A jury has awarded a former Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad conductor $1.6 million after he slipped and injured his back at a rail yard in Whitefish.
The jury determined Thursday night after a four-day trial that BNSF was 85 percent to blame for the early 2006 accident while conductor Patrick Cheff was 15 percent to blame.
Montana Injury Attorney Terry Trieweiler said that his client was injured because he slipped and fell while entering a locker room.
“Slip and fall” is a generic term for an injury that occurs when someone slips, trips or falls as a result of a dangerous or hazardous condition on someone else’s property and may include falls as a result of water, ice or snow, as well as abrupt changes in flooring, poor lighting, or a hidden hazard (such as a gap or hard to see hole in the ground). The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control estimates that in 2004 more than 8 million people were injured in falls.
If you are on someone else’s property and are injured as a result of a dangerous condition on the property, the landowner or business proprietor may be liable for your injuries. If you are a property owner and someone injures himself on your land, you may find yourself legally responsible for his or her injuries. Either way, you should seek the advice of an experienced personal injury lawyer right away. While there is no precise way to determine when someone else is legally responsible for your fall, important factors include how much care everyone involved was taking.
Injuries from slip-and-fall accidents can range in severity. A victim may sustain bruises, broken bones, or scrapes that require minimal medical treatment and heal relatively quickly. Other victims suffer a catastrophic injury such as a brain or spinal cord injury that causes lifelong damage and requires ongoing medical care. In the worst care scenario, the victim dies because of the injuries. If this is the case, and the accident occurred because of the property owner’s negligence, then the death is considered a wrongful death. If you have been the victim of a slip and fall because of someone else’s negligence, you may be able to recover medical bills, wage loss, pain and suffering, potential future medical expenses, and lost earning potential.
If you have further questions, a Montana Injury Lawyer can give you specific information and advice about your particular situation. Please contact one as soon as possible if you believe you have a “slip and fall” claim.
Businesses, homeowners, and landlords have a responsibility to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition for guests. When someone is injured or dies due to dangerous property conditions, the most important issue is what the owner did to protect his guests from harm. The owner of the property may be responsible if you can prove that the owner’s negligence led to the injury or death. If you’ve suffered an injury of this type, and you believe it is the result of someone else’s negligence, you may be able to file a lawsuit to recover the costs involved to pay for your medical bills, expenses (such as lost wages and earnings), and for emotional distress or permanent physical disability you may have suffered.
Examples of Defective Property: This list doesn’t cover every possible defect, but gives an idea of some of the more common cases.
- Slip and fall accidents
- Dog bites or mauling
- Unlocked or unsupervised swimming pools – drowning
- Improper and inadequate lighting
- Improper or inadequate security in areas that have a history or crime and assaults
- Sexual assaults
- Assault and battery
- Broken sidewalks, stairs, steps and dangerous stairwells that cause trip and fall accidents
- Missing stair rails or uneven steps
- Unfilled holes
- Falling merchandise in stores
- Fires and explosions
- Wet and slippery floors that cause slip and fall injuries
- Pavement cracks and breaks
- Malfunctioning elevators and escalators
- Failure to warn of a hazardous or dangerous property condition
- Attractive nuisances that injure children
- Exposure to hazardous materials on the property
If you believe you’ve been injured because a property owner failed to properly maintain his premises, you should contact an attorney immediately. Time limits may apply to how long you have to file your claim, so the sooner you do so the better.
