Liable When It’s Not Your Fault?

Personal injury lawsuits represent a large portion of claims filed in federal and state courts. As injuries become more nuanced, and the ways in which people can get hurt continues to grow, it is becoming harder to both pursue and defend against personal injury claims.

Trip and fall accidents on sidewalks remain a perennial problem in the world of personal injury. If you walk to a store, slip on ice, and break a bone, who is liable for your injuries? The city that owns the sidewalk? The shop owner who owns or rents the building next to where you fell? The workers who maintain it? Responsibility varies by state.

Similar problems exist for property owners. They are rarely informed of conditions they did not create that exist on their property. For example, if a city’s sewer system malfunctions, causing drainage issues on your property, you obviously cannot fix the situation. But in most states, you will be held liable if anyone gets hurt on your property even though you did not create the hazard and were powerless to correct it.

In many cases, the government has immunity and cannot be held liable (or has reduced liability) for problems it creates. Additionally, there are caps on how much injured parties can sue governments for if they are injured as a result of a municipal problem.