Slip and Fall Accidents
Slip and fall accidents can happen when the owner of property fails to resolve dangerous conditions on the premises. Ice, snow, liquids, debris, uneven surfaces, slopes, and other safety issues make the area hazardous for anyone in the area. When a slip and fall accident leads to a brain injury, the impact on the victim is life-changing.
Pennsylvania law allows compensation for your medical treatment and lost wages, as well as the pain and suffering you endure. The attorneys at Cohen, Placitella, & Roth, P.C. have represented many clients in slip and fall incidents to ensure that brain injury victims fully recover for their economic and non-economic damages.
Damages in a Slip and Fall Case
When you are hurt in a slip and fall accident that wasn’t your fault, you can recover damages to compensate you for your losses. There are two main categories that apply when the incident leads to brain injury:
- Economic Damages: These types of losses are quantifiable through documents or other evidence. Medical expenses are in this category because you can ascertain their value through bills. Lost wages are also economic damages because it’s possible to determine them from your salary history.
- Non-Economic Damages: When it isn’t possible to put a dollar value on the intangible losses you sustain, they are considered non-economic. With a brain injury, you’ve suffered extreme pain initially and discomfort afterwards, which can range from mild to severe. Your rehabilitation may also be agonizing, if you do fully recover. Where your brain injury from a slip and fall is serious, you may never return to the lifestyle you once enjoyed. Pain and suffering falls into the category of non-economic damages because it’s difficult for another person to step into your shoes and determine what you feel.
Proving Pain and Suffering in a Pennsylvania Slip and Fall Case
There is no written formula for determining the level of pain and suffering in a slip and fall incident. However, documents and testimony can be used to prove a claim:
- A medical expert can offer a written or in-court opinion of the pain you felt based upon the diagnoses and treatments you received. He or she would review your medical records, from the moment of the slip and fall, through to your recovery and future experience.
- Your medical records would also include the history of medications prescribed to help you cope with your physical pain or for treatment of emotional stress. The type and dosage of medications can be introduced to demonstrate pain and suffering.
- Your own testimony regarding your experiences with a brain injury is powerful evidence of pain and suffering.
Talk to a Lawyer with Experience in Slip and Fall Accidents
Proving damages in a slip and fall case can be complex when you must establish both the economic and non-economic losses you sustain from a brain injury. Pain and suffering can be especially difficult due to the types of proof you need to establish something that another person cannot feel. If you have suffered a brain injury in a slip and fall incident, please contact Cohen, Placitella, & Roth, P.C. Attorneys at Law at (888) 475-9353. Our attorneys have helped many clients prove pain and suffering, and other non-economic damages, in brain injury cases. We can answer your questions or set up a consultation at our Philadelphia office to discuss your options.
