Slip And Fall Legal Questions

Under Florida law you have four years from the date of accident to file a lawsuit for a premises liability claim, as you described. This is referred to as the statute of limitations.   If you believe there was negligence which caused your injury,  I recommend you IMMEDIATELY consult with a qualified personal injury attorney in your area.  An experienced attorney will demand the business preserve evidence,  including in store security videos ( which are frequently erased after about 48 hours or so) and take other actions to document what occurred. The lawyer will also give you guidance in dealing with medical bills, and will document that your injuries are related to the accident and establish the cost of your future medical care and extent of your injury and disability you will suffer in the future as a result. Important.  be careful when hiring a personal injury attorney. Often the mass advertising TV type lawyers are not your best option. They spend millions of dollars  producing slick commercials that bring in thousands of cases. You need to decide whether that lawyer can realistically give "your"  case the time and attention it deserves.   Important:  B very careful when hiring an attorney. Often the television and other mass advertising lawyers are not your best option as they deal... Read More

While your claim appears to be a valid one, the damages are too low to justify retaining an attorney. Use your health insurance and follow up with management to obtain contact information for an adjuster. It is even possible that they have "no fault" coverage for medical payments which would reimburse you personally for whatever your own insurance pays. God Bless, Jan... Read More

Where was the pavement? How far away from the curb? If it wasn't on the business's property you will most likley have to sue the city. Please contact my via email so we can discuss your case further to determine your options. My email is aric@aricwilliamslaw.com. I look forward to speaking with you.... Read More

If you fell due to poor conditions of the parking lot, the owner of the lot may be liable. A parking lot owner is responsible for proper maintenance of the lot, including patching cracks, filling potholes and making sure the construction does not have abrupt changes in elevation.   If there was ice or snow on the lot that caused you to fall, the owner may be liable if reasonable efforts were not made to clear ice and snow on their property. You should consult with an experienced personal injury attorney to discuss the merits of your claim.   D’Amico, Griffin & Pettinicchi, LLC 465 Straits TurnpikeWatertown CT, 06795Phone: (860) 945-6600... Read More

Generally a mobil home park owner has a duty to exercise reasonable care and maintain common areas in a safe condition. Common areas are areas or passageways used in commom by tenants. This would include clearing ice and snow if the owner was aware of or should have been aware of the condition.... Read More

I am sorry to hear about your accident and very serious injury: premises liability cases can be very tough to pursue; insurance companies routinely deny such claims forcing the injured person to have to start a lawsuit; I wrote a blog about this at our firm's website. In order to prevail, you would need to show that the venue, by its agents and employees, knew there was a dangerous condition and did nothing to correct the problem; that is not going to be easy to prove in your case.... Read More

Penny,   A business in not responsible for an injury to one of its customers unless it was negligent in some way.  You acknowledge that it was your own carelessness that resulted in your fall.  In personal injury cases against a private entity such as a business, Indiana's law of comparative fault would apply.  What that means is that a jury would be required to apportion fault between you and the business where you fell.  If a jury were to determine that you were more at fault than the business, the business would not be responsible.  However, if the business was found to be more negligent than you, and their negligence was a direct (proximate) cause of your fall, then you would be entitled to recover damages from the business including your medical expenses, lost wages (if any) and pain and suffering.  Your damages would be reduced by any portion of fault that the jury determines was attributable to you.  Therefore, if the jury found that you were 49% at fault, and the business was 51% at fault, and your total damages were $1,000, the jury would enter a verdict in favor of you, and against the business, in the amount of $510.00.  If the jury found that you were 51% or more at fault, you would get zero. Now, having said all of that, many businesses carry insurance called "medical payments coverage," that will pay for medical expenses irrespective of who was at fault.  Usually those limits are relatively small, but that coverage might apply to pay for any medical expenses you have incurred even if you were the one responsible for your injuries.   Chip Clark... Read More

First of all you should understand that you don't necessarily have to sue anyone in order to be compensated for an injury. Many cases are settled without a lawsuit. In order to have a claim for injuries in a parking lot fall you have to show there was a dangerous condition existing in the area where you fell and you have to prove the owner of the lot either knew or should have know of the dangerous condition.... Read More

