Slip and fall accidents are common in public stores, restaurants, workplaces, and even on residential property. These accidents happen in a fraction of a second, and most victims may not even realize what happened prior to the slip and fall.
While they may be caused by a host of factors, property owners’ negligence may also contribute to a victim’s injuries.
Proving negligence in slip and fall cases is not always straightforward. To receive compensation, plaintiffs must prove that the property owner was negligent and that their injuries were directly caused by the slip and fall.
A Danbury slip & fall accident lawyer can help prove these elements and help you receive compensation for your injuries.
If you or your loved one have been injured following a slip and fall accident, you need legal representation to help prove liability to get the compensation you deserve.
Reach out to Injured CT to speak to one of our Danbury personal injury lawyers and schedule a free consultation. Call us today!
What Are the Most Common Slip and Fall Accidents?
The most common reasons for slip and fall accidents include, but are not limited to:
- Defective or poorly-maintained structures, which may lead to cracked sidewalks, potholes in streets or parking lots, uneven steps, broken floor tiles, or worn-out carpeting
- Unlit or poorly lit walkways or hallways
- Broken staircases and malfunctioning escalators (including missing hand rails)
- Wet or damp walkways, stair cases, or floors
- Unattended spills in stores, hospitals, restaurants, etc.
- Dangerous debris like tree branches, etc. that are left lying around
- Weather elements like snow or ice that isn’t salted or shoveled away
- Failure to install storm drains, gutters, or anti-slip devices presents a danger during heavy rainfall or snowfall
- Failure to place signage and restrict areas that present a hazard
How Can a Danbury Slip & Fall Accident Lawyer Help Me With My Case?
If you have suffered injuries by slipping and falling on another person’s premises or property, hiring a Danbury slip & fall lawyer will help you protect your right to seek compensation for your injuries. Here’s how a slip and fall attorney can help you with your case:
Establish Fault
In order to reach a fair settlement or at least take your slip and fall case to trial, you have to be prepared to prove that the property owner was negligent and that their negligence resulted in your injuries. Your slip and fall lawyer will help with your case by investigating how your injury occurred.
Your lawyer will ask some questions to find out how you fell and with that information, they will come up with a way to hold the defendant legally liable for your slip and fall. The lawyer will also assess the scene to help determine exactly how you fell.
By reviewing the applicable federal and state property laws and regulations and working with other experts, your lawyer will put you in a better position to receive compensation for your injuries.
Prove that Your Injuries Were Caused by the Slip and Fall
Proving that your injuries and losses were solely as a result of the slip and fall is also crucial to your claim. It requires more than verbal statements, and your lawyer will help you document your losses and costs through medical bills and employment records.
Your lawyer will also help with your case by showing that the slip and fall directly caused your injuries, which in turn resulted in non-economic losses like pain and suffering. While this may be difficult to prove using documents and records, a slip and fall lawyer will put up a strong argument to prove why you deserve compensation for non-economic losses.
What Steps Can Be Taken to Help a Slip and Fall Case?
Taking the following steps after a slip and fall accident can greatly help the cause of your claim:
- Take as many clear photos of the scene photos as you can at the time.
- Report the incident to the property owner or manager.
- Collect the names and numbers of witnesses.
- Get medical attention immediately.
- See to it that the problem is addressed immediately.
How Can a Slip and Fall Accident be Proved?
In order to hold the property owner or manager liable for the injuries suffered in a slip and fall accident, one must prove the following:
- The property owner knew about the hazardous condition or should have reasonably known about its existence.
- The victim wasn’t aware of the dangerous condition (didn’t see it in time and there was no signage posted).
- The property owner actually caused the hazardous condition that led to the victim’s injuries by leaving the hazardous condition or obstacle in a walking path.
How Is Liability Determined in a Danbury, CT Slip and Fall Case?
To help determine liability in a slip and fall accident injury claim, the following questions may be asked:
- Did you have a valid reason to be on the property owner’s premises at the time of the slip and fall accident?
- Would another person of reasonable caution in the same situation and condition have noticed and avoided the hazardous condition?
- Did the property owner warn of the hazardous condition that led to your slip and fall?
- Did you contribute to your slip and fall accident by engaging in any activities that resulted in your slip and fall injury?
What Is the Worth of My Slip and Fall Case Worth?
There is no definite number to how much your slip and fall case is worth, and the award will differ from one case to the other. However, there are various factors that will determine the worth of your slip and fall case, including:
- The economic damages suffered: These are losses whose monetary value can easily be determined and include medical bills incurred by the plaintiff. Other significant economic losses include lost wages, which can be tabulated through employment records.
- Injuries that may require future treatment: In such cases, the estimated cost of future treatment will be included in your claim.
- Severity of injuries: If the plaintiff has suffered serious injuries that are likely to permanently keep them out of work, the value of their claim will significantly go up.
- Non-economic damages suffered: These are losses whose monetary value may not be easy to calculate, and include pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and emotional anguish. When calculating these losses, a judge decides on a multiplier to be used to find the value of these losses.
Are there Any Time Limits for Filing a Slip and Fall Lawsuit?
Like other personal injury cases in Connecticut, plaintiffs in slip and fall cases have two years from the time of the accident to file their claim. Individuals who fail to observe these time limits may lose their right to seek compensation for their injuries.
Contact a Danbury Slip & Fall Accident Lawyer Today
Whether you are at another person’s property, public premises, or at your workplace, you run the risk of suffering injuries through slip and fall accidents.
These accidents happen so fast, that some victims think that they should have been more careful when walking down a corridor or using the stairs. In some cases, the property owner may have been negligent and could have contributed to your injuries.
If you have been injured following a slip and fall accident, hiring a Danbury slip & fall lawyer can help you prove that the property owner was responsible for the accident and that your injuries were caused by the slip and fall.
At Injured CT, our qualified and experienced team of personal injury lawyers can help with your slip and fall accident by providing top-tier legal representation to help you receive your much-deserved compensation.
Thinking about taking legal action? Don’t hesitate. Call us today to schedule a free consultation.