Slip and fall accidents are among the most common reasons for hospitalization and visits to the ER room across Canada. These accidents occur in a split second, without any warning, but the consequences can be devastating.
Suffering serious injuries in a slip and fall accident can result in physical, financial and emotional issues for not just the injured victim, but the effects are often felt by the family-members too.
Most of us assume that the accident happened because we were careless or it was just our bad luck. However, accidents aren’t always “accidental.” They can usually be traced back to someone’s fault or negligence.
According to Ontario’s Occupier’s Liability Act, it is the duty of a property owner to ensure the safety of visitors to premises owned by them. If there were any potentially hazardous conditions or existing dangers, they should have been aware of them and taken the requisite steps to correct the problems. This makes them liable to pay compensation to anyone who gets injured due to a hazardous condition on their premises.
Consult an experienced Thunder Bay personal injury lawyer if you or a dear one has been injured in a slip and fall accident caused by someone else’s fault or negligence. You may be entitled to compensation.
Claiming Compensation
We assume that when the facts are presented to the at-fault party and their insurance-company, compensation will be forthcoming. However, the reality is that insurance-companies are for-profit organizations whose focus remains on protecting their own business interests.
They may delay, deny, dispute or dismiss your claim citing various reasons.
As a result you may have to enter into negotiations with them, the at-fault party and their legal representatives, failing which you can file a personal injury suit in court and take the case to trial.
Role of Experts
The expert witness is someone with specialized knowledge, training, skill and experience related to some element in the case. This expertise is required to establish certain facts, give the judge/jurors/mediators/at-fault party/insurers a clearer understanding that will help them form a judgment. Experts are usually called in when there are technical aspects to be explained.
Typically, the expert may be :
- A medical doctor who testifies about injuries and their impact on your life, the pain and suffering you’re likely to suffer, and also the diagnosis, treatment, medication, therapies and rehabilitation required.
- A mental health expert who provides information about mental, psychological and emotional conditions
- Forensic accountants who can analyze the financial impact of injury, disability or death
In general, the expert is selected based on the type of information required to be provided to establish injury, cause of the accident, impact of the injury and the short/long-term financial requirements.
In slip and fall accidents, experts may be called to establish the dangerous condition of the terrain/surface/floor that resulted in the accident. They can also testify about the suitability of that particular type of flooring for that purpose, analyze the cleaning products/polish used to determine whether they cause undue slipperiness, establish the friction co-efficient, whether anti-skid flooring was used in high-traffic areas etc.
An experienced Thunder Bay personal injury lawyer can help you put together a robust claim with the help of expert witnesses.
