Slip and fall accidents are far too common. These accidents tend to happen at work or other public places. A slip and fall accident can happen in what seems like the blink of an eye. Whether the entrance of your doctor’s office was slippery after a snowfall, or an employee at the grocery store did not clean up a slip, you might be entitled to recover damages if you suffered an injury in a slip and fall accident.
Contact an attorney immediately after a slip and fall accident. The right legal team will seek the financial compensation you deserve. Do not delay; contact a Bakersfield slip and fall attorney today.
What Are Slip And Fall Accidents?
Slip and fall accidents are premises liability cases. Premises liability is an area of law that holds property owners or tenants who control the property accountable for injuries due to dangerous conditions. How the owner and victim are categorized under the law decides whether the property owner handles the injuries.
Slip and fall accident victims who can prove each element of their case can recover from their accident-related injuries. We discuss these elements in further detail later in this post.
Where Do Slip And Fall Accidents Happen?
- Grocery Stores and Retailers
- Restaurants and Bars
- Hotels and Resorts
- Workplaces
- Parking Lots and Garages
- Sidewalks and Walkways
- Staircases
- Public Spaces with Wet Surfaces
Slip and fall accidents are too common. A slip and fall accident can happen on anyone’s property. You can suffer serious injuries in a second. Fall accidents account for 8 million emergency department visits every year, with slip and falls leading to one million emergency room visits. Falls make up 21.3 percent of all accident cases. The cost of treating permanent and temporary disabilities after slip and fall accidents is nearly half a million dollars annually.
If you are a victim of a slip and fall, seek a case evaluation from a slip and fall injury lawyer as soon as possible.
Common Issues Facing Slip And Fall Plaintiffs
You can face trouble proving the facts of your slip and fall case. An attorney can overcome the various challenges you face while seeking compensation for a slip and fall accident.
Insurance Companies Underestimate Slip and Fall Injuries
Insurance companies often underestimate the severity and impact of these accidents. While they may seem like minor incidents, slip and falls can result in serious injuries that require extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation. However, insurance adjusters are trained to downplay the extent of these injuries in order to minimize payouts.
Remember that insurance companies are not on your side when it comes to slip and fall claims. They are driven by profits and will do whatever it takes to protect their bottom line. This means that they will try to shift blame onto the victims, downplay the injuries, or even deny valid claims altogether.
In order to level the playing field, it is crucial to have an experienced attorney by your side. A slip and fall attorney will fight for your rights and ensure that you receive fair compensation for your injuries. They understand the tactics used by insurance companies and can navigate the complex legal process on your behalf.
Don’t let insurance companies underestimate the impact of your slip and fall injuries. Consult with a skilled attorney who will advocate for your best interests and help you get the compensation you deserve.
There Might be Multiple Responsible Parties In a Slip And Fall Case
There are often many different people or entities involved in a slip and fall accident. Spotting and holding each potentially responsible party accountable can be challenging. One reason for this difficulty is that multiple insurance companies might handle paying your damages.
Examples of potentially responsible defendants in a slip and fall case can include:
- Homeowners
- Property owners
- Tenants renting another person or business’ property and controlling the premises
- Property management companies
Government Entities Are Involved In The Accident
If you are hurt in a public area owned or controlled by a government entity, you might have the right to sue and collect damages. However, just because you have the right to sue does not mean you will face no challenges once you file a lawsuit. An attorney with experience handling slip and fall cases against the government will offer your perspective about the likelihood of your case being successful and guidance on strategically getting the compensation you need.
How To Prove Negligence
There are four elements to prove negligence. To win a slip and fall case, you must prove that the defendant had a duty to you, that they violated that duty, that their actions caused the accident, and that you suffered damages from the accident.
Duty of Care
You must prove that the defendant owed you a duty of care. There is no standard way to prove whether a slip and fall defendant owed a plaintiff a duty of care. However, most fall cases depend on whether the property owner acted reasonably to prevent an accident. For example, a retail store owner who did not clean up a water spill at the entrance of their store might be legally responsible for causing harm to a customer who falls on their way into the shop.
Breach of Duty
A breach of duty happens when the property owner does not take reasonable steps to either warn someone about the danger or fix a dangerous condition on their property. Examples of how property owners breach their duty of care can include any of the following:
- Failure to secure electrical cords or loose flooring
- Failure to replace broken light fixtures
- Failure to place a wet floor sign in an area with a spill
- Failure to fix cracks in flooring
- Failure to keep equipment
- Failure to clean debris or clear ice or snow
Causation
An attorney can connect your injuries to the property owner’s negligence. Your attorney will sit down with you and discuss your injuries and what you remember from the accident. An experienced slip and fall lawyer knows what evidence is relevant to prove the property owner’s actions or inactions caused your damages.
