People over the age of 65 are considered to have the highest risk of suffering a significant injury from a fall, such as a traumatic head injury, spinal cord injury, hip fracture, or possibly even death. Despite the fact that seniors have a higher risk of falling than other age groups, many slip-and-fall events involving seniors are the result of someone else’s negligence. This individual could be a property owner who failed to clean up a mess or left something in the entranceway that led to the fall.
An older adult who has had a severe fall could be entitled to sue for compensation under premises obligation laws. However, due to their comparative negligence, the victim’s claim may be reduced or denied, just like in any injury dispute resolution. In a situation like this, you can click here to speak with a personal injury lawyer to calculate how much fault was yours. There is a term called comparative negligence that can help you determine the fault.
Understanding What Comparative Negligence is:
Comparative negligence is a legal terminology used to determine who is at fault and how much their fault is. This gives a fair method for calculating and allocating faults in cases. The jury evaluates injury claims in accordance with rules on comparative responsibility. According to this rule, whether a person was hurt, a jury can determine that they contributed to the accident. This means that for plaintiffs, any degree of blame placed on them can lower the entire worth of their claim.
However, because many states adhere to pure comparative fault standards, victims are eligible for compensation as long as they bear less than a total share of the blame for their injuries. Additionally, a victim may collect 100% of the total value of their claim while paying 0% of the blame. It does not give older people a free pass if they are at blame in an accident; it calculates the amount of fault by considering various factors such as age and mental condition.
How do you assess fault?
The members of the jury must first decide whether anyone involved in the incident acted irresponsibly before they can assign blame. Any behavior that a cautious person would not have made in the same circumstance is considered negligent. For example, a sensible property owner would warn visitors before they attempted to use a stairway with a loose handrail. Any incident occurring can be his responsibility. The owner of the property would be responsible in a slip-and-fall lawsuit if he was aware of the problem but neglected to post warning signs or address the hazardous condition in time to safeguard visitors.