Who is responsible for an injury resulting from a slip and fall injury attorney? Many thousands of people are injured each year -- some very seriously -- when they slip or trip and fall on a dangerous floor, a flight of stairs, or a rough patch of ground. Sometimes the property owner is responsible for the accident, and sometimes he or she is not.
If you have been injured in this way, first consider that it is a normal part of living for things to fall on or to drip onto a floor or the ground, and for smooth surfaces to become uneven. Also, some things put in the ground -- drainage grates, for example -- serve a useful purpose there. So a property owner (or occupier) cannot always be held responsible for immediately picking up or cleaning every slippery substance on a floor. Nor is a property owner always responsible for someone slipping or tripping on something that an ordinary person should expect to find there or should see and avoid. We all have an obligation to watch where we're going.
However, property owners do need to be careful in keeping up their property. While there is no precise way to determine when someone else is legally responsible for something on which you slip or trip, cases turn on whether the property owner acted carefully so that slipping or tripping was not likely to happen -- and whether you were careless in not seeing or avoiding the thing you fell on. Here are some general rules to help you decide whether someone else was at fault for your slip or trip and fall injury.
(Learn more about different types of slip & fall accidents and state specific slip & fall laws.)
Determining Liability
To be legally responsible for the injuries you suffered from slipping or tripping and falling on someone else's property, one of the following must be true:
The owner of the premises or an employee must have caused the spill, worn or torn spot, or other slippery or dangerous surface or item to be underfoot.
The owner of the premises or an employee must have known of the dangerous surface but done nothing about it.
The owner of the premises or an employee should have known of the dangerous surface because a "reasonable" person taking care of the property would have discovered and removed or repaired it.
The third situation is the most common, but is also less clear-cut than the first two because of those pesky words "should have known." Liability in these cases is often decided by common sense. Judges and juries determine whether the owner or occupier of property was careful by deciding if the steps the owner or occupier took to keep the property safe were reasonable.
What Is "Reasonable"?
In determining a property owner's "reasonableness," the law concentrates on whether the owner makes regular and thorough efforts to keep the property safe and clean. Here are some initial questions you can ask to determine whether a property or business owner may be liable for your slip or trip and fall injuries:
If you tripped over a torn, broken, or bulging area of carpet, floor, or ground, or slipped on a wet or loose area, had the dangerous spot been there long enough that the owner should have known about it?
Does the property owner have a regular procedure for examining and cleaning or repairing the premises? If so, what proof does the owner have of this regular maintenance?
If you tripped over or slipped on an object someone had placed or left on or in the floor or ground, was there a legitimate reason for the object to be there?
If there once had been a good reason for the object to be there but that reason no longer exists, could the object have been removed or covered or otherwise made safe?
Was there a safer place the object could have been located, or could it have been placed in a safer manner, without much greater inconvenience or expense to the property owner or operator?
Could a simple barrier have been created or a warning been given to prevent people from slipping or tripping?
Did poor or broken lighting contribute to the accident?
If the answers to one or more of these questions come out in your favor, you may have a good claim for compensation. However, you must still think about whether your own carelessness contributed in any significant way to your accident.
DTS- Jesse
Sunday, 2 September 2012
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Questions to Ask When Interviewing Slip & Fall Lawyers
If you're preparing to interview slip and fall injury attorney, you may be wondering what questions to ask and how to judge whether a lawyer is qualified to handle your slip and fall case. This article suggests a number of appropriate questions to ask when interviewing personal injury lawyers, including those who handle premises liability cases, such as slip and falls.
After you start meeting lawyers and discussing the facts of your injury, you'll realize that selecting an attorney simply requires a bit of common sense. You want to hire a lawyer who:
Before hiring a slip and fall lawyer, you'll want to schedule a preliminary meeting with each attorney you're considering. You should use this meeting to learn more about the lawyer's background, legal practice, fees and assessment of your case. Go to the meeting with a list of questions designed to draw out this information. This article includes a number of questions you can ask, but you if you have specific needs or concerns, you should also raise those in the meeting.
Case Management
If you're comfortable with the answers you've received thus far in your meeting, you should move on to questions about how your slip and fall lawsuit will be managed. Consider asking:
Concluding the Meeting
As the meeting comes to an end, be sure to ask the lawyer if there's anything else he or she wants to tell you. This gives the lawyer one final opportunity to make a pitch for your business. If you were happy with the meeting, you should also ask the attorney to supply you with the names of current or former clients who could serve as references.
