When a slip and fall accident happens on another person’s property, whether at a store, a mall, a local business, a community park, an apartment complex, on government property or the home of someone you know, it may be the result of negligence, or neglect, on the part of the property owner or homeowner. Property owners, business owners, homeowners, and even managers have the responsibility to ensure their property is adequately maintained so as to prevent future accident or injuries, and keep visitors and guests safe from undue risk of harm.
There are certain steps you can take following a slip and fall accident, which could not only be beneficial to your case, but are essential to your quick recovery. Immediately after your accident, seek medical attention. Your first priority is your health and wellbeing. If you were injured in a store, business or public property, contact the manager, owner or person in charge at once, and file an accident report so the incident is on record. It is extremely important to take photos of the accident scene to document where you fell, any conditions that may have contributed or led up to your fall, where items around you were at the time of the accident, and other key information. This will help prevent the owner, manager, or another individual from adding a warning sign that wasn’t there, or repairing a damaged step when it was the fact the step was broken that caused your accident in the first place. Get names and contact information for any witnesses. Before you speak to any insurance agents, employees, management or a homeowner, about the accident and a potential settlement, you need to contact a skilled personal injury attorney at our firm right away. A settlement may seem nice at the time, but it could prevent you from exercising your right to receive compensation for any future accident-related medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and more.
Determining liability in slip and fall accidents is not always cut-and-dried. There are certain factors which must be present in order for the owner to be deemed liable for the accident and resultant injuries. Let us say, for example, you were injured because you slipped on a wet floor that had recently been mopped by a store employee. If the employee failed to put up “wet floor” or “caution” signs, then yes, you may have grounds to file a personal injury claim. In a case where signs were put up, indicating the wet floor, yet you failed to take note of the warning, it could make the issue more difficult to resolve. We recommend, in either instance, you contact our firm and consult with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Our attorneys have extensive experience representing clients in all kinds of slip and fall, and other accident cases. We know how to determine liability, and we take pride in working diligently to see that our clients get the professional level of representation they need.
If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident, you may have grounds to file a personal injury claim to receive compensation for your injuries. Contact a Los Angeles personal injury lawyerat Ghozland Law Firm today to discuss your legal rights.