Kibbey Wagner Injury & Car Accident Lawyers | February 6, 2025 | Premises Liability
Property owners and their insurers often view slip and fall accidents with a bit of skepticism. Nevertheless, these accidents can produce a range of serious injuries, from torn ligaments to permanent brain injuries. As a result of such injuries, victims could face significant medical expenses and income losses after falling on someone else’s property.
That might lead you to believe that slip and fall lawsuits are common, but U.S. Justice Department research shows that only about 4% of injury cases reach trial. Thus, the most likely disposition for your slip and fall case will be a settlement in which the insurer pays you a sum of money in exchange for a claim release.
Average Payouts For Slip And Fall Cases
Lawsuit settlements are often confidential, which means calculating an “average settlement” is nearly impossible. However, the Justice Department’s report includes statistics showing the average court award in verdicts favoring slip and fall plaintiffs.
The report plaintiffs won a total of 666 trials, with a median award of $98,000.
These trials included the following:
- 608 jury trials (with a median award of $100,000)
- 44 bench trials (with a median award of $65,000)
In short, jurors rewarded plaintiffs much more generously than judges.
What These Mean For Settlement Amounts
While knowing about the above payouts is helpful, you should keep in mind a few caveats. First, these statistics were collected from the entire nation, which means they might not necessarily reflect the numbers in Florida.
Additionally, 666 trials is a very small sample. For comparison, the report included data from 5,965 car accident verdicts that same year. The small sample size likely would not provide reliable predictions for other, more recent, years.
Finally, slip and fall verdicts will typically compensate plaintiffs for all their economic and non-economic losses, while settlements often require some compromise. The greatest difference between what you could recover at trial compared to a settlement hinges upon the price of resolving your case more quickly and without the unpredictability of a jury.
Factors Affecting Settlements
The following factors can affect the amount of the settlement you can expect in your slip and fall case:
Severity Of Your Injuries
The severity of your injuries plays a central role in assessing the value of your claim and its resulting settlement.
More intense injuries will require more extensive medical care and physical therapy, and they may produce long-term or permanent symptoms and disabilities. They could even force you to change your work hours or duties, diminishing your earnings.
As a result, severe injuries with long-lasting effects will almost always lead to larger settlements than temporary injuries a victim can fully recover from.
Evidence Of Liability
At-fault parties and their insurers generally choose to settle claims to avoid the cost and risk of trial; if they draw an unsympathetic jury, they could get hit with a huge judgment.
However, they are more likely to accept that risk and less likely to settle in close cases. Thus, the strength of your case will often determine whether the other party is willing to settle and for how much.
Insurance Coverage
Most slip and fall injury claims are covered by liability insurance, regardless of whether you fell in someone else’s home or business. Even government buildings and transit systems are covered by self-insurance or outside liability policies.
Insurers set a policy limit that determines the maximum insurance payout. In some cases, you will settle your case for the policy limit because the insurer has ready access to funds to pay you.
A Personal Injury Lawyer Can Evaluate A Slip And Fall Case
The value of slip and fall cases and the settlement you can expect, in turn, will vary widely based on your injuries and the losses they caused. Therefore, your goal should be to reach a settlement that compensates both your economic and non-economic losses and ends your case in a reasonable amount of time so you can move forward with your life.
Contact Kibbey Wagner Injury & Car Accident Lawyers For Help Today
For more information, please contact the Stuart, Port St. Lucie, or Palm Beach Gardens personal injury law firm of Kibbey Wagner Injury & Car Accident Lawyers to schedule a free consultation today.
We proudly serve Martin County, St. Lucie County, Palm Beach County, and its surrounding areas in Florida:
Kibbey Wagner Injury & Car Accident Lawyers Stuart
73 SW Flagler Ave
Stuart, FL 34994
(772) 444-7000
Kibbey Wagner Injury & Car Accident Lawyers Port St. Lucie
1100 SW St. Lucie West Blvd. Ste 202
Port St Lucie, FL 34986
(772) 247-3374
Kibbey Wagner Injury & Car Accident Lawyers Palm Beach Gardens
300 Avenue of the Champions Ste 220
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418
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