If you didn't take notes during the meeting, spend a few moments immediately after it ends and write down your impressions of the lawyer. If there was one lawyer who appealed to you more than the others, you'll have an easy time making up your mind. But if you're torn between a couple of lawyers, consider contacting the references they provided and asking the clients about their experiences. Would they recommend the lawyer?
Once you've found the lawyer who best meets those criteria, you're ready to move forward with your slip and fall case.
DTS- Jesse
After you start meeting lawyers and discussing the facts of your injury, you'll realize that selecting an attorney simply requires a bit of common sense. You want to hire a lawyer who:
- Is knowledgeable about personal injury law and has experience handling slip and fall cases
- Makes you feel comfortable
- Shows sound judgment and offers advice you can trust
- Has a case strategy that you agree with
- Proposes a reasonable legal fee and has a realistic award estimate
- Before Hiring an Attorney, Schedule a Preliminary Meeting
Before hiring a slip and fall lawyer, you'll want to schedule a preliminary meeting with each attorney you're considering. You should use this meeting to learn more about the lawyer's background, legal practice, fees and assessment of your case. Go to the meeting with a list of questions designed to draw out this information. This article includes a number of questions you can ask, but you if you have specific needs or concerns, you should also raise those in the meeting.
- Do you charge a contingency fee or an hourly rate?
- How much would you get paid if we win the case? Settle the case? Lose the case or are unable to settle?
- If I do not get a monetary award, will I owe you any money? What would I owe you?
- What other expenses will you incur? Can you estimate their total amount?
- Based on your settlement and judgment estimates, how much money would I have after expenses and fees are paid?
Case Management
If you're comfortable with the answers you've received thus far in your meeting, you should move on to questions about how your slip and fall lawsuit will be managed. Consider asking:
- Will you personally manage my case and handle all settlement negotiations and court appearances?
- Who else will be working on my case? What will they do?
- Will you provide progress reports? If so, how frequently and what is included in those reports?
- Are you the day-to-day contact if I have questions or concerns?
- What is the best way to reach you? How quickly can I expect you to respond?
Concluding the Meeting
As the meeting comes to an end, be sure to ask the lawyer if there's anything else he or she wants to tell you. This gives the lawyer one final opportunity to make a pitch for your business. If you were happy with the meeting, you should also ask the attorney to supply you with the names of current or former clients who could serve as references.
If you didn't take notes during the meeting, spend a few moments immediately after it ends and write down your impressions of the lawyer. If there was one lawyer who appealed to you more than the others, you'll have an easy time making up your mind. But if you're torn between a couple of lawyers, consider contacting the references they provided and asking the clients about their experiences. Would they recommend the lawyer?
Once you've found the lawyer who best meets those criteria, you're ready to move forward with your slip and fall case.
DTS- Jesse
Tuesday, 28 August 2012
Learn Why Hiring a Slip and Fall Attorney Is a Wise Idea
After falling and injuring yourself, you may be tempted to just try to forget about the situation so you can move on. But it is best to at least talk to a slip and fall injury attorney. Find out how one can help you, and why you should hire one.
If the accident caused you to have to go to the hospital or at least see a doctor, you are probably facing some medical bills. Even if you have health insurance, you may have to pay a deductible, copays, or coinsurance out of pocket. This can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, depending on your coverage and the severity of your injury. Of course, if you do not have insurance, you are probably facing a lot more in expenses. You should not have to pay for this if there is even a hint that someone else was responsible for the incident.
As you recover from your injuries, you are probably missing work. Even if you get paid time off, you are using up time you would have used had you gotten sick or needed a personal day. This means in the future, you may not be paid when you are actually sick or need to miss work for some reason. So even if you do not suffer financially right now, you probably will. Plus, you are missing social activities with friends and family as you recover, and you cannot put a price tag on this. You deserve to be compensated in some way, and a slip and fall attorney can help.
There is also the simple fact that many accidents of this nature could be prevented. If the property owner is found to be negligent and has to pay you, he or she may learn to take better care of the property in the future so no one else gets hurt. Whether there is a tile or step that needs to be fixed, or an obstruction that is always in the way, the property owner will certainly learn to fix the issue fast after being sued or having to make an insurance claim. This is why you are actually helping out others when you hire a slip and fall attorney after an accident of this type.
Now that you know why you should hire this kind of lawyer, it is time to schedule an appointment to meet with one. A consultation may further show you why you need the help of a professional. Then you can get started on your case.
