Average Payout For Slip and Fall Injury
If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall accident, then you’re probably wondering what you can do to secure compensation, and what is the average payout for a slip and fall injury. This is rather understandable — after all, you may be trying to figure out whether it’s worth your time and energy to pursue a lawsuit.
In truth, however, you’ll want the assistance of an experienced personal injury attorney to help you explore the possibility of a lawsuit. Experienced slip and fall attorneys have navigated similar disputes in the past, and can identify issues in your case and develop a persuasive argument for damages on your behalf. Contact 1-800-THE-LAW2 for a free legal consultation with a skilled attorney in our network.
That being said, if you’d like to learn more about slip and fall injuries, slip and fall settlements, and other basic injury dispute aspects, then keep reading! We’ll be exploring some of the foundational issues that you’re likely to encounter as you move forward.
What is the average payout for a slip and fall injury?
The average settlement for slip and fall injury isn’t really an answerable question, as settlement agreements are “private.” This is simply not publicly available information that we can collate and evaluate.
The average slip and fall settlement can vary significantly based on factors like the severity of injuries and the location of the accident.
Fortunately for us, the question of “the average payout for slip and fall injury” is somewhat irrelevant to litigating claims. Your slip and fall claim is unique — as are the circumstances of you and the defendant(s). As such, knowing the average payout is not going to help you frame your arguments and understand the best way to negotiate a settlement.
There are other methodologies for understanding the value of your claim and for understanding what would constitute fair and reasonable fall settlement amounts. Keep reading to learn more!
Why do most slip and fall injury lawsuits end in a settlement?
Most slip and fall injury lawsuits — in fact, most injury lawsuits in general — end in a slip and fall lawsuit settlement compromise. Current industry observers estimate that as much as 95 percent (or more) of injury disputes are resolved through settlement.
But why are settlements so common? Why not just go to trial and litigate the claims? Well, the short answer is that trial litigation comes with many negative aspects. It tends to be:
- Uncertain
- Resource-intensive
- Public
- Distracting
- And more
For example, suppose that you slip and fall in the defendant’s mall property. The mall has been in the news lately for various safety violations, and this would be the final straw — if news of your injury became public through the lawsuit, the reputation of the mall would be heavily damaged, and its brand value would collapse. Thus, you could pressure the defendant into offering you a favorable and early settlement, as they would rather avoid the potential publicity of trial litigation.
What is a low settlement offer?
In essence, a low settlement offer is one that doesn’t accurately reflect the likelihood that you would secure your claimed damages if the case were to proceed to trial. Every case has an inherent uncertainty, and that uncertainty can be measured as a “percentage likelihood” that you will obtain the desired compensation in the event of a trial.
As the injury claimant, you have to establish the defendant’s liability, and then also convince the court that your damages are an accurate accounting of your true losses. The inherent uncertainty of trial means that you generally won’t have a 100 percent chance of establishing these two aspects of your claim.
Successfully negotiating a settlement will often depend on convincing the other party that you have a strong chance of succeeding at trial. But how does this all play out? Consider the following example.
Suppose that you and the defendant agree that you have a 70 percent likelihood of successfully obtaining your desired compensation ($100,000) at trial. A “fair” settlement would be one that hovers around $70,000, since it accounts for the uncertainty of outcome in a way that each party agrees represents the risks accurately. Any amount less than $70,000 in this case would be a low settlement offer — and any amount more would be a very favorable settlement offer.
Simple, right? This process is also how you determine how much to ask for in a settlement.
That being said, the amount you can expect to receive in a fall settlement will depend on factors beyond just the “likelihood of success” at trial. These factors include the following:
- Likelihood of successfully obtaining the desired compensation if the case proceeds to trial
- Hostility of the defendant
- How relatable and sympathetic the injured plaintiff is to the court
- How relatable and sympathetic the defendant is to the court
- How legitimate and authoritative the plaintiff’s expert witnesses seem
- How legitimate and authoritative the defendant’s expert witnesses seem
- How strong the evidence is in support of the plaintiff’s claims
- How much financial resources the defendant is willing to commit to litigating the case
- And more
Damages in a slip and fall accident case
Damages in a slip and fall case are based on the losses that you sustained due to your severe injuries. Claimable losses include:
- Lost wages
- Loss of earning capacity
- Loss of property
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Pain and suffering
- Medical expenses (i.e., medical bills for comprehensive medical treatment to help recover from your injuries)
- And more
Damages can vary quite a bit from case-to-case. That’s because each injury victim’s losses are different and unique to their particular circumstances.
