If your loved one died in a slip and fall accident that was caused by a property owner’s negligence, you might have grounds for a wrongful death claim. We strongly recommend that you consult with an experienced Los Angeles slip and fall lawyer as soon as possible.
Wrongful death lawsuits aim to provide financial compensation for the economic and non-economic losses incurred by family members. However, because someone died in a slip and fall accident–does not necessarily mean that the property owner is liable.
What do I Need to Prove in a Wrongful Death Claim?
To establish that the property owner was liable for your loved one’s death, you have to prove the following:
- The property owner owed a duty of care to the victim.
- The property owner breached that duty of care.
- The victim slipped and fell as a result of that breach.
- That accident is what caused the victim’s death.
Was a Duty of Care Owed to Your Loved One?
Whether or not the property owner owed a duty of care to the victim, hinges on whether or not your loved one was trespassing. If so, they are not responsible. At Salamati Law, we will be able to examine your case to determine this. Two examples here can illustrate this legal concept.
A homeowner has a swimming pool. An adult sneaks onto the property, slips, and falls on the side of the pool. In this instance, the property owner would not owe that victim a duty of care because they were trespassing. Similarly, at a grocery store, an individual enters a door in the back– marked as prohibited to customers– and slips and falls once inside. The property owner would not owe that trespasser a duty of care either.
How Do You Know if the Duty of Care was Breached?
To prove that the property owner breached the duty of care, your wrongful death lawyer must show that there was a dangerous condition that the property owner either knew about or should have known. However, they failed to take action to make it safe. For example, in a case of a large spill at a grocery store, the property owner or manager could clean it or block off the area. If they do not take any of these precautionary measures, then they could be held liable for a slip and fall accident.
Is it Easy to Prove What Caused Our Loved One to Slip?
In many cases, satisfying the third element will not be overly challenging once you have established that a dangerous condition existed, and that the victim slipped and fell in that area. However, there may be cases where it could be argued that the victim’s age, their disabilities, or even their clothing or footwear could have caused the fall.
Proving That This Accident is What Killed the Victim
Proving that the slip and fall accident caused your loved one to die can be relatively easy in cases where they died almost immediately. The longer the period between the accident and the victim’s death, though, the more the defendant will likely argue that another factor, such as a doctor’s error, is what caused the death.
Hiring the Right Attorney Can Make All the Difference
An experienced slip and fall attorney must have a thorough understanding of premises liability, and handled many similar accidents. Hiring the right attorney will enable you to lean on your counsel to advise you as to whether or not you have grounds for a wrongful death claim.
Contact Us For a Free Consultation
At Salamati Law, we have been guiding Southern Californians through cases like these since 1995. We provide results-oriented representation, and we are 100 percent committed to ensuring that our clients achieve a successful outcome.
If you tragically lost a loved one in a slip and fall accident, contact us at Salamati Law to schedule a free case review. We will not bill you for anything unless you prevail.