DTS- Jesse
If the accident caused you to have to go to the hospital or at least see a doctor, you are probably facing some medical bills. Even if you have health insurance, you may have to pay a deductible, copays, or coinsurance out of pocket. This can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, depending on your coverage and the severity of your injury. Of course, if you do not have insurance, you are probably facing a lot more in expenses. You should not have to pay for this if there is even a hint that someone else was responsible for the incident.
As you recover from your injuries, you are probably missing work. Even if you get paid time off, you are using up time you would have used had you gotten sick or needed a personal day. This means in the future, you may not be paid when you are actually sick or need to miss work for some reason. So even if you do not suffer financially right now, you probably will. Plus, you are missing social activities with friends and family as you recover, and you cannot put a price tag on this. You deserve to be compensated in some way, and a slip and fall attorney can help.
There is also the simple fact that many accidents of this nature could be prevented. If the property owner is found to be negligent and has to pay you, he or she may learn to take better care of the property in the future so no one else gets hurt. Whether there is a tile or step that needs to be fixed, or an obstruction that is always in the way, the property owner will certainly learn to fix the issue fast after being sued or having to make an insurance claim. This is why you are actually helping out others when you hire a slip and fall attorney after an accident of this type.
Now that you know why you should hire this kind of lawyer, it is time to schedule an appointment to meet with one. A consultation may further show you why you need the help of a professional. Then you can get started on your case.
DTS- Jesse
Sunday, 26 August 2012
How Weather Contributes to Slip and Fall Accidents
Slip and fall accidents attorney typically occur because something has reduced the friction on a surface. That slippery variable can be a number of things, and often it is induced by weather. In a cold climate, the formation of ice on a surface can seriously reduce a persons ability to control their motion. In wet weather, rain can also greatly reduce the traction provided by a surface. Even warm weather can create slippery situations by causing condensation to form quickly. All of these types of situations put a person at risk for slipping. This risk is elevated if it is not readily observed.
Any business, home, or other property is responsible for ensuring the general safety of their customers and visitors. This includes taking reasonable steps to prevent slips and dangerous falls. A business can be held liable for injuries that occur on their property if reasonable steps were not taken to prevent an accident. As such, ice on a step or pooled water on a walkway may be the responsibility of the business who owns the property.
Even though weather-related dangers can arise quickly, it is still the responsibility of a property owner to alleviate that risk to the best of their ability. In a cold environment, where ice is a common threat to the safety of guests, a property owner should take care to remove this dangerous ice or to direct people away from it. Ice can also form underneath snow formations where it is not apparent to guests and visitors.
Pooling water can also provide an unseen threat. Even a thin layer of water significantly decreases a person's stability on a surface. Ensure that the places you frequent take the proper steps to maintain their guests' safety by caring for weather-related dangers.
DTS- Jesse
Any business, home, or other property is responsible for ensuring the general safety of their customers and visitors. This includes taking reasonable steps to prevent slips and dangerous falls. A business can be held liable for injuries that occur on their property if reasonable steps were not taken to prevent an accident. As such, ice on a step or pooled water on a walkway may be the responsibility of the business who owns the property.
Even though weather-related dangers can arise quickly, it is still the responsibility of a property owner to alleviate that risk to the best of their ability. In a cold environment, where ice is a common threat to the safety of guests, a property owner should take care to remove this dangerous ice or to direct people away from it. Ice can also form underneath snow formations where it is not apparent to guests and visitors.
Pooling water can also provide an unseen threat. Even a thin layer of water significantly decreases a person's stability on a surface. Ensure that the places you frequent take the proper steps to maintain their guests' safety by caring for weather-related dangers.
DTS- Jesse
Thursday, 23 August 2012
Can You Sue for a Slip & Fall Injury?
If you have sustained a slip and fall injury attorney, you may be wondering what your legal rights are and whether you should sue.
Litigation to cover the costs of a slip and fall injury falls under a broader category of tort, or personal injury, lawsuits. Some other tort lawsuits arise out of traffic accidents or dog bites. But unlike those incidents, slip and fall lawsuits may recover less money because the one who fell usually bears some partial responsibility for the fall.
