Slipping and falling can be particularly serious for your senior parent. The consequences can be broken bones, difficulty walking or even surprising complications like pneumonia.
Such accidents may occur on someone else’s property due to negligence. In that case, your family should understand when your parent can take legal action and against whom.
Conditions for legal action
For your parent to pursue compensation, there must have been a hazardous condition on the property where the accident happened. This could include torn carpets, wet floors or broken furniture that posed an unnecessary risk.
Additionally, whoever was responsible for the property must have known about the dangerous condition but done nothing about it. If they did not take steps to fix the issue or warn visitors, they could be accountable.
Still, there are cases when the owner, manager or tenant may not have known about the issue and is still liable. This occurs when such parties should have known about it if they had been reasonably attentive. Such dereliction can also incur liability.
Finally, your parent must have suffered a serious injury due to the fall. Arizona’s premises liability cases will not address minor bumps and bruises. However, anything that will require long-term care or intensive treatment often merits a personal injury claim. While it is true you have four years to file a claim, you will want to gather sufficient evidence before it disappears or degrades.
Potentially liable parties for your mom’s or dad’s fall
The location of the fall will determine if someone is liable and who that party is. For example, the incident may have occurred in a nursing home, residential care facility or assisted living facility. These places have a duty to provide a safe environment for residents. Therefore, the management of an establishment could be responsible.
Likewise, restaurants, stores, office buildings and doctor’s offices are other locations where your parent might slip and fall. If the incident was because of negligence, the owner or business operator will likely be accountable. However, companies may operate using different entities. You have to be sure to take action against the correct organization to file a successful claim.
Additionally, your parent might have fallen on someone else’s private property. If the reason was unsafe conditions, such as poorly maintained walkways or lack of proper lighting, the homeowner, renter or landlord could be accountable. Again, this can be tricky to determine. Due diligence is necessary to pursue justice from the correct party for damages.
The aftermath of a fall can compromise your parent’s already fragile health. Therefore, your family should consider how to seek compensation for an avoidable accident that was due to someone’s carelessness.
