Call Us: Are Slip And Fall Accidents Covered By Home Insurance?
It could get a bit tricky when you’re involved in a slip and fall accident on someone else’s property, especially if the other property owner has homeowners’ insurance.
What is a slip and fall accident? A slip and fall accident occurs when one slips on a wet or slippery floor surface and sustains injuries from the fall. This is different from a trip and fall accident, because the trip and fall accident involves an object on the floor where the victim was walking. Both result in extensive damages and injuries.
Is a slip-and-fall injury covered by homeowners insurance? Sometimes, homeowners insurance coverage covers slip and fall and trip and fall accidents that may occur on the property. We recommend that to determine if your slip and fall accident is covered by the homeowners insurance policy, you should find out whether the property owner has home insurance. Once you determine if the property owner has home insurance, you will then be able to get more of an idea on the coverage, and whether it is a policy that includes slip and fall accidents. If the homeowner does have homeowners insurance, you could file a claim with their insurance policy for a slip and fall accident. Filing a claim with an insurance company will allow you to recover compensation for the injuries that you have suffered. This is done under an insurance claim, and should not be thought of as a lawsuit. A lawsuit takes place in courts, whereas an insurance claim is filed with the specific insurance company online, or over the phone. For more information on filing an insurance claim, give our accident attorneys a call today to review the different steps involved with an insurance claim.
If a house has a mortgage on it, it is required to be insured under homeowners insurance in California. But, some homeowners may not have homeowners insurance, or may have not renewed their homeowner’s insurance and may falsely think the home is insured. There may be several reasons why homeowners may not have homeowners insurance.
What must I prove to file a slip and fall claim with homeowners insurance?
A slip-and-fall case holds the landowner or homeowner responsible for the injuries suffered. This falls under a type of case called premise liability. Premises liability requires every homeowner to act in a reasonably safe manner to prevent any accidents on their property. When an accident does occur on someone else’s property, the victim must have to show:
- They were lawfully on the property. If the victim was trespassing on the property at the time of the slip and fall accident, they will not be able to recover compensation, especially because they were illegally on the property and should not have been there in the first place.
- The property owner had a duty to prevent any accidents on the property.
- The property owner failed to follow that duty and failed to repair or fix any dangerous conditions on their property.
- A reasonable property owner would have repaired or fixed that area of the property, but this homeowner failed to do so.
- Because the homeowner failed to repair or fix the property, you now have suffered extensive damages that should be compensated.
In order for a homeowner to be held responsible for a slip and fall accident, the above elements must be met with extensive amounts of evidence. When filing a claim with the insurance company, you must prove all these elements, and hand over all the evidence that you may have. Examples of evidence include:
- Medical records
- Photographs of the accident scene
- Video surveillance of the slip and fall accident
- Witnesses
- Police reports
- Any accident reports that were generated from any party
What should I do when filing a claim with the insurance company?
As soon as you have been injured on another person’s property, you should:
- Let the property owner know immediately that you have been injured while on their property.
- Gather as much evidence as possible about the accident, such as photographs of the accident scene, and photographs of the dangerous condition. The property owner may repair this dangerous condition immediately after you have reported it, and it will be difficult to show the insurance company.
- Make sure that you attend all your medical appointments and treatments. If you fail to attend some of your treatments, the insurance company may use it to show that your injuries were not severe.
- When you file a claim with the homeowners insurance company, an insurance adjuster may try to reach out and contact you to get all of the facts and circumstances involving your case. If you have an attorney, make sure you let your accident attorney know about the need for giving a recorded statement. If you do not have an attorney, make sure that you hire one for assistance to all this insurance claims process.
What kind of injuries may result from a slip and fall accident on another person's property?
- Traumatic brain injury
- Lacerations
- Broken bones
- Bruises
- Spinal cord injury
- Back injury
- Leg injury
- Hand injury
- Fractures
Who is covered under homeowners’ insurance slip and fall accident?
There are certain parties that are not covered for slip and fall accidents under a homeowner’s insurance policy. This includes permanent members of the household. Any guests who have suffered slip-and-fall accidents have the right to file a claim with the homeowners insurance.
How to prevent a slip and fall accident on your property:
There are some steps that you can take to prevent any slip and fall accident on your property when guests are visiting. This includes:
- Make sure that all spills or cleaned up properly and the floor is completely dry prior to inviting guests over
- Make sure the all loose rugs are properly secured to the floor, and do not easily move around when walked on
- Make sure that the inside of your property, along with all areas outside of your property are properly lit to prevent any falls
Remove all objects from the floor to prevent any trip and fall accidents
Are you filing a claim with the homeowners insurance company?
Give our attorneys a call today. Get in touch with our Los Angeles top-rated slip and fall attorneys today for a free case evaluation. During this case evaluation, our highly rated attorneys will take a look at all the details involved with your slip and fall accident, and determine what the best course of action may be for your case. Each case differs from one another, even down to where the accident occurred. For example, if you have experienced a slip and fall accident on public property, it is handled differently than a slip and fall accident on someone else’s private property. That is why we recommend that you speak to us as soon as possible after being injured so we can determine what steps we should take for you personally.
We have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients who have been injured in slip and fall accidents. We know exactly how difficult it may be not only for the victim but also for the victim’s family after a slip and fall accident. The victim will have to take time off work, which puts a lot of financial pressure on the other family members. Call us today to review your rights, and how we can assert your rights to get compensation for you.