Demand Letters in Denver Slip and Fall Claims
Slip and fall accidents are an embarrassing and painful experience. Many people do not realize that if they have slipped and fallen on a premise due to the property owner’s negligence, they can pursue a case. One step in pursuing a case is sending a demand letter. If an individual wants to know more about demand letters in Denver slip and fall claims, they should contact a skilled slip and fall lawyer today.
What the Plaintiff Is Trying to Prove By Filing a Slip and Fall Claim
The plaintiff is trying to prove that the actions or inactions of the particular defendant did not meet the standard of care that has been established by law that the defendant was unreasonable in not taking the necessary steps to protect the plaintiff from becoming injured on the property. Then the plaintiff needs to prove that these unreasonable steps to protect the plaintiff actually caused the plaintiff’s injury as well. Maybe they were unreasonable but the plaintiff had a broken leg prior to coming onto the premises, slipped and fell and then nothing really changed. It is great that they were unreasonable but the person’s leg was already broken so what is the real damage that was caused by this unreasonable failure.
Components of a Demand Letter in a Slip and Fall Case
The common demands consist of somewhere between five and seven parts. In demand letters in Denver slip and fall claims, a lawyer may want to put a section for liability which lays out why the plaintiff is sending a demand letter to, usually an insurance company, and is liable for the person’s injuries or damages or whole losses. The second part, after establishing and showing liability, is a treatment summary that breaks down each visit that the victim had and shows what they were billed. The insurance company is ultimately going to be doing the same thing but they are trying to pay less so they are trying to find ways to negate those codes and negate the actual bills that a person might lay out in their demand letter.
Damages
The third section of demand letters in Denver slip and fall claims lays out the damages. The section lists out economic and non-economic damages, economic focuses on how this actually financially affected this person, what their past medical bills are, what their wage loss look like, and whether they are going to miss work in the future, be it from having to change jobs or having to take a lower-paying job or just missing time from their job for medical appointments. Then the attorney may also add potential future expenses because the victim might require future care.
There is a non-economic damages section that basically breaks down what their pain and suffering, the inconvenience that they went through, their emotional distress, what has occurred as a result of this, and how their quality of life has been impaired. It is always tough to put a number on that but it is kind of an estimation.
There should also be a permanent impairment section. If their range and motion in any part of their body is now restricted as a result of these slip and fall or this incident, they want to make a claim for that because it is a separate claim that they can make. In order to maximize recovery, a good slip and fall lawyer needs to understand every potential claim that could be made. After that, they lay out settlement offers and get the demand out the door and to the insurance company.
Insurance Company
Most of the time, demand letters in Denver slip and fall claims are presented to the insurance company only because the insurance company is the one that is going to defend the claim. A plaintiff and their attorney may send the demand letter to the insurance company and give them the opportunity to attempt to resolve it prior to their insurer being involved in the process. Most insurance companies have a duty to act in a reasonable manner in the best interest of their insured and so they try to resolve the claim without their insurer being involved in the process.