If you believe you can show that the property owner or tenant caused the fall, you may be able to collect money to compensate you for:
Your medical bills, including transportation costs for your medical treatment and therapy
Lost wages both immediately after the fall and possibly in the future if you are permanently debilitated
Pain and suffering
Potential future medical expenses
Loss of consortium, which means damage to your relationship with your spouse or family
Even if you have a pre-existing condition, if it has been exasperated by the fall, your medical expenses may be covered if you can prove the property owner or tenant was negligent in a way that caused your fall.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, slip and fall accidents are especially serious in adults over 65 years of age. One in three older Americans falls each year, with 20 percent to 30 percent of them suffering moderate to severe injuries that make it hard for them to get around or live independently. Such falls increase their chances of early death.
How to Prove a Property Owner Caused a Slip and Fall
To win a slip and fall personal injury lawsuit, you need to show that the property owner or tenant was negligent, meaning some action they took or failed to take caused the fall. With such trips, time is usually an important component in proving negligence. For example, how long was the hazard there and was it reasonable to believe that the property owner should have discovered the situation and remedied it before an accident occurred?
In some states, the person who fell may change how much care a property owner or tenant must take to prevent a fall. For example, in Ohio, a property owner owes his visitors the highest degree of care but a trespasser the least. A child trespasser, however, deserves a higher level of care than an adult trespasser.
In other states, such as California, the type of person who falls does not matter: All visitors to a property deserve the same amount of care and due diligence from the property owner or tenant.
Defenses to Slip and Fall Lawsuits
Defendants - the ones being sued - in slip and fall lawsuits have two primary defenses. The first is that there was insufficient time for the property owner or tenant to have discovered and fixed the hazard. The second and more common defense is that the injured person is to blame for the fall.
In many states, if a jury finds the plaintiff (the one bringing the lawsuit) partially at fault for the slip and fall accident, they can reduce the monetary award for the victim by that same percentage.
Plaintiffs and defendants have more than just their word to try to prove they are in the right. Evidence such as video surveillance footage from the scene of the accident can be introduced to establish how long a hazard existed. And several types of instruments can actually measure the slip index of the walking surface.
Because personal injury cases take a long time to litigate, you will be working with your slip and fall injury attorney for quite some time. Interview several and choose the one with whom you are most comfortable.
DTS- Jesse
Litigation to cover the costs of a slip and fall injury falls under a broader category of tort, or personal injury, lawsuits. Some other tort lawsuits arise out of traffic accidents or dog bites. But unlike those incidents, slip and fall lawsuits may recover less money because the one who fell usually bears some partial responsibility for the fall.
If you believe you can show that the property owner or tenant caused the fall, you may be able to collect money to compensate you for:
Your medical bills, including transportation costs for your medical treatment and therapy
Lost wages both immediately after the fall and possibly in the future if you are permanently debilitated
Pain and suffering
Potential future medical expenses
Loss of consortium, which means damage to your relationship with your spouse or family
Even if you have a pre-existing condition, if it has been exasperated by the fall, your medical expenses may be covered if you can prove the property owner or tenant was negligent in a way that caused your fall.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, slip and fall accidents are especially serious in adults over 65 years of age. One in three older Americans falls each year, with 20 percent to 30 percent of them suffering moderate to severe injuries that make it hard for them to get around or live independently. Such falls increase their chances of early death.
How to Prove a Property Owner Caused a Slip and Fall
To win a slip and fall personal injury lawsuit, you need to show that the property owner or tenant was negligent, meaning some action they took or failed to take caused the fall. With such trips, time is usually an important component in proving negligence. For example, how long was the hazard there and was it reasonable to believe that the property owner should have discovered the situation and remedied it before an accident occurred?
In some states, the person who fell may change how much care a property owner or tenant must take to prevent a fall. For example, in Ohio, a property owner owes his visitors the highest degree of care but a trespasser the least. A child trespasser, however, deserves a higher level of care than an adult trespasser.
In other states, such as California, the type of person who falls does not matter: All visitors to a property deserve the same amount of care and due diligence from the property owner or tenant.
Defenses to Slip and Fall Lawsuits
Defendants - the ones being sued - in slip and fall lawsuits have two primary defenses. The first is that there was insufficient time for the property owner or tenant to have discovered and fixed the hazard. The second and more common defense is that the injured person is to blame for the fall.
In many states, if a jury finds the plaintiff (the one bringing the lawsuit) partially at fault for the slip and fall accident, they can reduce the monetary award for the victim by that same percentage.
