Slip-and-fall victims at local businesses and on public properties can ask for help with their medical bills and other damages. Maison Law of McKinleyville offers legal protection to accident victims and makes sure they have the money to pay for the best care available. Contact us to schedule a free, no-obligation case consultation to find out if we can secure more compensation for you.
Should I Hire a Lawyer If I’m Hurt in a Slip-And-Fall Accident?
If you slip and fall while visiting a store or a public place and suffer very minor injuries, like some cuts and bruises, you may not need a lawyer to help you with your injury claim. But if your injuries are more serious and a business owner or property owner’s negligence led to your fall, your fair treatment may depend on having a skilled lawyer on your side.
Unfortunately, when hospital bills rise, insurance adjusters and corporate lawyers are instructed to find ways to devalue your claim. They may insist that your clumsiness caused your fall. They may try to convince you to sign off on a “lowball” settlement offer that doesn’t cover all of your recovery costs. You may sign away your rights before you realize just how much you’ll need to completely recover.
Your Maison Law attorney is a safeguard against this treatment. Your lawyer fully investigates what happened and uses the evidence collected to force a business to provide the maximum in compensation available. Your attorney can often win you much more than you could by taking on a major company yourself.
What Type of Accidents Can Earn Slip-And-Fall Compensation?
Any accident that occurs that an owner or operator could have prevented would be grounds for a personal injury lawsuit.
Businesses in California, like a grocery store or Walmart, owe their customers a “duty of care.” This means business owners and corporate chains are required to stay concerned with more than just their profits.
They must monitor their floorspace and grounds for potential hazards that visitors, shoppers, tenants, and other guests create or that their own employees cause. These dangers must be cleaned up or repaired in a reasonable amount of time. If they aren’t, and you suffer a slip-and-fall injury, you should expect help with any recovery expenses.
The types of tripping and slipping hazards show up anywhere where people walk through and congregate. They may appear on an aisle at a store, or along the breezeway at an apartment complex.
These are a few of the dangers that can send victims to the Emergency Room at Mad River Community Hospital in Arcata:
- Trip-and-Fall Common Hazards – Floor spaces 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 to send you falling forward.
- Slip-and-Fall Common Hazards – Spills on restaurant floors, on aisles at Safeway, 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 public pools might also cause someone to fall.
What Should I Do If I Slip and Fall and Get Hurt?
After your trip-and-fall accident at a business or on someone’s property, you want a manager or someone in charge to know about what happened.
Alert business employees and allow them to prepare an incident report. This report can serve as valuable evidence for your case.
Contact 911 and get an ambulance on the way if you are hurt. Go to the emergency room if necessary.
If you can stand after your accident, you can also try to gather some other important details:
- Take photos of the obstacle that caused your fall and any visible injuries.
- As mentioned, make sure you alert an owner or manager.
- Get contact information from witnesses.
- Visit your own doctor even if you’ve been to the emergency room. Have all injuries and pain checked out and documented. Follow your doctor’s instructions.
- Save all evidence. Save your receipts if you were shopping when you were hurt. Save the shoes you were wearing in case the owner tries to blame your fall on worn-out tread.
- Contact a McKinleyville slip-and-fall lawyer. Your case may put you up against a national company with lawyers of its own. Don’t talk to them until you’ve discussed your options with a legal professional.
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 Types of Things Can Earn Me Compensation After Falling in Humboldt County?
The medical bills you have now and any anticipated in the months ahead must all be covered in a settlement check. The paychecks you forfeit while you can’t make it to work should be fully reimbursed. The emotional and physical pain experienced in the fall and during a long recovery can also earn additional support. Your lawyer would factor in several other hardships to increase the value of your claim.
Contact a McKinleyville Slip-and-Fall Lawyer
After a slip-and-fall accident, be sure to discuss your case with an experienced McKinleyville slip-and-fall attorney serving all of Humboldt County. 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 business or a store chain, 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 that an owner or operator must provide.
