Did you know that slip-and-fall accidents account for more than 8 million emergency room (ER) visits in the U.S. each year? That’s more than 20 percent of all ER visits. The National Safety Council estimates that a slip, trip or fall occurs every 17 minutes in our country. While most slip-and-fall accidents aren’t life threatening, they can cause serious injuries, including broken bones, back and neck injuries, knee and ankle sprains, concussions and/or torn ligaments. At
These accidents happen in the workplace, at the shopping mall, in grocery stores, at sporting events, on neighborhood sidewalks and in private residences. Often, they could be avoided were it not for unsafe and dangerous conditions. Slippery floors, loose stairway railings, cracked sidewalks, and wires or cords not sufficiently fastened to the ground are often the cause of such accidents.
Regardless of where or how the accident took place, if you believe someone else’s negligence is responsible for your accident and you incur injuries for which you should be compensated, you should consider hiring a trip, slip and fall attorney.
While some kinds of personal injury cases don’t necessarily need a lawyer’s help, most slip-and-fall cases are different for a couple of reasons. First, blame for the cause of a slip-and-fall accident isn’t easily determined, and property owners and their insurance companies aren’t quick to accept legal responsibility. Second, it’s not uncommon for property owners to argue that the victim’s injuries aren’t nearly as bad as they claim.
The onus is on the victim and the victim’s attorney to prove the property owner’s negligence. There are a few things that must occur for an establishment to be found liable for the accident.
- The accident must have occurred on the property.
- The property owner was negligent in some way.
- The owner’s negligence specifically caused the injury.
- The accident resulted in injuries.
An experienced attorney can conduct a thorough investigation, secure witness statement and testimony, research records to determine if previous slip-and-fall accidents occurred on the property, and more.
Meanwhile, you will need to document any lost income via your employment records, organize all your medical records, and project your loss of future earnings. Your attorney can help you avoid common pitfalls in negotiating with the guilty party’s attorneys and can help you investigate, analyze, negotiate and litigate your case. There are many issues to consider before filing a lawsuit, as a Slip and Fall Lawyer in Las Vegas, NV from a firm like The Law Office of Eglet Adams, can explain.