There are so many benefits of hiring a slip and fall lawyer to assist you with your claim. Slip and fall claims are some of the hardest cases to win alone and receive proper compensation. This is why it is so important to have an experienced personal injury attorney who is particularly skilled in handling slip and fall claims.
Slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere, whether it’s in a public place like a mall or grocery store or a private place like a construction site or someone’s home. Many aspects of slip and fall accidents can affect if a victim can receive the settlement they deserve. There is much that goes into proving negligence for a slip and fall accident compared to other types of personal injury cases.
Types of Liability to Prove
In slip and fall cases, there are types of liability that a victim must prove in order to receive any type of compensation; negligence and carelessness.
Negligence refers to the ‘duty of care’ someone lacks to keep others safe from injuries where accidents can happen. For example, if there is a spill in a grocery store, the store manager will have an employee set out a wet floor sign before cleaning the spill and keeping it after it’s cleaned. This will bring awareness to customers about the hazard and prevent any slip and falls. Filing a personal injury claim for a slip and fall accident will allow you to prove the negligence of the property owner or manager.
An experienced lawyer will be able to use the information gathered from the accident to prove there was a lack of duty of care. Similar to a car accident claim, you should take photos of the scene where the slip and fall occurred, file a report with the store manager or property owner, and call the police if there were injuries. With the use of photos, witness statements, reports, and potential security footage (if available), our slip and fall attorneys will use this information to prove:
- The other person was negligent while you were careful.
- If the person that was negligent was working during the time of the accident, then the employer is also responsible.
- If the accident occurred because of a defective product or on a dangerous property, either the maker/seller of the product or the property owner is held liable.
Slip and Fall Lawyers’ Role
Hiring a personal injury lawyer who specializes in slip and fall injury claims can be the difference between you receiving or not receiving a settlement. One of the most important roles of your slip and fall attorney is negotiating with the insurance companies. This can be a stressful process so it’s the goal of our slip and fall attorneys to give their clients peace of mind while they handle all the difficult parts of a claim.
Your slip and fall attorney will use the evidence you have gathered to build a case against the negligent party. If they deny liability, your lawyer will seek to investigate deeper into the case and prove the negligence in court. When bringing the case into court, there are a few things that will need to be addressed:
- Prove that the hazard was present for a long enough time for it to be fixed or addressed.
- Does the location of the accident have a system to check for potential hazards and was that system implemented that day?
- What type of hazard was the cause of the accident? Proper signage should be used if there is a known hazard such as floor cleaning.
- If the hazard was caused by a temporary circumstance, signage should be present during temporary circumstances.
Your slip and fall lawyer will be looking to seek compensation for your medical bills, lost wages if you miss work, and pain and suffering damages.
About the Author
Michael Steinger
MICHAEL S. STEINGER, founding partner of Steinger, Greene & Feiner, believes in representing real people, not big businesses. Since the firm’s creation in 1997, Steinger, Greene & Feiner has never represented an insurance company or large corporation, and he vows to keep this promise. Over the course of his career, Michael has handled thousands of Florida accident cases, recovering millions of dollars for his clients and earning him membership into the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
Staying up-to-date on the ever-evolving laws protecting injury victims and their families, Michael is an active member of the American Bar Association, the Palm Beach, and St. Lucie Bar Associations, and sits on the Auto Insurance Committee of the Florida Justice Association.
Michael Steinger
MICHAEL S. STEINGER, founding partner of Steinger, Greene & Feiner, believes in representing real people, not big businesses. Since the firm’s creation in 1997, Steinger, Greene & Feiner has never represented an insurance company or large corporation, and he vows to keep this promise. Over the course of his career, Michael has handled thousands of Florida accident cases, recovering millions of dollars for his clients and earning him membership into the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Staying up-to-date on the ever-evolving laws protecting injury victims and their families, Michael is an active member of the American Bar Association, the Palm Beach, and St. Lucie Bar Associations, and sits on the Auto Insurance Committee of the Florida Justice Association.