Silver Spring Slip and Fall Attorney
Contact Us Today For A Free ConsultationThe Code of Maryland is the governing law regarding injuries sustained when someone slips and falls on another person’s property in Silver Spring and the rest of Montgomery County. Covered under tort law in the state, Maryland is one of only four states that still uphold a contributory negligence standard. This long-standing state law was upheld by the Maryland Court of Appeals in July 2013. An experienced Silver Spring slip and fall lawyer can advise you if your case meets all of the elements necessary to recover damages if you have sustained a personal injury after slipping and falling on someone else’s property.
Benefits of Legal Representation
There are no guaranteed outcomes in any legal dispute. However, when an injured party enters into the claims process with a seasoned legal advocate by his or her side, there are certain comforts and advantages. The Silver Spring slip and fall lawyers at our firm have a great deal of experience working with injured clients who need fair compensation in order to move on from the wrongful injury that changed their life. We are dedicated to giving our clients the best possible experience by helping to deal with insurance companies, negotiating a fair claim, and even taking your case before a civil court of law, if necessary. We are so dedicated to getting positive results, in fact, that we work on a contingency-fee basis–meaning that we don’t get paid until our clients receive a settlement.
Contributory Negligence in Silver Spring
In states with contributory negligence statutes, a plaintiff may not recover damages in a personal injury lawsuit if a jury finds they contributed to those injuries, even if the contribution was small. For example, if a person slips and falls on a substance spilled on a stairwell, incurring injury, a jury could decide that since the injured party failed to avoid stepping in the substance, he was somewhat at fault for the fall. Under Maryland law, they may not be eligible for damages.
In every slip and fall case, the plaintiff must prove negligence on the part of the defendant. Negligence means that the person being sued entered into conduct, by either act or failure to act, that fell below a standard of reasonable care, and by so doing failed to protect others and/or caused them harm. It does not require an intention to harm others, but does require that their actions led to another person’s injury. In addition, the Reasonable Person Standard says that both parties must act in a manner that any reasonable person would act. When the actions of the injured party are not that of a reasonable person, or if the cause of the slip and fall was due to actions unlike a reasonable person, a claim may be warranted.
Being familiar with contributory negligence is just one of the ways that a Silver Spring slip and fall attorney can help with your claim.
Elements of MD Slip and Fall Claims
In order to recover based on negligence under Maryland law, a party must prove four elements. These elements include:
Duty
There is an obligation, or duty, to act according to the reasonable person standard. For example, a store owner has a duty to place “wet floor” signs in a location that has just been mopped.
Breach
The obligation to act reasonably must be breached. In other words, the party who injured the victim must have failed to do something or done something a reasonable person would not have done. In the previous example, a store owner who neglected to place a “wet floor” sign warning customers of the danger would have breached the duty
Causation
The breach of duty and resulting injury must have a causal connection. For example, had the warning sign been in place, the injured person would have avoided the wet area and not fallen.
Damages
“Almost” being hurt is not enough to recover based on negligence under Maryland law. There must be an injury or damages that can be documented, such as medical bills, property damage, lost wages or other documentable losses.
Call a Silver Spring Slip and Fall Attorney
Slip and fall injuries can cause significant pain, suffering and loss of mobility. However, the laws in Maryland related to personal injury can be complicated and often favor the defendant in the case. For this reason, it is critical to contact an experienced Silver Spring slip and fall lawyer in order to learn what rights you have under the statute. Contact us today for a free initial consultation.