A Home Accident Lawyer, when it comes to injuries, generally has experience in “premises” cases. Premises cases are case which happen on a property. In these cases, it is often the property owner that is responsible for these cases. That means that it is the property owner’s insurance which would pay for any recovery. It is also possible that the property owner may have hired an outside contractor. If this contractor was responsible to maintain the hazard which caused the fall, they may also be responsible. In the rest of this article, we discuss the most likely scenarios in which you may need a home accident lawyer.
Slip/Trip and Fall
The most common type of accident to occur at a home is a slip or trip and fall. Any Home Accident Lawyer must be fully aware of the specific laws which apply to these kind of cases. The first thing that you need in these cases is something that causes the person to fall. Usually, this is ice, a defective step, or a spill. While falls can obviously be caused by other things, these are the most common. The first thing that a Home Accident Lawyer must prove is that the hazard which caused you to fall is unreasonably dangerous. What does that mean? It means that whatever caused you to fall, it must be considered a hazard under the law. That means, for the most part, that the defect cannot be too small or trivial.
After proving the defect was a hazard, your Home Accident Lawyer must show that the defendant had notice of the defect. This means that they defendant, which is usually the home owner, either knew, or should have known about the defect. This is called the notice requirement. The notice requirement is also met if your Home Accident Lawyer can show that the defendant created the condition. Only after proving that there was an unreasonably dangerous defect, and that the owner knew, or should have known about the defect, can you recover in a slip or trip and fall case against a home owner.
Can a Home Accident Lawyer Recover for You if You Rent?
Yes. If you are renting a property, you can still recover against the owner. Generally, the same things that we spoke about above must be proven. If you are renting a property, it is important to notify your landlord about any problems with the property. You must do this prior to the accident.
By alerting the landlord to a potential problem before the accident, you have given that landlord notice. As we previously said, notice is one of the major hurdles to clear in achieving a recovery.
Can You Recover if You Hurt Yourself at Your Home?
For the most part, you cannot recover against your own insurance company. It is possible that if you have contracting work done at the property and the contractor creates a hazard which causes your accident, you can recovery. However, even in these cases you still have responsibility as a property owner.
What Other Instances Can a Home Accident Lawyer Help Me with?
In addition to slip and falls, a Home Accident Lawyer can help you with a number of other kinds of cases. For instances, if you were bit by a dog, a Home Accident Lawyer would be the person to help you with that. In these cases, they must prove that the dog had a prior vicious propensity before it bit you. This does not mean that it bit somebody before you. It simply means that it showed particular signs of aggression. In addition to dog bites, a Home Accident Lawyer may help you with cases involving a variety of things from explosions to busted pipes which caused injuries. To be safe, if you have been injured at home you should contact a Home Accident Lawyer right away.
