their case heard. Working with a lawyer will help you avoid that outcome. Let’s jump right into the kinds of monetary compensation available in these types of cases.
Types of Damages in Arkansas Slip and Fall Cases
There are two primary kinds of compensatory damages in slip and fall injury cases – economic damages and noneconomic damages.
Economic Damages
These damages tend to come with a paper trail, like receipts or bills. For example:
- Medical expenses for the treatment of your wounds. This category can include costs for the ambulance, emergency room, doctors, hospital, x-rays or other imaging studies, diagnostic procedures, surgery, physical therapy, prescription drugs, and pain management.
- Lost wages if you did not receive your full pay while attending doctor visits or recuperating.
- Loss of earning capacity if your wounds limit your ability to earn a living.
You might have additional financial losses caused by the slip and fall accident, including transportation and lodging costs.
Noneconomic Damages
These damages are intangible and harder to quantify, and they are paid in addition to economic damages. They may have significant financial value and include:
- Pain, suffering, and mental anguish for the physical discomfort, inconvenience, and emotional distress of getting injured by someone else’s negligence.
- Loss of enjoyment of life for no longer being able to do activities you used to enjoy, like walking or fishing.
- Disfigurement, like extensive scars from the wound or surgical incisions.
You Must Prove the Owner’s Liability to Get Damages
You can only hold the property or business owner accountable for your losses if they were negligent in some way that caused your injury. People who own property or run businesses are not automatically liable to everyone who gets injured on their premises. Liability must be proved. For example, an injured person might be able to prove:
- There was a dangerous condition on the premises, like a spill in a grocery store.
- The owner knew or should have known about the hazard.
- The owner failed to take reasonable measures in a timely manner to remedy the dangerous condition. In our spill scenario, it may be enough to show that the owner didn’t provide an adequate warning or failed to simply clean the spill.
- Injuries were suffered because of the owner’s negligence and the slip and fall.
Property and business owners often defend vigorously against slip and fall accident injury cases. You will need an Arkansas personal injury attorney fighting for you. We are happy to offer a free initial consultation with no obligation. Contact our office today.
