Maison Law is committed to helping slip-and-fall victims in Salinas secure the recovery support they need to rebuild their lives. To find out what you should be demanding from an at-fault party that contributed to your fall, contact a skilled Slip-And-Fall Lawyer and schedule a free consultation. It’s a no-risk way to determine what your injury is worth and how to hold the negligent property owner or business owner who caused your fall fully responsible.
Do I Need a Slip-And-Fall Lawyer?
After a fall at a store, an apartment, or any public place that leaves you with a serious injury, it’s a smart idea to talk over your case with a skilled slip-and-fall attorney. If you only suffer some soreness, you probably won’t need a lawyer’s help, but if your injury involves something like a broken bone or a brain injury, a lawyer may be a necessary defense against insurance tactics.
Commercial liability insurance providers can see your rising medical bills and immediately start to look for ways to wiggle out of taking responsibility. They may try to pin the accident on you and claim that you are clumsy. They may claim your injuries are from a previous accident. Your Salinas slip-and-fall lawyer uses evidence to knock down these accusations and then demands the most in compensation possible for you.
Types of Slip-and-Fall and Trip-and-Fall Accidents in Salinas
Aside from the rare days when there is snow and ice in Salinas, here are some common types of slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall accidents:
- Wet or freshly polished floors without caution signs.
- Liquid spills.
- Tracked in precipitation.
- Uneven walking surfaces.
- Holes in parking lots and sidewalks.
- Cluttered shopping aisles.
- Loose flooring or carpeting.
- Stairways that are in disrepair or lacking handrails.
Who Is Liable After a Slip-And-Fall Injury?
If you are hurt in a slip-and-fall or a trip-and-fall at a public place, at a Salinas business where you are invited in, or around your apartment complex, you may be able to hold owners and operators responsible. In the case of an injury that occurs at a store or restaurant chain, a corporate owner may also be held liable. A claim should be filed if you believe the actions of the property or business owner created a hazard that caused you harm.
California has premises liability laws that protect customers, clients, tenants, and others when they step on someone else’s property. Those property owners and companies have a duty to keep all guests they invite in safe. It’s a legal concept known as a “duty of care.” Owners and operators must take action to clean up, remove, or repair any known hazard that an employee creates or a visitor leaves behind.
Supermarket managers must make sure routine inspections are done in parking lots and along aisles to spot any spills a customer causes. When they are negligent in this duty and you are able to come along and take a fall on the pavement or hard floor, the business can be held responsible. It’s the same duty for a landlord who leaves a stairwell in disrepair until someone tumbles down the steps and gets hurt.
California personal injury law allows you to file an injury claim and seek an injury settlement from the local owner or a corporate owner. Unfortunately, their insurance adjusters will be fighting hard to shed blame. And when dealing with a large retail chain like Walmart, you may also have to battle corporate lawyers. They’ll seek ways to get you to sign off on a deal that gives you far too little support to pay for your recovery or no support at all. Having a lawyer of your own becomes necessary to balance the scales in your favor.
Common Types of Slip-and-Fall Injuries
Injuries that are suffered in slip-and-falls and trip-and-falls can be severe, especially when the victim is 65-years-old or over. The laws of physics tell us that if a person slips and then falls, he or she usually falls backward. If that victim trips and then falls, he or she usually falls forward. Here are some common types of slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall injuries:
- Traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries.
- Injuries to the cervical and lumbar spine, including vertebrae and spinal discs.
- Leg and hip fractures.
- Wrist, knee, and ankle injuries.
- Facial and jaw fractures with dental injuries.
- Rib fractures.
- Wrist fractures.
Compensation Available for Slip-And-Fall Victims
Every hardship you endure in an accident and during injury recovery should earn compensation for you and your family. You’ll be submitting a claim for damages to the at-fault party’s insurance provider and the claim should include a list of every damage you’ve suffered.
Your Salinas Slip-And-Fall Lawyer ensures that no damage is left off your claim because anything not included can end up as a bill that your family would have to cover. Your attorney will also be listing some factors that you may not have known could earn you more in a slip-and-fall settlement.
These and other factors will determine how much an insurance company will offer you in a settlement check:
- All current hospital and rehabilitation expenses and those expected in the future.
- The lifelong expenses associated with a permanent disability resulting from a trip-and-fall injury.
- Compensation for the physical pain suffered and perhaps chronic pain for a lifetime.
- Support for emotional trauma. Anxiety and depression can arise after a frightening slip-and-fall and during a long recovery. A patient’s enjoyment of life may be affected if mobility and freedom are lost due to a hip or knee injury.
- All income and benefits lost at work while the patient is unable to perform job duties.
- Travel costs accumulated to see surgeons and to attend physical therapy. Transportation costs can escalate while victims are in a cast or in a wheelchair and unable to drive.
Don’t Take a Second Fall
Upon being injured in a slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall, report it immediately and get to an emergency room without delay. Insist on paramedics being called and taking you if necessary. Both paramedics and emergency room personnel will document your injuries. This is critical to tying in your injuries with your fall.
If you can manage it before you leave in an ambulance, try to get photos of the obstacle that sent you down. Odds are that obstacle will be removed as soon as you leave and your lawyer won’t be able to get visual evidence of it. If you are taken away, try to get someone with you or a witness to take pictures for you. Get contact information from all witnesses if possible.
The insurer of the owner or occupier of the property might contact you and ask for a statement about how your accident happened and the nature and extent of your injuries. California law doesn’t require you to give that insurer any type of statement. The insurance company will only try to use your statement against you in the future to try to devalue your claim or deny it in its entirety. The best thing that you can do is to preserve and protect your rights is to contact us here at Maison Law for a free confidential consultation and case review.
Contact a Salinas Slip-and-Fall Lawyer
If you suffered injuries in a slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall accident in or around Salinas, contact us at Maison Law right away. We’re going to listen to you carefully, and you can tell us about the cause of your fall and how you’ve been affected by your injuries. You’ll have questions, and we’ll be happy to answer those questions. Then, we’ll be pleased to go over your best options. We’ll be upfront with you about if we feel we can earn you more in compensation, or if you’re better off filing a claim yourself.
If we’re retained to represent you, our goal will be to obtain the maximum settlement or award possible. If you do hire us, you won’t have to worry about having the money to pay attorney fees. Maison Law doesn’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement check you receive.
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