When to Contact an Accident Attorney Slip and Fall Injuries


 

Automobile and motorcycle accidents

If you’ve been injured as a result of slipping or falling, it’s important to contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. A slip and fall lawyer has experience with these types of cases, and can advise you on your rights. Furthermore, when it is determined that you have legal grounds to file a claim, a slip and fall lawyer will be able to represent your best interests in this matter.

Were you aware that over eight million hospital emergency room visits were due to injuries sustained from falling? Furthermore, this accounts for 21.3% of emergency room visits, and it is the primary reason for many individual hospital visits. Over one million emergency room visits are due to slips and falls, and these account for 12% of the total number reported.

While workplace accidents may account for many of the slip and fall injuries that occur, these types of injuries may also occur while walking along a sidewalk, shopping in a store or eating at a restaurant. They may also occur when visiting a government office of other government property.

If, for example, you fell while walking in a residential area, in order to determine whether the property owner was negligent, the situation needs to be thoroughly evaluated. In other words, it needs to be proven that you were injured as a result of a defect, such as a cracked or raised sidewalk. If you tripped over a crack in the sidewalk, it needs to have been raised over two inches for this to be a factor.

According to Findlaw, in order for a landlord to be held liable for accidents involving tenants, their visitors, or other individuals on the property, there are four basic conditions that need to be met and proven:

    The landlord had control over the situation.
    It wouldn’t have been difficult or unreasonably expensive to repair.
    The possibility for a serious injury to occur was obvious.
    A reasonable effort wasn’t made to avoid or prevent potential accidents.

If you were injured due to slipping and falling when on a commercial property, including stores, restaurants, and other types of businesses, then there are also conditions that need to be met to establish negligence, according to Findlaw. This applies to when you’re an employee as well as to when you’re visiting these establishments.

The following conditions need to be met and proven to establish negligence by the commercial property owners or management:

    The business was responsible for the situation.
    The business was aware of the situation and didn’t act.
    The responsible individuals didn’t act reasonably to address the situation.

Findlaw

also states that when someone is injured while on government property, regardless of whether it is local, state, or federal, there are special rules that apply. Given the stringent attention to detail for providing notices on these properties, government entities may not be liable in many cases.

When you have sustained injuries as a result of slipping and falling through no fault of your own, it’s important to contact a personal injury law firm to evaluate your claim. An accident attorney, such as a slip and fall lawyer, will be able to thoroughly evaluate your situation and if it is determined that you have a solid claim, they will assist you through this process.

If it is determined that the residential or commercial property own was negligent, you may receive, on average, approximately $50,000. When a slip and fall accident results in a wrongful death, then it is important that a wrongful death lawyer be contacts, as there are specific laws that address these situations.

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