Conyers Slip and Fall Lawyer
Georgia property owners have a legal obligation to ensure they provide a safe environment that prevents accidents such as slip and fall accidents.
Slip and fall accidents might sound like no big deal, but the truth is that slip and fall accidents can cause broken bones, head injuries, or even injuries to spinal cords. Not only can slip and falls cause severe physical injuries, but any injury caused by a slip and fall accident can lead to expensive medical bills and missing wages due to lost work. An experienced slip and fall accident attorney in Georgia can not only help you recover those costs but can help you with compensation for your injuries and other losses.
Slip and Fall Liability
When you visit another person’s property, no matter if it is a residential property like a home or apartment, commercial property like a shopping center or store, or even if you are walking through a parking lot or using a building’s escalator or elevator, you expect to encounter safe conditions. You would not expect to trip in a parking lot or slip on a wet area in a store. That is because property owners are expected to provide adequate warnings to hazards they are unable to remove immediately. If you do find yourself injured by a hazard left in negligence on a property, you need to contact a slip and fall lawyer right away.
If you were injured because of an uneven walkway, a floor was wet unexpectedly, or if a stairway or parking lot was covered with patches of ice, your injury was caused by someone else’s negligence. The failure of the property owner to maintain a safe environment on the premises led to your slip and fall injuries, and that property owner or company needs to be held accountable.
Many different injuries can arise out of a slip and fall accident. Any of these injuries caused by a slip and fall accident could cause serious harm.
Slip and Fall Injuries
- Fractures – Someone who falls will instinctively reach out to try and break their fall with a hand or arm. This is why broken wrists and bones in the hands are common injuries associated with slip and fall accidents. The height of the fall and the position of landing could lead to more severe injuries such as a broken arm or leg. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that more than 95 percent of hip fractures are caused by falling. The elderly are especially subject to hip fractures after a fall. One out of every five patients dies within a year following a fall caused by a hip fracture.
- Shoulder Injuries – Another injury commonly caused by instinctively catching oneself is a dislocated shoulder or an injury known as a “brachial plexus injury.” A brachial plexus injury can not only limit movement in the shoulder and arm area, but it can be a painful injury to sustain.
- Head Injuries – It can be easy to hit your head when you fall, whether it is on the ground or on another object that might break your fall. Falling causes a range of head injuries from mild to severe concussions to more serious traumatic brain injuries. According to the CDC, falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries.
- Back and Spine Injuries – Falling can cause especially serious injuries to the back and spine. Landing wrong in a fall or landing on your back can cause slipped or herniated disks, damage to the vertebrae, or other serious issues. One of the most common complaints from accidental injuries or strain is chronic back pain, a painful recurring condition. A fall can also cause severe damage to the spinal cord in more serious situations, resulting in paralysis.
According to the CDC, falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries to adults age 65 and older. Of these adults, one in three will fall this year. The elderly are especially susceptible to being severely injured in a slip and fall accident.
What To Do After A Slip-And-Fall Accident
After a slip-and-fall accident, there are steps you can take to help safeguard your health and protect your legal rights. Let’s go over those now.
Seek Medical Attention And Follow Doctor Recommendations
First, you should seek medical attention right away. Even if you don’t think you need to see a doctor, the best practice is to do so. Seeing a doctor creates a paper trail to document the accident and your injuries. Seeing a doctor also ensures your injuries are correctly identified and treated.
During the accident, your body may produce an excess of adrenaline, which has a masking effect on the pain you’re feeling. Because of this, you may feel fine right after an accident. However, you may have internal injuries, a concussion, or another injury that hasn’t reared its head yet. Because the severity of an injury may not be immediately apparent, it’s usually worth seeing a doctor as soon as possible.
Seeking medical treatment also helps strengthen your injury claim by showing that you did everything possible to mitigate your damages. Follow your doctor’s treatment recommendations and, if possible, keep a pain log to track your symptoms.
File An Insurance Claim
If you slipped and fell on someone else’s property, you may have to file a claim with their insurance company. Make sure to file this claim within a reasonable time after the accident occurs. This helps move things along when evidence and memories are still fresh. It also shows you acted diligently and didn’t try to delay things.
You can contact a slip-and-fall attorney if you have any questions about this process. They understand how to win a slip-and-fall accident claim and file the proper claim with the right insurance company.
We have years of experience helping slip-and-fall victims successfully navigate the claims process.
Proving Negligence And Liability
To have a chance at winning your slip-and-fall accident claim, you need to be able to prove negligence and liability. Let’s go over these in turn below.
What Is Negligence?
Negligence is a legal theory of personal injury that encompasses four essential elements. These elements are:
- Duty of care. The at-fault party must have owed you a duty of care to act as a reasonably prudent person would under the circumstances. For slip-and-fall cases, this typically means they were the property owner and you were lawfully present on the property.
- Breach of the duty of care. A breach occurs when the at-fault party failed to fulfill their duty of care. For slip and falls, this could mean they didn’t properly care for or maintain the property or that they ignored hazardous conditions.
- Injury. To recover compensation, you must have suffered an injury (or damages) because of the accident. For example, you may have lost time at work, incurred medical expenses, or experienced a loss of enjoyment in life.
- Causation. For the other party to be liable for your damages, you need to show that there is a sufficient causal link between their breach and your injuries.
Plaintiffs need to prove all four elements to have a chance of winning their case.
How Do I Prove Someone’s Liability?
So how do you prove that someone is liable for the accident and your injuries? What you need to do to meet your burden of proof depends on the facts of your case and the applicable law.
A slip-and-fall attorney can help you gather and present the appropriate amount and type of evidence to help you win your case. For example, they might interview employees and department heads to find out if they had a process in place for inspecting and maintaining the premises. Or your attorney might call in medical experts to testify about your condition and its impact on your quality of life.
What Damages To Sue For In A Slip-And-Fall Accident Case?
Victims of a slip-and-fall accident may pursue damages or compensation for their injuries and the impact their injuries have had on their lives.
There are three types of damages that may be available to you in your personal injury case:
- Economic (special) damages,
- Noneconomic (general) damages, and
- Punitive damages.
Whether these types of compensation are available to you depend on the unique circumstances of your case and the applicable law.
We help personal injury victims and their families maximize the recovery they receive for their injuries. You are hurting, physically and financially, after an accident and deserve every penny you’re owed..
Economic (Or Special) Damages
Economic damages, also known as special damages, reimburse you for the economic losses you suffered because of your accident and injury. They might include lost wages, medical bills, and lost earning capacity.
Noneconomic (Or General) Damages
Noneconomic, or general , damages seek to compensate you for the emotional and psychological costs of your accident and injury. These include pain and suffering, loss of quality of life, and emotional stress.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages serve to punish the wrongdoer and prevent similar harms from occurring in the future. In Georgia, courts typically impose punitive damages only where there is evidence of fraud, malice, or willful or wanton misconduct.
How a Slip and Fall Attorney Can Help With Your Lawsuit
Our experienced slip and fall accident attorneys in Conyers know the steps to take to protect your rights if you have been injured in a slip and fall accident. We will work quickly to gather evidence proving negligence of the property owner using witness statements, the client’s account, photos of the unsafe property, expert testimony, and even the property owner’s report of the incident. We represent injured individuals aggressively after slip and fall accidents in premises liability claims across Georgia. Call today for a case evaluation.
