Uneven stairs, puddles of water, or other hazardous conditions can cause you to slip and fall. These setbacks can happen anywhere, from a crowded grocery store to a heavily populated shopping mall. Many people, especially people over 65, suffer catastrophic injuries from slip and fall accidents. Victims of slip and falls may be eligible for compensation for lost wages, pain, medical expenses, and suffering. If you or a loved one is seriously injured as a result of a fall, please do not hesitate to speak with a member of our legal team about your legal options. Our Los Angeles slip and fall accident attorneys can help clients with catastrophic fall injuries. We will fight for maximum compensation from any liable parties based on our many years of legal experience and professional achievements.
What is the responsibility of a property owner to prevent slipping and falling in Los Angeles?
The owner has a general duty (known as the duty of care) to keep his property in good working condition and to protect or warn others from dangerous circumstances. If the property owner violates this responsibility and harms another person, he or she may be held liable for any damage in a personal injury claim.
However, it is important to remember that being hurt on someone else's property does not always guarantee that the property owner will be held responsible or liable. The owner of a property or business is not responsible for the safety of anyone who enters his or her premises.
Instead, the criterion of "reasonableness" is applied to an individual or company. As a result, if a reasonable owner was previously aware of the condition and could have taken the appropriate steps to render his property safe, and did not, the owner could be considered negligent and held liable.
Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents
In theory, anything on a property can cause slip and fall accidents. However, not all causes of these accidents result in the liability of the owner. Below are some of the most common causes of slip and fall accidents for which compensation may be paid:
Other likely causes include wearing inappropriate shoes or not paying careful attention to your surroundings while walking. Doing so could make you partially responsible for a slip and fall accident, which could affect the outcome of your slip and fall claim.
Defenses to a slip and fall claim in California
Slip and fall claims are often met with protection from defendants and insurance companies that pay for their claims. Property owners and other defendants often argue a multitude of defense including that the plaintiff violated the boundary of ownership, the owner was unaware of the unsafe condition, or that the plaintiff was partially responsible for the fall. Our experienced slip and fall attorneys are ready to answer and adamantly counter all these types of common defenses.
It is important to understand that even if your own negligence was partially responsible for the accident, you might still be eligible for slip and fall compensation. However, the amount of compensation you may receive will be reduced in proportion to your fault. For example, if your losses are $100,000 and the jury decides that you are 20% at fault, your compensatory recovery will be reduced to $80,000. Since most claims will be settled prior to litigation, your compensation will be determined through negotiations with the insurance company. As a result, it is crucially important to hire an experienced lawyer who will fight for your interests.
Slip and fall accidents can result in life-threatening injuries.
It is very important to see a doctor as soon as possible after the occurrence an accident of slipping or falling. What may appear to be a negligible bump on your head can be a serious concussion, which can get worse quickly if left untreated. An ache that feels like a sprain may be a broken bone that will get worse if medical attention and treatment is not sought immediately. Many minor injuries result from slipping and falling, but they can also lead to serious injury or even death. We have observed the following injuries from slip and fall accidents:
Seeing a medical professional as soon as possible after a fall injury will improve your long-term medical prognosis as well as increase the credibility of your slip and fall claim. Having early evidence of this helps insurance appraisers and juries validate your injury and damage.
Slip and fall compensation
A professional lawyer will fight for full monetary and non-monetary compensation for your losses. Future losses can be added, but they must be demonstrated with some degree of certainty. Before your claim is settled or brought to court, it is very important to indicate the alleged damage. Once the case is closed, it is almost impossible to reopen a claim and retroactively increase claim compensation.
Below are some examples of potential economic losses:
How is our Law Firm different from others?
Many law firms handle slip and fall claims. However, most personal injury law firms represent large numbers of clients with mild injuries and tend to settle every case without spending adequate time addressing the core details and circumstances of the case. Our lawyers at Amerberg Law Group understand that clients with long-term injuries usually require substantial resources to help prove their case. We can use these resources to help our clients protect their legal rights as needed.
Our lawyers in Los Angeles can help you with the process of filing a claim for your damages, regardless of what caused the accident, where it happened, or the resulting severity of the injury prompted by the accidence. We have the resources and energy to give your case its required consideration because we limit our practice to catastrophic trauma. We also provide a free legal assessment of your rights and advise you on whether our firm can assist you in obtaining financial recovery.
Contact us for a free no-obligation quote today.
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What to do in a car accident?
When you get into an accident you might feel a bit or a lot frustrated, depending on the severity of the collision. It is important to pull yourself together (if possible) and take the following steps promptly:
- 1. Move to a safe area right away (if you can)
- Move your vehicle / motorcycle out of the way, for example the road shoulder, in order to prevent further harm. If your car is impossible to move, turn on your emergency lights to let other drivers know that you’re going to be there for a while.
- 2. Stop your car and get out of it
- Make sure that your car has come to a complete stop and is no longer moving, turn it off, put it into the park mode or use the hand break if you’re driving a manual. Take a deep breath and look around to make sure it is safe to get out before you open the door. Flares and other safety items might come in handy.
- 3. Check on other people
- Walk over to the other parties involved (drivers, passengers and pedestrians) in order to make sure they are not hurt. If someone is injured it is time to call 911. A person may be severely injured even if showing no significant signs other than dizziness and bruises.
- 4. Report to the police
- It is always best to have a police officer come to the scene which will allow you to prove important details in the future when dealing with the insurance company. Be careful not to admit fault or put the blame on the involved drivers right away at the scene. This would be the police job to adequately judge the situation and conclude whose fault it really is. There are cases when police often don't come to the scene (usually when there’s no injuries), in which case you can simply report your accident to your local DMV.
- 5. Information exchange
- Try to gather as much information as possible according to the list below:
- 6. Documenting the scene
- Most likely you have your smartphone with a camera, use it to take a few pictures of the accident. This will be a great addition to the other claim details.
- 7. File your insurance claim
- All these steps will make the process much smoother and less stressful.