Taking a fall down a rickety flight of stairs or having something fall from overhead to hit you at a business can leave you in shock and with a painful injury. These are examples of premises liability accidents, called that because the property owners of any premises (like a business) are responsible for the safety of clients, customers, residents, and any visitor.
Victims can file injury claims to get help with their recovery costs, but they can just as easily have an unhelpful insurance provider reject their claims. Fortunately, victims have a few options to seek a reversal on that denial of coverage from the insurer. A skilled California premises liability accident lawyer can help victims refile a claim, but this time make sure it comes along with enough evidence to win the support they need.
Taking Action After Having Your Premises Liability Injury Claim Rejected
California store owners, homeowners, landlords, and even city administrators are liable under premises liability ordinances to keep all visitors safe. The duty falls under California Civil Code CCC 1714 and other state laws.
Property owners must remove the hazards their employees might create, like exposed wiring, and watch for the hazards guests and tenants might leave behind, like a spilled drink, and have them cleaned up. When they are late to remove accident dangers, and someone gets hurt, they can be fully liable for recovery costs.
Unfortunately, insurance companies for property owners protect their profits by making it difficult for victims to seek and secure settlement money. They can even find excuses to completely reject a claim and leave victims with nothing.
Victims will receive a rejection letter, and it should make clear what excuse the insurer is using to deny coverage. These are a few of the most common reasons victims are denied help:
- Cite a lack of evidence
- Cite missed deadlines
- Cite a lack of witnesses
- They feel victims were clumsy or distracted and caused their own accidents
- They feel there’s not enough medical proof that the injuries were real and serious, and not pre-existing
- Cite the fine print in a commercial liability policy that excludes coverage of the accident
A skilled Maison Law attorney can help you decipher the true reason for your claim being denied. This is a critical step because it tells you what to focus on in your appeal when you refile a claim.
Your attorney’s experience can also help determine when an insurer has no concrete reason to toss out your claim. Your lawyer helps deflect any attempt to blame you for your accident. Maison Law can call out an insurance company for unfair behavior and even report the company.
Options for Premises Liability Victims Who Have Their Claims Rejected
Premises liability accidents can take many forms. They may occur around a pool when debris or slick spots aren’t mopped up, allowing a dangerous fall on the cement. They can happen on a stairwell at an apartment complex when someone reaches for a loose handrail and is sent headfirst down to the bottom level.
The injuries can be devastating, and victims should file injury claims against negligent California business owners and property owners. Owners and operators will have commercial liability insurance or homeowners insurance to cover such accidents, but assistance isn’t guaranteed.
Insurers can deny benefits and close a case, leaving victims to pay their own medical bills and face their lost paychecks while they can’t work on their own.
Fortunately, California protects accident victims and allows them a few ways to fight back when they’ve had an insurance claim tossed out.
Getting Help from the California Department of Insurance. Victims always have the option to report the insurance company to the California Department of Insurance (CDI). They should do this if they think the insurer has broken state laws and guidelines when rejecting a case. The CDI can investigate the case and force insurers to pay the victim enough to cover all recovery costs. They can also fine an insurance business. Waiting on a government agency to take action can come with many delays. The CDI may also agree with the insurer, leaving you with nothing.
Filing an Insurance Appeal. Victims can also send a formal letter of appeal to the insurer. Insurance companies are required to have a process to allow for appeals to their claim decisions. Premises liability victims would usually be granted a new insurance adjuster, and a rerun of the claims process would be initiated. A skilled lawyer would add to the evidence to make a claim stronger and less vulnerable to insurance tactics. Maison Laws would include witness testimony, medical charts showing the extent of the injury, and even surveillance video if available. This new information can force an insurance company to reverse its original decisions.
Filing a Premises Liability Lawsuit. When insurers won’t budge on their unfair decisions, victims sometimes have to file lawsuits and rely on a judge to award fair support. It’s a good idea to have a good accident lawyer before going into any trial. The process will be complex with plenty of complicated paperwork and deadlines to meet. Your lawyer represents the threat of a lawsuit and can often convince insurers to return to the settlement negotiations table, making a trial unnecessary.
What Is My Premises Liability Appeal Worth?
If you are awarded a judgment or settlement in an appeal or a lawsuit, you should receive compensation for every hardship a premises liability accident has caused you. The compensation should equal whatever you would have earned in your first claim attempt.
The size of the award will depend on the economic and non-economic damages the victim has endured. The totals on hospital bills are easy to calculate, but the non-economic damages can be just as real and damaging, and should also be part of any compensation.
Your Maison Law representative would be demanding full support for these and other damages on your behalf:
- Your current medical expenses and whatever money is required to cover any care expected to be needed in the years ahead.
- Lifetime support if you suffer a permanent disability.
- Support for the physical pain and emotional anguish you suffer. This can include a loss of enjoyment of life and a loss of intimacy with a spouse or partner.
- Support for your travel costs while attending doctor appointments and out-of-area specialists. Transport can be expensive when victims can’t drive and are confined to wheelchairs or left on crutches.
- Reimbursement for every lost paycheck and benefit while you have had to miss valuable work hours due to injury.
- Wrongful Death Benefits. Families who have lost a loved one in a premises liability accident may file a wrongful death claim. This civil claim seeks help with funeral costs and medical expenses. It should also protect the family from economic hardships in the future when they’ll be without the financial support the deceased would have provided.
When Do I Need a California Premises Liability Lawyer
If you are seriously hurt at someone’s business or on their property, you should speak to a California premises liability lawyer as soon as possible. If you’ve already filed an injury claim and been rejected, it’s also a good time to discuss your case with a lawyer.
If your case was originally thrown out, don’t let insurers get away with it. Maison Law offers a free case consultation to all victims, so they can be aware of what their injuries are worth and what they should demand from an insurer in a second attempt at justice.
There’s no obligation, but if you need our help to hold an insurance company liable, you won’t need any money. There are no up-front costs to hire Maison. We also don’t get paid if we lose your case or appeal. If we win, our fee comes out of the premises liability settlement check that an insurer must write for you.
