Can I Recover if I'm Injured at a Friend's House?

Yes.  You can recover against the homeowner if his or her fault led to your injury and if the dangerous condition was known to the homeowner.  This is similar to almost any other premises liability case.

What can make the situation more difficult and challenging is if you were hurt on another person’s property and this person is a neighbor, a family member or a friend. You might not want to sue your friend.  You might feel as though you are harming them or causing their insurance rates to rise.

But, the simple truth remains the friend, family member or neighbor owns and pays for insurance to cover you.  That's exactly why the coverage exists.  And laws protect your friend from having insurance rates rise in case of a claim.

If you have a legitimate slip and fall injury however, you might still be entitled to recover compensation with the help of an experienced premises liability lawyer.

While some people are lucky enough to get out of a slip and fall accident with nothing more than an embarrassing memory, it is also entirely possible that just such an accident can change the course of your life forever. These accidents don’t just occur on the property of strangers, they are actually quite likely to happen on the property of someone else you know.

Determining what to do next can be difficult and very uncomfortable, particularly if you need to recover compensation. There is nothing stopping you from bringing a lawsuit against a homeowner in this situation if you can show that he or she knew or should have known about the dangerous condition that caused you to slip and fall.  Homeowners owe you the highest duty of care because you were invited on the property.

Several criteria must be met in order for you to successfully sue a host. The incident must have occurred on the host property, must have been the direct fault of the host, and must have led to an injury for which compensation was possible. One critical element to determine before filing your potential suit is who owns the home.  Most homeowners own property insurance to protect them in exactly this situation.

Your family member or friend might attempt to talk you out of pursuing a claim for your injuries that happened on their property.  Nobody likes to be sued and it can especially be discomfiting when made by a friend or relative.

If the injury was caused by something that your host was responsible to care for, you may have to look for that person's homeowner's or renter's insurance for compensation. If the injury was due to something that was the responsibility of the building owner or lessor, rather than the occupier, you might need to bring suit against the building's owner or lessor, too.

Determining the proper "party" to sue is an important determination that an experienced premises liability lawyer can help you with.  Additionally, the determination of "fault" should occur before you decide to bring a claim against a family member or friend. The support of an experienced attorney is instrumental in recovering compensation in these types of cases.

If homeowners were aware of a dangerous condition and you were legally on their property, but they failed to correct this dangerous condition, leaving you at risk of severe injuries associated with a trip and fall or a slip and fall accident, you may have grounds to pursue a lawsuit directly against those homeowners and their homeowners' insurance company. In all of these situations, it’s essential to gather evidence immediately.

You might be presented with an offer directly from the homeowners to settle the case outside of court, but it is a big mistake to end these cases without the support of an experienced premises liability lawyer like Attorney Jeff "JJ" Shaw who works hard on behalf of victims who have had to suffer the consequences of being hurt on another person's property to know if the offer is fair or not.  Typically, insurance companies have large reserves of money to settle a case that far exceeds an amount offered by a family member or friend.

You must be able to show all of these elements in a successful slip and fall injury claim to recover compensation such as lost wages, pain and suffering, and medical bills. Having your evidence clearly organized and sharing the facts of how the accident happened directly with your Indiana premises liability lawyer as soon as possible after the incident occurs, is the best way to protect yourself and empower you with the information you need going forward.

If you fell and broke a bone or sustained a TBI however, you will use this information to illustrate concrete damages in court. If you fell in someone's home and you were on their property because of an invitation, if you can show that they had fault and negligence and that you sustained some kind of harm as a result of the accident, this may prove instrumental in your premises liability claim.

At Shaw Law, it is our goal to not only help you with your case, but to assist you with all aspects of your legal claim to recover compensation and to help you remain calm in the midst of difficult circumstances.

Call or Text Shaw Law now at (260) 777-7777 and get Attorney Jeff "JJ" Shaw working on your case within 10 minutes from the comfort of your own home.

We Get You Back on Your Feet.