Today, the issue presented is a fact specific scenario from the accident lawyer from Boca Raton (injury lawyer Kendall, Florida, accident attorney Hialeah, injury attorney Wellington). As also mentioned below, this is a Florida law blog and every case is different and must be judged on the facts presented.
In a premises liability case, negligence must be proven against the land owner or occupier. In the facts here, if there is a leaky ceiling dripping from the rain, this would be pretty strong liability against the land owner or occupier. Turning to the next two elements of a claim, damages and causation, if the ACL or anterior cruciate ligament in the knee is fully torn, this commonly can require surgery, although if it is partially torn, then it may not require surgery. In either scenario, an injury like this would generally involve pain and if surgery involved, the medical bills could be substantial. The element of causation would need to be proven but if the person has no history of knee problems and if the knee was in fact torn in the fall, then the causation element of the case would be proven. Thus, in the opinion of the blog author the facts presented here would likely be a case, although again this is fact specific and no information on a defense is presented in the facts.
In terms of what the worth of the case would be there are a few issues. Depending on whether there is surgery or not would make a big difference in the case. If the person has health insurance to get the bills discounted, for example, also would play a big part. The age of the injured person and how long they would live with the injury is a factor. And the person’s subjective pain and suffering would be another issue to be considered. There are many other issues but these are just some. The point is that the worth of the case will vary on these issues.
Also, if most fall cases, there will be an issue of comparative fault. This is where the defense, in a case like this, argues, that the injured person should have seen the hazardous condition and thus bears some responsibility. If a jury finds comparative fault, they must assign a percentage of fault. So if they would find 50 percent fault, for example, then the damages gets reduced in half; if they find 20 percent fault, the damages gets reduced by 20 percent; and so forth.
If you have been in an accident, please call Drucker Law Offices at 561-483-9199 (Boca Raton Main office) or 954-755-2120 (Coral Springs satellite office) or 305-981-1561 (Miami satellite office) for a free consultation. We only charge fees and costs if we recover money for you.
Of course, a case based on a fact pattern such as the one above is unique and any other case should be judged based on the specific facts of the case. The advice in this blog is intended to be general and should not to be used as specific advice for a case, as the slightest difference in the facts could change the result. Also, this blog is, as the web site name suggests, based on Florida law and the laws of any other state could vary significantly from Florida.
