A slip-and-fall accident can cause much more serious injuries than many people realize. As a result of a slip-and-fall, you can end up with injuries that can linger for the rest of your life, from brain injuries to serious broken bones. Filing a personal injury claim can help you obtain compensation for slip-and-fall injuries caused by another party’s negligence.
Do you need an attorney to help? What benefit does an attorney really bring to the table in a slip-and-fall case?
An Attorney Can Help You Determine Who Bears Liability for Your Slip-and-Fall Accident
If you slip-and-fall on a spill in a store, you might logically assume that the business bears liability for your accident. However, in some cases, figuring out liability may not be quite so straightforward. You might, for example, fall because of poor construction on a flight of stairs. Who bears liability? It could be:
- The owner of the property
- A construction company or contractor that recently worked on the property
- A separate vendor that operates out of the property
An attorney can take a look at all the details of your slip-and-fall accident claim and determine who bears liability – or if you have a claim in which more than one party shares liability for the accident, which could further increase the compensation you can recover.
An Attorney Can Help You Piece Together Evidence Related to Your Claim
In many slip-and-fall cases, the liable party’s insurance company may try to prove that you caused your accident in some way: that you ignored warnings, for example, or chose to enter a dangerous area. The insurance company may attempt to argue that the liable party could not reasonably have known about the potential hazard, despite the fact that the company or individual clearly knew about the danger.
An attorney can help seek out evidence related to your claim. An attorney may have access to the information you might struggle to access on your own, including information about people who may have sustained injuries in the past due to a company’s negligence or information about the property’s maintenance history. Furthermore, an attorney can consult with an expert witness who can take a look at the scene of the accident and provide more information and context about how your fall may have occurred.
An Attorney Can Help You Break Down the Compensation You Need
Slip-and-fall accidents can result in substantial injuries, from broken bones, including broken hips, to traumatic brain injury and even spinal cord injuries. In many cases, those injuries bring with them substantial medical expenses. You may, for example, end up paying $16,000 or more for surgery to set a broken bone. If you have more severe injuries, your medical costs could mount even higher.
As part of your personal injury claim, you may have the right to claim compensation for all financial losses related to the accident, from your direct medical expenses to your lost wages. In addition, many personal injury claims, including slip-and-fall claims, include compensation for pain and suffering.
However, many people do not realize upfront how much compensation they really deserve for their injuries. As a result, they may end up accepting a low settlement offer from the insurance company, rather than negotiating – or, when needed, fighting – for the compensation they really deserve.
An Attorney Can Help Put Together a Compelling Slip-and-Fall Accident Claim
The way your claim is presented can have a significant impact on the way it is perceived and, in some cases, the likelihood that the insurance company will offer you the compensation you really deserve for your injuries. A compelling slip-and-fall accident claim will clearly establish how your accident occurred, who bears liability for it, and what compensation you deserve. That claim can increase the odds that the insurance company will take your accident seriously and provide you with the compensation you deserve.
A Slip-And-Fall Attorney Can Help You Handle the Insurance Company (or Take Over)
In most cases, slip-and-fall claims will mean dealing with the liable party’s property insurance company. Dealing with the insurance company can prove incredibly difficult and stressful.
You may feel as though you have to watch many of your words carefully since any communication could be misconstrued and even used against you in a later personal injury claim. You may worry that you are inadvertently limiting the compensation you can recover for your injuries, or that the insurance company will try to take advantage of your lack of knowledge about the situation.
A slip-and-fall attorney can take over that interaction for you, reducing your stress and increasing the odds that you will get that compensation.
You May Need an Attorney to Represent You If You Have to Take Your Claim to Court
Going to court over a slip-and-fall accident claim can increase your stress levels still further. Most claims settle out of court. If you do have to take your claim to court, you may worry that the insurance company will not ultimately pay out the compensation you really deserve. Having an attorney on your side can prove critical.
An attorney can present your case to the court, argue on your behalf, and ultimately help build your case in a way that will make it more likely that the court will award the compensation you deserve.
Reach Out to Our Team for Help Today
If you suffered injuries in a slip-and-fall, an attorney can offer a number of critical services that may help you move forward with your claim and obtain the compensation you deserve. Contact a slip-and-fall lawyer as soon after your accident as possible to give you a better idea of the compensation you deserve and the steps you need to take to pursue it.