Plaintiffs and defendants have more than just their word to try to prove they are in the right. Evidence such as video surveillance footage from the scene of the accident can be introduced to establish how long a hazard existed. And several types of instruments can actually measure the slip index of the walking surface.
Because personal injury cases take a long time to litigate, you will be working with your slip and fall injury attorney for quite some time. Interview several and choose the one with whom you are most comfortable.
DTS- Jesse
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
A Guide to Choosing a Slip and Fall Attorney
Choosing a slip and fall attorney has never been more challenging than it is today. There are so many different types of lawyers that claim to be the best that it can be hard for you or anyone to find the right type of lawyer especially since your situation requires a slip and fall attorney. If you choose the wrong legal representation, you run the risk of damaging your credibility and end up losing your case.
It is hard to try to get anything done in the legal system without having the proper kind of legal counsel. Laws and mandates are so tricky and complicated that to anyone who is not properly trained and experienced in litigation will almost certainly lose their case as soon as it starts. If you want to spare yourself that fate, you need to hire a good slip and fall attorney to help guide you in your time of need. There is no time that you will be more vulnerable than you are now, right after a slip and fall incident. Instead of waiting to see if the company responsible is going to offer you some kind of compensation to persuade you from going to court, you need to be proactive and hire yourself a good attorney that specializes in slip and fall cases right away.
This doesn't mean that you should hire the first lawyer that volunteers to take your case. You need to actively seek out the best person that is well qualified for the job. In order for you to find the right person, you have to know where to start looking. Instead of looking in the phone book and looking through the exhaustive lists lawyers, you could use anther resource to make your search much easier. You could just go to the legal aid office in your area and ask them for the names of lawyers who specialize in personal injury and slip and fall accidents. They will be more than glad to help and provide you with some of the resources you need.
Once you have gotten that list, you need to contact several individuals and schedule a meeting. Many attorneys provide the first meeting free of charge and often refer to it as a consultation. It is during this time you need to let the slip and fall attorneys know all of the details regarding your case. They will then let you know if they are equipped to take on your case and provide you with legal guidance so you are not left in the dark about what happens next and what you need to do.
It is also during this consultation that any fees will be discussed. Some lawyers will ask for a small retainer fee as a sign of good faith to make sure that you want to them to take on your case; others may not charge you anything until after the case is resolved. It is best that you go over the details of both payment structures and determine which one works best for you.
http://EzineArticles.com/7070961
It is hard to try to get anything done in the legal system without having the proper kind of legal counsel. Laws and mandates are so tricky and complicated that to anyone who is not properly trained and experienced in litigation will almost certainly lose their case as soon as it starts. If you want to spare yourself that fate, you need to hire a good slip and fall attorney to help guide you in your time of need. There is no time that you will be more vulnerable than you are now, right after a slip and fall incident. Instead of waiting to see if the company responsible is going to offer you some kind of compensation to persuade you from going to court, you need to be proactive and hire yourself a good attorney that specializes in slip and fall cases right away.
This doesn't mean that you should hire the first lawyer that volunteers to take your case. You need to actively seek out the best person that is well qualified for the job. In order for you to find the right person, you have to know where to start looking. Instead of looking in the phone book and looking through the exhaustive lists lawyers, you could use anther resource to make your search much easier. You could just go to the legal aid office in your area and ask them for the names of lawyers who specialize in personal injury and slip and fall accidents. They will be more than glad to help and provide you with some of the resources you need.
Once you have gotten that list, you need to contact several individuals and schedule a meeting. Many attorneys provide the first meeting free of charge and often refer to it as a consultation. It is during this time you need to let the slip and fall attorneys know all of the details regarding your case. They will then let you know if they are equipped to take on your case and provide you with legal guidance so you are not left in the dark about what happens next and what you need to do.
It is also during this consultation that any fees will be discussed. Some lawyers will ask for a small retainer fee as a sign of good faith to make sure that you want to them to take on your case; others may not charge you anything until after the case is resolved. It is best that you go over the details of both payment structures and determine which one works best for you.
http://EzineArticles.com/7070961
Friday, 3 August 2012
Injury Claims
Injury claims often are handled by insurance companies, which assume liability for automobile accidents and other injuries involving their clients. But insured claimants should make the effort to understand the fine print, defend their claims and otherwise protect their interests (just as insurance companies protect theirs). This section covers injury claims and insurance law, with articles about subrogation actions, how to protect your settlement from health care providers, and related information.
Injury Claims
Findlaw.com
Injury Claims
Findlaw.com
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