Not all slip-and-fall injuries require surgery. Many people can fully recover through physical therapy, chiropractic care, or prolonged rest. These kinds of cases are not inherently worth less, but they are handled differently by insurance companies.
Serious Injury Can Occur Without The Need For Surgery
Surgery is used as an easier way to prove injury severity to an insurance adjuster, but other injuries can be just as serious and worthy of a similar payout. Without surgery, insurance companies may argue that the injury was minor or resolved on its own. However, many injuries do not require surgery, such as a torn ligament, deep tissue bruising or bleeding, a fracture that does not require surgical readjustment, or sprains or strains that involve significant pain and long recovery periods. All of these injuries can be just as serious and life-altering as injuries requiring surgery.
Under Georgia law, you do not need to have surgery to file a claim. O.C.G.A. § 51-3-1 states that a property owner must exercise ordinary care to keep the premises safe and can be held liable for any resulting harm, regardless of what treatment path the injured person needs.
What The Insurance Companies Look At When You Are Injured
Thorough documentation is very important in a non-surgical claim. When there is no surgery, adjusters look at the other evidence, which may include:
- Imaging. This includes MRIs, X-rays, and CT scans.
- Physical therapy/Chiropractic records. These are detailed notes on pain and range of motion you’re experiencing.
- Impact on daily life and work. Your missed shifts, restricted duties, and documented limitations.
- Doctor’s opinions. A doctor’s opinion on whether the injury caused lasting or permanent effects.
- Treatment schedule. If there are any gaps in care, they are often used to argue the injury was not serious.
Proving Property Owner Knowledge Of Hazards
A slip-and-fall claim under Georgia premises liability law requires the injured party to prove that the property owner knew or should have known (with reasonable care) about the hazard and failed to fix it or warn about it. This is typically the most contested part of a slip-and-fall claim and remains the same with or without surgery.
There are different forms of knowledge involved that can affect your claim: actual versus constructive. Actual knowledge means a property owner or employee directly saw or was told about a hazard, while constructive knowledge means they did not see it but should have discovered it through reasonable care.
This then leads into a couple of different rules that may determine the outcome of a case:
- Superior Knowledge Doctrine: The owner knows/should know, and the visitor did not.
- Inferior Knowledge Doctrine: The owner could not have known about the hazard.
- A spill that happened only seconds prior.
- Open and Obvious Doctrine: Hazards are plainly visible to any reasonable person exercising ordinary care.
- A wet floor with a clear warning sign.
- The Distraction Doctrine: Exception to the open and obvious doctrine; your attention was naturally diverted by the property owner’s actions.
- A flashy sign catches your attention and distracts you from seeing an open hazard in front of you.
- Equal Knowledge Rule: Both parties know, and the hazard is open and obvious.
- You saw a wet floor, avoided it, but turned around and slipped on it.
- The Prior Traversal Rule: You have successfully walked past or over a hazard previously without any issues; you are legally presumed to have actual knowledge of its existence.
- A crack on the sidewalk leading to your apartment that you have successfully avoided months prior.
Premises liability claims are rarely black and white and cannot be determined solely by whether one party claims to have been aware of a hazard. Establishing who knew about the dangerous condition, and when, often requires a thorough examination of the facts and evidence. That is why it is important to have an experienced premises liability attorney review your claim. The attorneys at Jones & Swanson can investigate the circumstances surrounding your case, gather critical evidence, and help determine whether the responsible party had actual or constructive knowledge of the hazard.
What a Settlement Range Might Depend On For a Premises Liability Case
Every case comes with its own set of challenges, so an outcome can never be guaranteed, but these are the factors that may increase your settlement:
- Total medical expenses, including the cost of future treatment if your doctor believes ongoing care is necessary.
- Lost/reduced wages.
- Pain and suffering, based on the intensity of symptoms.
- Lasting/permanent effects of the injury.
- The strength of the evidence showing that the property owner is to blame.
Consider Jones & Swanson
At Jones & Swanson, we have over 50 years of combined legal experience handling slip-and-fall cases. We understand how difficult handling insurance claims can be, especially when you are injured, and would love to help you with your premises liability/slip-and-fall case. Contact us for a FREE consultation any day, any hour, to see if you have a case.
FAQs
What To Do After A Slip And Fall Accident?
After a slip-and-fall accident, your priority is your health and well-being. Some injuries, like a concussion, do not show symptoms right away, so it is imperative you seek medical care first. You should then report the fall to the property owner or a staff member who is on site and request a copy of the incident report. You, or someone who is able to assist you, should take pictures of the hazard, the surrounding area, and your visible injuries before conditions change. Collect contact information from any witnesses. Do not give a recorded statement to the property owner’s insurance company or accept a quick settlement offer before speaking with an attorney.
Under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33, Georgia gives the injured party two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit, but evidence like surveillance footage can disappear quickly, so filing a claim sooner helps secure your claim.
What Happens After I Hire A Personal Injury Lawyer?
Once you hire a personal injury lawyer, the attorney begins by sending preservation letters to the property owner or business, requiring them to retain surveillance footage, incident reports, and maintenance records that relate to the fall. Your attorney will also compile your medical records, send requests for your medical bills, and may consult with your doctors about your injury severity and your expected recovery. They will also investigate the property owner’s actual or constructive knowledge of the hazard, which is the most important step in proving liability. Once treatment is substantially complete, or a doctor has provided a prognosis, the attorney prepares a complete demand package to negotiate with the insurance company.
If the insurance company is unwilling to reach a fair settlement offer, the case may proceed to a lawsuit and go to court. However, most premises liability claims in Georgia are resolved before trial.
How Is Pain And Suffering Calculated?
Pain and suffering covers physical pain, emotional distress, and reduced quality of life caused by the injury and is separate from medical bills and lost wages. There is no fixed formula to calculate pain and suffering. Georgia does not cap non-economic damages in personal injury cases.
Attorneys and insurance adjusters commonly use the multiplier method, which totals the economic damages, including medical expenses and lost income, and multiplies that figure by a number typically between 1.5 and 5, depending on the severity of the injury. Some cases use the per diem method, which assigns a dollar value to each day the person takes to recover from the pain.
Jones & Swanson Is A Personal Injury Law Firm Located In Marietta and Cartersville, Georgia. If You or Someone You Know Has Been Injured in a Slip-And-Fall Accident, Seek Immediate Medical Assistance, Then Give Us A Call At (770) 270-3241 or contact Us On Awjlaw.com for A Free Consultation To Find Out The Next Steps You May Want To Take.
Categories: Catastrophic Injuries, FAQ, Georgia Laws, Pedestrian Accident, Personal Injury, Premises Liability, Slip and Fall
