You must have seen in American movies that someone slips on a wet floor and then threatens to sue the owner for millions of dollars. This is actually practicable and there is truth to it. While suing for millions is not a culture in Pakistan, the concept of suing for damages (injuries) is still applicable here. Read along to find out why and how this thing is a reality.

The Law
Pakistan is governed by the laws of Pakistan, but there are more principles and laws applicable here which we collectively call ‘the common law’. These are the laws which have been applicable to almost all the countries throughout past decades (sometimes centuries). These laws mostly deal with civil actions such as suing someone for doing a harm on a personal level. The suit in question – the slip and fall case – is part of the same common law.

The suit
If someone falls – or suffers any injury whatsoever – on the premises (private house, restaurant, office, etc.) of another person, and he can prove that the injury was caused by some negligence of the occupier of that place, he can file a lawsuit against that occupier to pay for the damages so incurred by the victim.

The victim needs to prove that the occupier had some degree of responsibility towards his visitors, that he failed to exercise due diligence (take reasonable actions) to secure his visitors, and that due to his negligence, some damage has been caused to the victim.

The damage can be either personal injury (breaking of bones, tearing of skin, or even psychological injury), or monetary loss (breaking cell phone, loss of reputation, etc.) If the court is satisfied that damage has been caused due to owner’s negligence, it will order the owner to pay compensation to the victim.

The millions dollars?
Yes, you can sue for as much money as you can, but the court will only award such damages as are actually proved before the court. In the U.S.A., there is a concept of ‘punitive damages’ by which the courts award tremendous amount of damages to punish the owner. Pakistani courts do not follow this principle and confine their orders to the bare minimum compensation which would be adequate to make up for the losses.

You can, however, proceed to actually prove that the damages so incurred were indeed very high, such as costs of operations, the loss of income due to disability (think of a runner breaking his leg), etc. If you seek more information on the topic, or you feel like you are in a similar situation, please do not hesitate to contact us.