Premises Liability

On behalf of Aiken and Aiken P.C. Personal Injury Attorneys posted in Premises Liability, on Wednesday, March 1, 2023

In Massachusetts, people sometimes slip and fall because of unexpected hazards. These type of accidents can occur when a property owner has failed to provide safe and adequate premises such as cleared pathways, dry and well-maintained steps/stairs and grounds free from water, ice or even spilled food. Other falls may result from a torn carpet or uneven pavement. And yet others could be from unsafe and faulty tools (i.e. ladders, blades) or machinery and appliances (lawnmowers, snowblowers, gardening items). Whatever may have happened, if you have slipped and fallen on the premises of another person or business, you may have the grounds to make a legal claim for damages. Slip-and-fall injuries are sometimes severe. People may suffer from broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, back problems and joint issues. Your fall may leave you with mounting medical bills while you are also dealing with disability and a loss of income.

Claims are often seen against supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, apartment buildings or other commercial property owners, as well as claims against a municipality or homeowner. It’s best to consult a personal injury attorney if you’ve been injured in a slip-and-fall and realize there are statutes of limitations in Massachusetts governing slip-and-fall cases:

• Spilled liquid, squished food or freshly mopped floors
• Torn carpet, boxes or other tripping hazard
• Broken steps, loose handrails or stairway defects
• Faulty equipment, tools, machinery, appliances
• Snow or ice not removed or treated in timely fashion
• A parking lot accident or other unsafe property condition

$500,000 Foot Injury Settlement

A 63-year-old man who was providing gratuitous work to his family at a home that they owned. He was working atop a ladder that had been provided by one of the homeowners when it swayed and he fell, causing a significant fracture to his heel and foot, requiring multiple surgeries. The ladder was defective and in a dangerous condition when provided to him, in that it was missing one of the 2 rubber feet at the bottom, making it subtly uneven, a condition which was not noticeable upon ordinary reasonable observation. He suffered from a post surgical infection which caused significant complications and a very unsightly skin graft. The case was settled for the policy limit of the homeowner for $500,000.

$400,000 Neck Injury Settlement

A 45-year-old woman slipped and fell on a patch of ice in front of a CVS in Falmouth, on Cape Cod. She suffered serious neck injury requiring two surgeries. Despite the defendants claiming the parking lot was plowed and sanded properly, a settlement for our plaintiff settled for $400,000.00.

In order to prove your premise liability case in a civil lawsuit, you will need to establish the owner’s negligence. Their negligence may have involved ignoring a hazard that they should have known about, failing to properly maintain the property, not warning others about the presence of hazards or failing to inspect a property. The attorneys at the Law Offices of Aiken & Aiken, P.C. treat each client individually because no two cases are alike. We thoroughly investigate each case in order to determine and establish liability. From there, we work hard to help our clients recover damages so that they can recoup money for the losses that they have suffered. Our lawyers understand how severely people can be injured when they slip, trip and fall. If you have slipped or tripped and fallen due to the presence of a hazard on a business or residential property, you may want to review our slip-and-fall accident page for more information.