AI Fame Rush
Law

Can A Slip/Fall Be Deemed A Car Accident?

×

Can A Slip/Fall Be Deemed A Car Accident?

Share this article
pexels photo 1230677

At some point in life, everyone will go through a slip or a fall, and in many cases, don’t think anything of it. Looking at a slip and a fall from a legal approach is a completely different story and requires a lot of experience to navigate. That’s one of the main reasons why people will get a personal injury lawyer in North York. There are many legal implications surrounding a slip and fall injury, and it always helps if you have a lawyer on your side to guide you through the process.

Some of the issues surrounding slip and fall injuries are:

  • Liability
  • Property ownership
  • Damage

If someone is the victim of a car accident, they are entitled to go to their insurance company to make an accident benefits claim if they desire. When you go to your insurance company for accident benefits, these are different from a claim that you’ll make for pain and suffering damages from the driver that was responsible for the accident. A victim of a severe car accident will undergo:

  • Increased medical costs
  • Costs for therapy
  • Rehab costs 
  • Costs for an attendant

These costs can add up quite quickly, and that’s why people will get a personal injury lawyer in North York to guide them through it. Benefits you get from an accident can also cover income loss when you aren’t able to go to work anymore due to the injury. Income loss replacement typically covers up to a certain amount. There is also something called a non-earner benefit that victims can potentially be entitled to.

Many of the accident benefits aren’t provided to people that are dealing with other types of personal injury cases. In other personal injury cases, the injured person will have to take responsibility for paying for their own rehab costs themselves.

There are certain slip and fall cases that are more unordinary and turn into a car accident claim. In most cases, your vehicle insurance provider won’t want you to be aware of this because then they’re responsible for covering benefits that they might not want to cover. A lot of the time, vehicle insurance providers won’t market their coverage of slip and fall claims. That’s why it helps to get a personal injury lawyer in North York. Personal injury lawyers are skilled at recognizing what a victim is and isn’t entitled to and then approaching the insurance provider regarding it.

Sometimes people even contact a claim hotline to make a report regarding their slip and fall, and the person answering the phone might even refuse to discuss the claim further. A personal injury lawyer will know exactly how to approach a situation like this, and it always helps to have one on your side.

A slip and fall can become much more than just that, which will provide the victim access to benefits, but there is a certain way to go about approaching the situation. Vehicle insurers don’t want you to know that you’re eligible for benefits if your slip and fall resulted from someone else’s negligence while at the wheel. The benefits you’re entitled to will be covered under your insurance policy. Because of this, it means you’ll have access to additional funds that will cover many different things. If the claim you’re making is under the catastrophic category, you could be eligible for up to nearly 2 million dollars.

There are many different ways to look at the operation of a motor vehicle, and the vehicle insurer will look deeply into the case. Here are a couple of different examples:

  • A claimant slips on the ice while trying to access their vehicle
  • A claimant slips while trying to access their vehicle while holding their keys
  • A claimant falls over while pumping their gas
  • A claimant slips on the ground as they are shoveling snow from their vehicle
  • A claimant falls after taking a couple of steps from their vehicle
  • A claimant falls over while trying to hook up a tow cable to the vehicle
  • A claimant slips while trying to hook a boat to their vehicle
  • A claimant falls while attempting to put groceries in their vehicle

In the above scenarios, a claimant is able to sue for negligence if there was something on the property that initiated the slip or fall. Things that might initiate the slip or fall could be the city’s failure to ice the public parking lot or failure to clear the snow in the parking lot. Because these types of accidents are related to operating a vehicle, a claimant can also make a claim for accidental benefits with their insurer.

The majority of people aren’t aware they are entitled to benefits like this, and that’s probably because insurance agencies don’t openly advertise it. These benefits can be extremely handy for people going through a slip and fall type of injury. Income replacement takes a huge burden off the shoulders of a claimant because then they can focus on rehabilitating from their personal injury adequately. 

For people that require attendant care, the insurer will be responsible for that. If you require an ambulance at the scene, the accident benefits insurer will have to cover it.

The more that people are aware of these types of benefits, the easier their time will be in rehabilitation. No one wants to have to struggle with working after they have just undergone a serious slip or fall. It’s helpful to know that your premiums usually won’t be increased if you’ve undergone a personal injury. That’s because you weren’t driving when the slip or fall occurred. The case would be a non-moving claim where the fault had nothing to do with you. 

Sometimes a vehicle insurer will give you a hard time trying to access benefits surrounding these cases, and that’s why you need a personal injury lawyer on your side. The more you know what you’re eligible for, the better your chances will be of accessing benefits that you never thought even existed. 

Getting a personal injury lawyer at GSK Law is one of the best things you can do if you’ve recently slipped or fallen unexpectedly. Through your initial consultation, you’ll be made aware if you have a valid case within minutes of speaking to a lawyer.