Premises liability claims are one of the 39 million personal injury claims in the US each year. If you’ve suffered an injury because of a business’s negligence or improper actions, such as slipping on a spill in a supermarket or being injured by a faulty shopping cart, you may have grounds to sue them. However, suing a business is complex and requires thorough preparation. Here is what you need to know about suing a business for personal injury.
Proving Liability
The first hurdle in a personal injury lawsuit is proving the business is liable for your injuries. There are a few ways you can establish liability:
- Negligence – You must show the business failed to act with reasonable care, which directly caused your injury. For example, a store failing to clean up a spill which you then slip on.
- Strict liability – This appliesto businesses selling defective products that cause injury. You only need to prove the product was defective and caused harm.
- Intentional harm – If a business intentionally injuresyou, they are automatically liable. However, this is less common in premise liability cases.
No matter what, you must prove: 1) the business owed you a duty of car, 2) they breached this duty, 3) this breach directly caused your injury, and 4) you suffered damages. A personal injury lawyer can help gather evidence to prove liability. When a case goes to trial, plaintiffs are successful in 39% of cases.
Statute of Limitations
Each state has a statute of limitations on how long you have to sue after the injury occurs. This window is typically 2-3 years but can be shorter. In Louisiana, for example, it’s one year. It’s crucial you work with a personal injury law firm that you can trust and file the lawsuit within the allowed window, or you will lose the ability to recover damages.
Damages You Can Claim
In a successful personal injury case, there are a few categories of damages you can claim:
- Medical expenses – Any costs associated with medical treatment for your injuries. Both current and future projected costs. It can cost an average of $2,607 per day for a hospital stay in the US.
- Lost wages – If the injury caused you to miss work, you can claim lost income. This includes future loss of earning capacity if you cannot work the same.
- Pain and suffering – You can claim monetary damages for physical and emotional trauma from the injury. The average settlement for a TBI claim is between $700k and $1.2 million.
- Punitive damages – If gross negligence caused the injury, you may recover additional punitive damages to punish the business. Punitive damages are awarded in 5% of all cases.
An experienced personal injury lawyer can help calculate and prove all of your total damages suffered.
Settlement vs. Trial
Most business injury cases, around 96%, settle out of court before a trial. Your lawyer will send a demand letter to the business’s insurance company negotiating a settlement. If they refuse to settle, then your case will proceed to a trial by jury.
Suing a company for injuries requires strategic legal navigation. But if negligence caused you harm, you deserve just compensation. With the help of a qualified personal injury attorney, you can build a strong claim against the liable business.