If you have been injured in a slip-and-fall accident due to a property owner’s negligence, you may be entitled to significant compensation for your incurred damages. However, before you can collect compensation, you must satisfy the burden of proof, meaning you must show that the property owner’s negligence directly caused your injuries. This can be challenging as you must provide the court with extensive evidence that the property knew of a safety hazard and did nothing to remedy the issue, resulting in your injuries. Please continue reading to learn how you can prove a property owner was aware of a dangerous property condition and how an experienced Washington D.C. Slip & Fall Lawyer can help you attain the maximum compensation you are entitled to.
Do injury victims have to fulfill the burden of proof in a premise liability case?
In the District of Columbia, despite having the right to pursue legal action, if you are injured in a slip-and-fall accident due to a property owner’s negligence, you will be burned with having to satisfy the burden of proof. Essentially, you must prove that the property owner failed to uphold their legal duty to maintain a safe environment, resulting in your injuries. To maximize your chances of recovering monetary compensation for your economic and non-economic damages, you must prove that the property owner’s negligence directly caused your injuries. This can be accomplished by establishing that they were responsible for maintaining the premises, meaning they knew or should have reasonably known about an unsafe property condition and failed to fix it in a reasonable timeframe or provide adequate caution to visitors of the hazardous situation. Ultimately, you must demonstrate to the court that you would not have suffered your injuries if the property owner complied with their legal responsibility to maintain a safe environment for everyone and anyone who enters their premises.
What evidence can help me prove an owner was aware of a dangerous property condition?
Unfortunately, although a negligent property owner can be held liable for their careless actions, proving they knew or should have reasonably known about a safety hazard on their premises and failed to take the appropriate steps to remedy the situation is often a challenging component of pursuing a premises liability case. However, working with a qualified lawyer can maximize your chances of gathering enough evidence to prove your case. Proving a property owner aware of a safety hazard can be established through the legal time requirements to discover and correct a dangerous condition.
Property owners in the District of Columbia are given a reasonable time frame to detect safety hazards that could pose a threat and enough time to remedy the issue. As such, your lawyer can assist you in obtaining surveillance footage that shows the property owner allowed the dangerous condition to exist for a substantial amount of time before the injury occurred. In addition, your lawyer can assist you in tracking down employees or other customers who may have reported the hazard to the owner before the accident, which can help you establish their negligence.
If you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, contact a determined Washington, D.C. slip & fall lawyer from Trombly & Singer, PLLC, who will work hard to help you get the compensation you need to move forward with your life.
