Slip-and-fall victims in Lodi can take legal action to secure help with their medical bills and other damages. Maison Law of Lodi offers protection to accident victims and makes sure they get the support necessary to make a full recovery without lingering financial issues. Contact us to schedule a free, no-obligation case consultation to find out how much your injury may be worth.
Should I Hire a Lawyer If I’m Hurt in a Slip-And-Fall Accident?
If you slip and fall on a hazard while visiting a store or a public place and suffer a serious injury, it’s a good idea to speak to a Lodi slip-and-fall lawyer. A serious injury will come along with much higher medical bills. This increased cost triggers insurance companies for business owners to fight harder to avoid blame and financial responsibility.
If your accident occurs at a major retail chain or restaurant chain, you may even have to face off against corporate lawyers, all trying to discredit your injury claim. A lawyer safeguards your rights and also has a good chance to bring home much more in support for you.
These are just a few of the ways a lawyer can increase the value of your claim:
- Your lawyer fully investigates your accident and the at-fault party’s safety record
- Uses the evidence collected to build a strong case
- Gets aggressive when an insurance adjuster tries to say you were just clumsy or were wearing worn-out shoes when you fell
- Gathers your medical charts and works with your doctors to prevent corporate lawyers from downplaying your injuries
- Files your claim and handles the frustrating negotiation process, allowing you to focus on getting better
- Makes sure any settlement covers any time and income you’ve had to miss at your place of employment
- Makes sure a settlement offer leaves you with money to get medical care in the future in case an injury flares up unexpectedly
- If a settlement offer is too small, your lawyer rejects it and demands more
- If an insurance company won’t accept full blame for what happened, your lawyer is prepared to file a lawsuit and take the insurer to court
What Type of Accidents Can Earn Slip-And-Fall Compensation?
California is happy to support businesses big and small in towns like Lodi. Yet, our state premises liability laws also hold business owners and property owners to a high standard. They are expected to protect the people they invite in each day. That can be visitors, customers, clients, tenants, and employees.
Owners and operators must avoid creating any risks that might cause someone to fall and get hurt. They must also monitor their guests’ actions and act if someone creates a mess or a spill that could cause another visitor to fall. They must act to repair or clean up these hazards or face liability when someone falls and breaks a bone or hits their head and gets a Traumatic Brain Injury.
In Lodi, a trip-and-fall might occur when debris is left in an aisle at Walmart or Save Mart. A landlord may leave the railing on a stairwell unrepaired, leading to a devastating tumble for a resident. These acts of neglect will usually be grounds for a lawsuit.
These are a few of the dangers that can send victims to the Emergency Room at Adventist Health Lodi Memorial:
- Trip-and-Fall Common Hazards – Sales floors and store aisles strewn with trash and cluttered with boxes and displays. These obstacles can catch a foot and send someone down on their knee or to hit their head. Landscaping hazards at a park or roots growing through a sidewalk, could cause a fall and a painful injury. In the parking lot, potholes are prime spots to grab your foot and send you falling forward. Businesses are usually responsible for falls when you park and try to walk inside.
- Slip-and-Fall Common Hazards – Spills on restaurant floors, on aisles at Food 4 Less, or at a government office might send you falling backward. Leaking water may sit on the floor way too long until you come along and slip. Bathrooms are also danger zones when soap ends up on the tile. Unattended areas around pools at a hotel or apartment complex might also cause someone to fall. These puddles and slick spots must be attended to before someone gets hurt. In some cases, a wet floor sign isn’t enough to excuse businesses from blame in a fall.
Your Lodi Premises Liability Lawyer fully investigates what happened and collects the evidence needed to place the fault in the accident squarely on the business owner. We then demand everything you will need to fully recover. Our lawyers can often earn you much more in support than you could earn by taking a large company yourself.
What Kind of Slip-And-Fall Support Can I Secure After a Slip-And-Fall Injury?
When filing an injury claim with a liability insurance company, victims will need to write up a list of every hardship they’ve been put through and may continue to go through.
This list must be backed up with documentation and evidence of things like hospital invoice totals and lost paychecks. A doctor’s assessment of how long your injuries will take to heal will also help an insurer realize how long you may need support to last.
This list alerts the at-fault party and the insurer as to what you expect them to be responsible for. Any damage accidentally left off the list is something the insurance company can ignore and leave for you to pay.
Your Maison Law attorney makes sure these damages and more are a part of your claim:
- Hospital and physical therapy expenses in the present and those expected in the months to come. This must include the costs of medications, medical equipment, and travel expenses going to see specialists.
- Life-long costs associated with a permanent physical disability.
- Support for physical pain. The devastating effects chronic pain can have on a patient over a lifetime, and the cost of pain medication over months and years.
- Support for emotional distress. The anxiety and depression that can follow a terrible accident, and being unable to enjoy the freedoms the victim once had.
- Paychecks and benefits lost while missing work. Your W-2s will show the money you’ve lost.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a slip-and-fall injury claim?
California grants victims up to two years to file a claim. But you shouldn’t wait to look into filing a claim. Evidence can become harder to find when you delay. Also, be aware that any injury claim filed against a government agency may have a much shorter statute of limitations. You may only have months to file. This is important if you are hurt at a county park or at a government office like the DMV. A skilled attorney can help you meet all deadlines and force a city, county, state, or federal agency to admit fault.
What if I can’t afford to pay a slip-and-fall lawyer?
You won’t need any upfront money to pay Maison Law. Our lawyers work on a contingency basis. It means we don’t get paid unless we win your case. Then our fee comes out of the settlement check that a commercial liability insurance company must provide to you and your family.
What should I do at the scene of my slip-and-fall?
Call for an ambulance if you are hurt. Then, if you are left strong enough, take some photos of the obstacle that caused your fall. Alert a manager or owner to what happened so that an incident report can be written up. Get witness contact information. Note if any surveillance cameras are in the area. Contact a skilled Lodi attorney and turn over this information and evidence.
Contact a Lodi Slip-and-Fall Lawyer
After a slip-and-fall accident at business or public space, be sure to discuss your case with an experienced Lodi slip-and-fall attorney. You should be able to focus on your recovery without worrying about the hospital bills piling up and the paychecks you’re missing while out of work.
Contact us today for a free case evaluation to find out how we can help you pay for recovery. We want you back on your feet physically and financially. There’s no obligation, but if you need our help to take on a store or large corporation, you don’t need to worry about how you’ll pay for a lawyer. We don’t accept any payment unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement check Walmart provides.
