A slip and fall accident initially appears to be very casual. As a victim, you may incur some bruises here and there.
However, a sudden slip throws you off balance when you least expect it. You may be thinking of a thousand different things, and falling isn’t the one. Sometimes, another person’s negligence takes an unprecedented toll on you. If your slip and fall injury is quite severe and affects your work–life balance, you deserve proper compensation from the at-fault person or entity responsible for your accident.
You should hire an accident lawyer to judge the extent of impact and claim compensations for the loss.
Before hiring a lawyer, you need to consider a few points.
Why Do You Need A Lawyer?
There are three main reasons to hire a personal injury lawyer if you slip and fall.
- In the heat of the moment, it is difficult to predict what led to your slip. The property may be damaged. Somebody hurrying through the place might have just bumped into you. Maintenance issues may have been pending for a long time.
- The property owners and insurance companies do not accept the legal responsibility for slip and fall accidents unless there is a proven liability.
- Also, the defendants may argue that the injuries are nominal, hardly even existential. So, knowing the extent of injuries becomes extremely important.
Self-Assessment Checks
Several issues could have led to your fall. It could be a cracked or crumbled pavement, unexplained dirt, water, or ice that made the road slippery. Unevenly constructed surfaces or defective carpets, broken railings on stairways, damaged edges of stairs, no warning signs in case of any work in progress, or inadequate lighting system in the area are other probable causes for the mishap.
Before you hire a lawyer, you should confirm your accident details. Ask yourself these questions to get a clear idea of what caused you to slip and fall.
- What time of day did the slip occur? If it was night, was the property area well lit?
- What kind of footwear and clothes were you wearing? Did you slip because of your clothes or shoes?
- Did anyone witness your fall?
- Was the floor (staircase) wet or dry at the time of your fall?
- Did you slip because of some staff?
- Were there any obstructions on the path which caused you to stumble and fall?
These questions will help you understand the cause of your accident. The accident lawyer will ask you these questions before taking your case and help you out well if you can cite the fault in the property that resulted in the accident.
For example, suppose you were walking on wet pavement in a pair of heels (and say the caution signs were also in place, but you missed seeing them), and you slipped. In that case, there’s a weak chance of you winning the slip and fall case.
However, if you were climbing a staircase with no lighting system in good shape and steps with broken edges, there’s a good chance of you winning the case and receiving the benefit and compensation that you are entitled to. Therefore, it is essential to have your notes thoroughly.
Lawyer Charges
Before hiring a lawyer, know that lawyers charge fees for premises liability cases on a contingency fee basis. You will not have to pay anything from your pocket unless the lawyer locates compensation for you.
A part of your compensation will be your lawyer’s fees. It is not entirely possible to know how much compensation you will receive. However, your attorney will be able to make a fair estimate judging by the impact you received.
Filing the Slip and Fall Case
Filing cases is not an easy task. Fraudulent claims are filed on big and small businesses from time to time. That is the reason why you should file your slip and fall case claims with adequate representation and legal backing from an accident lawyer.
Negotiating Your Claims
The property owners and insurance companies dread compensating for slip and fall accident cases. That is where an astute lawyer can use their years of practice to strengthen your case. They will try to prove that they aren’t at fault, ask you to check the facts, make you believe that you slipped due to your negligence, or that the injuries you have incurred are not severe enough to demand compensation.
Your lawyer can ensure that fair justice is served to you. This will also make sure that the property owner fixes the structural issues to avoid compensating anybody else in the future.