For example, if you’re a rock climbing enthusiast (i.e., it makes up a substantial part of the recreational and social aspects of your life), then your inability to rock climb anymore due to your slip and fall injuries would lead to a large “loss of enjoyment of life” damages claim. On the other hand, without such a physical hobby, your “loss of enjoyment of life” damages claim might be less.
Why are slip and fall cases hard to win?
Slip and fall accidents are not necessarily hard to win. Whether a case is challenging depends on a number of different factors, from the strength of the evidentiary record (in support of your claims) to the willingness of the defendant to fight tooth-and-nail for a victory, to the strategic effectiveness of the defendant’s attorney.
That being said, slip and fall cases do involve some unique defenses that can increase the challenge of certain disputes. Let’s take a closer look at two of them: 1) the open and obvious defense, and 2) the inspection and correction defense.
The “open and obvious hazards” defense
If you’ve been in a slip and fall or a trip and fall accident, then you might encounter the “open and obvious” defense as you move forward with litigation. This defense has a rather straightforward explanation.
Simply put, defendants cannot be held liable for their injuries due to hazards that were “open and obvious.” The argument is that — because the hazard was open and obvious — you either knew that the hazard existed and didn’t avoid it, or should have known that the hazard existed, and thereby avoided it.
Your failure to avoid the slip and fall hazard in this situation is therefore indicative of your own willingness to engage the danger, and you are not entitled to sue for damages given that you assumed the risk fully.
Overcoming this defense will generally involve showing that you did not actually know about the hazard and that a “reasonable person” in your circumstances would not have noticed the existence of the dangerous condition. In essence, you can try to argue that the dangerous condition of property was not actually “open and obvious.”
The inspection and correction defense
This defense can be a challenge to explain in the abstract, so let’s go through an example to clarify.
Suppose that you’re injured in a slip and fall at a grocery store, due to the presence of a water spill hazard. You sue the store for damages. The store defendant argues, however, that they had one of their employees inspect the floor for spill hazards just 15 minutes before you got injured — according to their argument, they could not reasonably be expected to inspect every 15 minutes. Thus, it was an unfortunate situation, but not “their fault” that you happened to encounter a spill hazard between the inspection timings.
To counter a defense like this, you could show that — in their industry — a more frequent inspection should have been performed. You could alternatively argue (with evidence supporting your claim) that the spill existed prior to the inspection, but they failed to correct the hazard during the inspection.
Will I be able to afford a slip and fall lawyer? I don’t have much money to spend.
Absolutely. In fact, you could have no money at all and still be “able to afford” a qualified slip and fall lawyer. That’s because most plaintiffs’-side personal injury lawyers (like slip and fall lawyers) offer their services on a contingency fee basis — in essence, they don’t accept money upfront or out-of-pocket.
Instead, they’ll work as your legal representative in exchange for a percentage cut of whatever compensation they’re able to secure on your behalf. This percentage can vary quite a bit from attorney-to-attorney (and from case-to-case). Generally speaking, it hovers around 25 percent at the low-end, and 40 percent or more at the high-end.
Contingency fee arrangements are the “great equalizer” when it comes to litigation. It gives anyone — even people with no financial resources — the power to hire a skilled and experienced attorney, and to sue the responsible parties for damages. Best of all, these arrangements also incentivize attorneys to work efficiently (and effectively) to maximize the overall compensation payout.
After all, the more you get paid, the more they get paid! And if you don’t get paid, they don’t get paid — it’s a strong incentive indeed to work relentlessly to ensure that you get at least some sort of a payout for your claims.
And if you’re worried that it’ll cost you to get started, don’t be! Plaintiffs’ attorneys who work on contingency almost always offer a free initial consultation so that you can have your case evaluated by a legal professional. Even if you don’t move forward with them, you can get their professional opinion on what your options are and what sort of next steps you should take to secure compensation. As such, it’s a no-brainer that you should at least “speak” to an attorney after your slip and fall accident — don’t just assume that you have no claim under the law!
Contact 1-800-THE-LAW2 for a Free Legal Consultation
If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall accident, then you could be entitled to sue the property owner and/or business owner for damages. These claims aren’t necessarily straightforward or simple, however — and if your damages are significant, the defendant may be rather aggressive in their defense. That’s why it’s crucial to work with an experienced slip and fall lawyer who understands how to effectively navigate these sorts of disputes. We can help connect you.
Contact 1-800-THE-LAW2 for a free legal consultation with a qualified local slip and fall lawyer in our network. During this initial consultation, you’ll have the opportunity to discuss the details of your case and to learn more about your strategic options moving forward. There’s really no downside to picking up the phone and getting started, as there’s no obligation to continue with our network attorney if you decide against it.
We look forward to assisting you!