Damages
Proving damages is an essential part of recovering financial compensation after a slip and fall case. Injury plaintiffs typically recover economic and non-economic damages. In special cases, a plaintiff might recover punitive damages, too.
Economic Damages
Economic damages include the tangible losses you suffered after a slip and fall accident. These losses include injuries and losses that are obvious to anyone seeing you. While it can seem clear when you suffer an economic loss, some accident victims might downplay their injuries to avoid feeling like they are a burden to their families and other loved ones. An attorney can review your losses to ensure you are not leaving any money on the table after a slip and fall accident.
Examples of economic damages in a slip and fall case can include the following:
- Current and future lost income
- Lost earning ability
- Current and future medical bills
- Reduced quality of life
- Pain and suffering
Non-economic Damages
Non-economic damages include losses that are not always readily apparent or quantifiable. Your legal team can present the evidence of your non-economic losses to the insurance company to make sure you receive full and fair compensation after an accident.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are rare in accident cases but might apply in certain scenarios. Punitive damages are not compensatory, meaning they do not reimburse the victim for the losses they suffered. Unlike economic or non-economic damages, punitive damages instead punish the defendant. For example, under California law, punitive damages only apply in cases where the victim can provide sufficient evidence of malice, oppression, or fraud by the defendant in causing the injury.
How Much Is My Slip And Fall Case Worth?
No two accident cases are the same. No one can guarantee that your case is worth a specific amount of money. However, there are certain indicators that your case is worth more than others.
For example, if your fall caused you to be hospitalized for several weeks, the expense can be included in your final settlement amount. Also, if you lose time at work, you might see medical bills and other bills piling up. Your final settlement should reflect your lost income.
An attorney can help you understand your right to recover. They can gather relevant evidence proving your claim and get you full and fair compensation.
What Evidence Do I Need To Prove My Slip and Fall Case?
You will need solid evidence to win your slip and fall case. A legal team can present the evidence persuasively to an insurance company or a court if your case is not resolved during negotiations.
Examples of relevant evidence in a slip and fall case include the following:
- Security camera footage
- Witness statements from customers, employees, or others present at the scene
- Photos of the hazardous condition
- Notes from an Accident Reconstructionist
- Your testimony about the events leading up to your fall
- A history of complaints
How Can An Attorney Help Me?
Whenever you have a legal problem, it is a good idea to have legal counsel and a team working for you. A represented accident victim fares better against an insurance company than one who does not have an attorney. Your slip and fall lawyer will help in the following ways to give you a good chance of fully recovering after an accident.
Negotiations With The Insurance Company
Standing up against the insurance company after an accident can be difficult to do alone. Fortunately, you do not need to fight an insurance company alone.
Most civil cases are resolved through settlement negotiations. Negotiations can get intense. Insurance companies do not want to pay out claims. Insurance adjusters want to protect company profits and the bottom line. An attorney can negotiate on your behalf to make sure that your rights to compensation are not compromised and that you get the financial recovery you need to get your life back on track after an accident.
Investigating The Cause of The Accident
Your attorney and their legal team will investigate the cause of the accident. During the investigation, you will work with your attorney to discover the cause of your fall.
In addition to finding the cause of your injuries, your attorney will also review your medical records and bills to decide the total value of your damages. Your legal team will interview witnesses, hire experts, and gather other evidence needed to win your case whenever possible.
Standing for You In Court
If your case is not settled during negotiations, you will move toward trial to resolve it. Being inside a courtroom and letting a room full of strangers decide whether you get the money you need to move forward with your life is intimidating. Your attorney will present your case persuasively so you can gain access to the monetary recovery that you deserve.
Offering You Legal Advice Throughout Your Case
You will likely have tons of questions throughout your case. Having sound legal counsel is the best thing that you can rely on after getting injured. Do not fall into the trap of online searches for complicated legal matters. Getting bad information about your slip and fall case can lead to you making bad decisions.
How Long Do I Have To Sue After a Slip And Fall Accident?
If you must file a lawsuit to resolve your case, you do not have unlimited time to file a complaint with the court. California law enforces a statute of limitations for filing a civil lawsuit.
Mickey Fine, Bakersfield Slip And Fall Attorney
The statute of limitations is the deadline set for filing suit. The statute of limitations is a strict procedural rule. Missing the deadline can mean losing your right to recover compensation. California law gives plaintiffs two years from the accident to file a lawsuit for damages related to their slip and fall injury.
If your slip and fall accident is against the government, state law gives you six months from the accident to give the entity that you are suing notice of your intent to file a lawsuit.
Contact A Slip and Fall Attorney Today
Contact an experienced slip and fall attorney if you have suffered an injury. Slip and fall accident cases might be hard to win, but that does not mean it is impossible to get the compensation you deserve after a crash. Do not delay. Contact a knowledgeable attorney to get your life back on track after a slip and fall accident.