If you suffer a personal injury because a homeowner, tenant, or business establishment fails to make their property safe for your presence or use, you may have a right to bring a premises liability lawsuit in order to receive compensation for your injury. There are three basic categories of premises liability damages that you might recover.

Expenses

If you can prove that the landowner or controller of the land where you were injured failed to take proper action to protect you from injury, you can recover the amount of expenses you had or can expect to have relating to your injury. This could include the cost of an ambulance and paramedics, medical expenses, transportation costs, and expenses for hiring someone to perform your necessary chores. For example, if you are the homemaker of the family and usually do the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and childcare, but aren’t able to do those things for several months because of your injury, you can recover the cost of hiring someone to provide those services to your family. If you usually do the gardening on weekends and need to hire someone to do that work for a while because of your injury, that would also be a legitimate expense.

If you are seriously or permanently injured, you may have additional expenses. You might need to hire someone to provide daily care for you, either in the short or long term. For example, if you suffer a spinal cord injury as the result of a swimming pool diving accident, you may need special equipment, like a chair, and renovations to your home, as well as a permanent caregiver. All of these expenses are related to your injury.

Lost Wages

If you win a premises liability lawsuit, you are also entitled to recover wages you lost as a result of your injury, and future wages you won’t be able to earn. These lost wages could be from either outside employment or self-employment, and will be based on your earning history. Calculation of these damages can be complicated and often require expert testimony to determine the amount.

Pain and Suffering

Pain for an injury is usually classified as severe, moderate, slight/minimal, as well as classified as periodic or chronic. Of course, severe chronic pain brings in the highest damages, but any form of pain expected to last long into the future can significantly increase a damage award.

Suffering isn't limited to physical pain, but includes emotional pain as well. For example, if you become depressed because of your injuries or because of the way the injuries affect your life or your relationships, you are entitled to collect damages for that pain as well.

If you were injured due to a dangerous condition on someone else’s property, contact an experienced Alabama premises liability lawyer or slip and fall attorney right away. A qualified premises liability lawyer can provide expert advice on your rights and the merits of your case, as well as how much time you have to file your premises liability lawsuit. If you would like to have your case evaluated by an experienced Alabama premises liability attorney, fill out our case evaluation form at no cost or obligation.

Check out the following articles for more information about Alabama premises liability, filing an Alabama premises liability lawsuit and finding an Alabama premises liability attorney.

For more information about Alabama premises liability claims, see Free Advice's Alabama Slip and Fall Premises Liability Claims FAQs.