Visitors love Santa Monica for the salty air, the sun, and the exciting attractions found along the oceanfront. There are also plenty of residents who live and work in Santa Monica. These locals take their kids to school, do their shopping, and check in at local gyms every day in the city.
Unfortunately, any day out in Santa Monica, whether you’re out sightseeing or making a grocery run, comes with some dangers not everyone considers.
There are slip-and-fall dangers anytime you visit any public place like a theme park, a supermarket, or a restaurant. Owners and operators can leave a hazard out that might cause you or a family member to slip or trip to suffer a serious injury. Under California Law, those property owners are then accountable for helping you with every cost of recovery.
Schedule a Free Consultation with a Santa Monica Slip-And-Fall Accident Lawyer
If you or a loved one are the victims of a Santa Monica slip-and-fall accident, it’s important to secure the most in compensation available so your family isn’t left facing recovery bills alone. The insurance companies for owners and operators of stores, attractions, and other public places won’t automatically provide what you need to pay for medical care. Victims could face enormous bills for hospital treatment for injuries like hip fractures, broken arms, and traumatic brain injuries and wonder how they’ll get by.
Maison Law provides a free case evaluation to all Santa Monica and Southern California slip-and-fall victims so they have a no-cost, no-obligation way to learn about the benefits available to them. Talk over your case with a real attorney to make sure a local business owner or a company or corporation is held fully responsible for what you’ve suffered.
Who Is Liable for Slip-And-Fall Accidents in Santa Monica?
Weekend or vacation plans may include a walk out on the Santa Monica Pier or a night of fine dining and shopping along Santa Monica Boulevard. What you may not realize is that you and your family are owed a “duty of care” no matter where you end up.
This legal duty holds the owners and operators of stores, theme parks, workplaces, and other businesses liable for any injuries caused by their negligence. Walmart’s corporate owners or the local owner of a shop at Santa Monica Place must act to protect every visitor or customer they welcome in.
Store owners and employees may create obstacles by leaving boxes on floors, leaving folded up rugs or mats on the ground, or allowing refrigeration units to send water out on the tile. Other customers might leave hazards around by spilling drinks, dropping pickle jars, or leaving candy to roll around the aisles. In any case, it’s the business proprietors’ obligation to monitor for these issues and to clean up or repair them in a reasonable amount of time.
When they are negligent in this duty, and you or a loved one come along and take a fall, owners, companies, and corporations are liable and must provide injury support. However, victims must prove property owners were negligent and that they caused an accident. A skilled Santa Monica Personal Injury Lawyer builds a strong case for you, based on all available evidence. Then your lawyer negotiates the maximum in compensation available so that you can focus on healing, and not on financial worries.
Slip-And-Fall Dangers at Santa Monica Businesses
There are many ways property and business owners can demonstrate negligence and endanger their visitors, customers, clients, tenants, and employees. The Santa Monica slip-and-fall hazards don’t have to be inside either. They may extend out to the parking lots of hotels, stairwells, and sidewalks.
Here are just a few of the many problem areas that could result in a serious injury for a customer:
- Outside a Business or Residential Property – A pothole or cracked sidewalk left unrepaired could catch a foot and cause a trip-and-fall injury. A board along the pier or at Pacific Park could be raised to stub a toe and cause a fall. The railing of a stairwell at an apartment complex or at a Santa Monica parking garage might be shaky and cause a tumble down the stairs.
- Inside a Store or Public Building – Where there’s a lot of foot traffic, sodas, juice, and other puddles will end on the floor. Sweat or shower water on the tile could be an issue at a local gym. These hazards should be spotted by employees and warning signs should be out until a mop is located. Items in the aisle like food, store displays, and sharp corners are all tripping hazards. Public bathrooms can be especially dangerous places with water and soap combining to cause slip-and-falls.
What to Do After a Santa Monica Trip-And-Fall Accident
Once you’ve wound up on the ground, there are steps to take to make sure the right people are held responsible for your accident.
If you are physically strong enough try to gather this important slip-and-fall evidence on the scene:
- Call for an ambulance – If you are hurt, call 911. Request to get checked out by paramedics. The shock of the accident might be masking the pain of a much more serious injury. If you can’t move, ask someone with you or a helpful witness to help you collect evidence.
- Take photos – Document the hazard that caused your fall before it’s cleaned up, repaired, or carried off by those responsible. Note any warning signs or the lack of signs. Show any visible injuries or damage to clothing.
- Alert a manager – Make sure a property owner or representative knows what occurred. They’ll likely need to create an incident report. This report can serve as valuable evidence for your case.
- Get contact information from any witnesses — This may include helpful employees.
- Keep evidence – Hang on to any receipts you have from the business where you fell. Keep the shoes you were wearing. Try not to wear them again in case corporate owners try to contend that worn shoe tread was to blame for your fall and not their negligence.
- See your physician – Make an appointment with your medical care provider. Get all pain and injuries documented. Follow orders to see any specialists and attend physical therapy appointments if prescribed.
What Kind of Compensation Can I Receive After a Santa Monica Slip-And-Fall Accident?
Once you turn your accident case over to a Santa Monica Slip-And-Fall Accident Lawyer, your attorney goes to work investigating your case to recover more strong evidence to add to your own.
Once your claim is ready to file against a business owner’s commercial liability insurance provider, you’ll also be submitting a list of every injury hardship you’ve faced. This list includes economic and non-economic damages you and your family have suffered.
These are just a few of the things that will factor into the amount you’ll see in a slip-and-fall settlement check:
- Totals on current medical bills and those expected in the future.
- Any expenses associated with a permanent disability. The cost of support over a lifetime.
- Wrongful death benefits. For the families left behind who have lost a loved one due to a property owner’s negligence. This includes assistance with funeral and medical costs. A wrongful death claim also seeks money to replace the weekly income the deceased can no longer provide to close relatives.
- The toll of physical pain and emotional trauma.
- Loss of enjoyment of life due to an injury
- Travel costs of making doctor’s appointments while unable to drive.
- All income and benefits lost while in recovery as victims are unable to perform job duties.
Contact a Santa Monica Slip-and-Fall Lawyer
After a slip-and fall accident involving a serious injury at any public place in Santa Monica, take action to hold at-fault parties fully responsible. Victims should be left free to focus on healing and not left to face anxiety over how their hospital bills will get paid.
Contact attorney Martin Gasparian for a free consultation and case evaluation. Mr. Gasparian gives injured victims and their families in Santa Monica a voice when confronting insurance companies and corporate chains to demand support.
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