This depends..Has the attorney filed a lawsuit? The majority of the public doesnt know that alot of lawyers just take cases to attempt to settle a case with the insurance company, without filing a lawsuit. If said lawyer doesnt file a lawsuit, then the file doesnt get transferred to a defense lawyer. Rather it stays with the insurance adjuster. The reason that alot of lawyers never file a lawsuit is very simple. First, they dont have to pay up any out of pocket costs to finance the case through mediation and trial (these costs can sometimes get 20k plus) and second, the only work they need to do is to talk on the phone with the insurance adjuster and attempt to settle the case. Insurance companies often times treat the file like a joke if suit isnt filed. This is true not all the time, but it does happen quite often. Ask your lawyer if a lawsuit has been filed and if he says no, then ask him if he plans to file suit if you reject the 5k offer. If he still says no, then quite possibly he is just trying to get a quick settlement..If your case has merit, then a good lawyer will file suit and take the case through discovery and mediation and if need be to trial. good luck...   Stephen Black 407-581-2581... Read More

Personal injury settlements  are generally not taxable income. Your wife is well advised on holding off on any discussions of settlement, until her doctor can fully evaluate her injury and know whether she makes a complete recovery or has a permanent injury; don't be in a hurry to try to negotiate a quick settlement, that is exactly what the insurance company is hoping for. There are many factors that go into the consideration of the value of your wife's case; the best advice I can give you is to wait and consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer of your choice before doing anything further on her case.... Read More

You are correct in noting that the statute of limitations in Texas for a personal injury case is two years.  You need to hire an attorney as soon as possible.  Many attorneys may not even take a case within 6 months of the statute of limitations.  I have taken cases close to the limtiations deadline before.  Most of the time it works out, but sometimes there are unknown problems that have to be worked out. Additionally, slip and fall cases are some of the most challenging cases to handle.  That is because the burden of proof is on the plaintiff to show that the property owner was negligent in creating or allowing a dangerous condition to exist on the property.  Since the evidence necessary to prove your case is in the control of the property owner, I'm sure you can understand how this can pose some difficulty. However, since your wife seems to have a very serious injury, then your case might seem appealing to an attorney.  If you are looking for a personal injury attorney in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I would be glad to talk to you and answer any questions you might have.... Read More

You should contact a personal injury attorney, who will put all possible responsible parties on notice of the claim. Ideally, once that happens the carrier for one of the parties will accept responsibility for the claim. If not, the likelihood is that your attorney will litigate against all parties and liability will be established via motion practice. You should contact a local personal injury attorney (one in your state).  Personal injury attorneys take  cases on a contingency basis which means you only have to pay if you succeed.  Additionally, initial consultations are free. You can use the "Find a Lawyer" service through this website to research personal injury attorneys. Then, visit each attorney's website and select a firm that has a record of successful verdicts. If you are unable to find a lawyer who meets these qualifications within your state, sometimes you may contact an out of state lawyer who can refer you to a qualified attorney in your state while providing support related to the issues of medicine. Click here and here for more information about me. Please note that by attempting to answer your question, I am not acting as your attorney. I will do nothing further to protect or preserve your interests in the absence of any additional discussion with you about this matter. John Ratkowitz, Esq. Starr, Gern, Davison & Rubin, P.C. 105 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland, NJ 07068 Office: (973) 830-8441 Cell: (732) 616-6278 Fax: (973) 226-0031 Email: jratkowitz@starrgern.com  Skype: john_ratkowitz.... Read More

The issue isn't what kind of shoes you were wearing, as much as what specifically made you fall. Premises liability cases can be very difficult to pursue and many times, the liability insurance carrier for the owner simply will deny the claim and force you to file a lawsuit; the real key is what made you fall in the first place? Further, unless you have photographic evidence of what made you fall or witnesses who were present, it will be very difficult to establish negligence against the landowner.... Read More

You can sue anyone for anything, but the real question is what type of a case do you have? Most  people think that if you slip and fall or trip and fall on someone else's property, that there is automatic liability. The laws vary from state to state. Ordinarily, you have to prove your landlord was negligent for your accident; what did they do wrong that made you fall? Was the staircase defective in some way or poor lighting conditions to contribute to your fall? Was the bannister or hand railing defective? Do you have photographs showing the defect or witnesses who would testify as to what made you fall? From a practical perspective, does the landlord have homeowner's insurance that you could recover if you pursued your case? Insurance companies routinely deny liability on these type of trip and fall cases which will force you to file a lawsuit; you should consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer first to see if they feel you have enough substance and evidence to how your accident happened, in order for you to be pursuing the case.... Read More