Slip and fall accidents can lead to ruptured muscles, broken bones, and head injuries, causing pain, medical expenses, loss of income, falling behind in school, and poor life quality. While severe accidents can even result in traumatic brain injuries and, sometimes, death, even considerably milder slip and fall accidents can result in long-term cognitive and motor skills regression, memory loss, visual impairment, hearing impairment, sleep issues, dizziness, and headaches.
If you or a loved one have suffered from a slip and fall accident in Nevada, you can file a case against the party responsible for the damages. Let’s look at one of Nevada’s well-known slip and fall case examples to understand how the law works.
Slip and Fall Case Example in Nevada
The Cause of the Accident
In 2016, a woman filed a case against a store owned by a renowned national store chain after experiencing a slip and fall accident during shopping. The customer fell into the store’s garden department while looking at plants for purchase. The customer filed the complaint for suffering from minor physical injuries and permanently losing her senses of taste and smell due to the fall.
The Statements
The company defended itself by mentioning the caution cone at the sight of spillage. However, the cone was placed next to a tall planter, which made it invisible to the eyes of a customer casually browsing through the store. Incorrect testimony of a witness presented by the defendants also played a part in emphasizing the complainant’s statement.
She also insisted that the company could have done more to protect its customers, such as wiping or drying the spilled water, stationing a worker at the site, or placing the cone in the center of the aisle. In response, the defendants presented the statistics of slip and fall accidents of customers in the store, stating that the incident stood a one in a million chance, meaning that the store took excellent steps in ensuring the safety of everyone who entered it. While this response was proven false by the complainant’s attorney, the complainant was still found partially responsible for not being negligent of her surroundings.
The Outcome
Nevada’s comparative negligence rule determines the percentage negligence of the complainant and the defendant to settle a compensation amount. In this slip and fall case example in Nevada, the complainant was found twenty percent negligent, which reduced the verdict award compensation to over 13 million, making it $16.4 million.
How to File a Strong Case of Slip and Fall Accident in Nevada?
Understanding the comparative negligence rule is essential to determine how you can be found partially responsible for your accident. On the other hand, you may also be found solely responsible for the accident if you fell while being distracted by something such as your smartphone, deliberately ignoring the warning sign or cone, or in a part of a property where you, as a visitor or customer, weren’t allowed or expected to be, you may be found responsible for the fall.
However, a slip and fall attorney in Nevada can greatly help determine other causes of slip and fall accidents, such as property damage or insufficient guidance. It is also important to contact a slip and fall attorney in Nevada as soon after the accident as possible due to the Statue of Limitations act. Keeping a record of medical expenses, income loss, and other losses from the slip and fall accident is especially important to build a strong case.
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