The Tustin slip and fall lawyers of Bisnar Chase believe that people who have been hurt due to negligent property owners should be compensated accordingly. Slip, trip, and fall injuries can be debilitating or, in catastrophic cases, leave a person dead.
The personal injury attorneys of Bisnar Chase have won over $700 million dollars in compensation for accident victims over the past 45 years.
If you or someone you know has experienced pain and suffering due to a slip and fall, call 949-203-3814 for a free consultation with our legal team.
Steps to Take After a Tustin Slip and Fall Accident
The steps you take after experiencing a slip and fall accident are crucial and may affect your case later on. Above anything else, ti is important that you seek help right away for your injuries.
After seeking medical treatment, you should:
- Report the incident: You must inform someone, whether it be a supervisor at a store or your superior at work, that you were involved in a slip, trip, or fall. The slip and fall must be documented so it can be legally proven that the incident took place. Once you report the incident, ask for a copy of the report so you can provide this to an insurance adjuster or an attorney.
- Collect evidence: Once you have sought out medical treatment, you must gather as much proof you can from the slip and fall accident. This will also aid your legal representative when proving negligence. Evidence to gather for your injury claim can be pictures of the area and witness accounts. If the location where you were hurt has surveillance cameras, your lawyer can request to see the footage at the time the accident occurred.
- Refrain from speaking to the insurance company: It is not mandatory for slip and fall victims to speak to the opposing party’s insurance company. They may continuously call you for a statement, but you do not have to respond. If you feel pressured because they are continuously calling you, consult with a legal expert on what to do.
- Contact a Tustin slip and fall attorney: Our slip and fall attorneys want to alleviate the stress of handling a claim so you just have to focus on recovering. Our legal team members will constantly be in contact with you, so you understand what is taking place throughout your case. Call our Orange County law offices for a free case analysis.
Common Places Slip and Fall Accidents Occur
Property owners need to take action to ensure that visitors are made aware of hazardous conditions for as long as the problem exists. This means not only posting warning signs around a falling hazard, but also checking to make sure that signs are still up later on. Some hazards require orange cones and warning tape.
Slip and fall accidents frequently occur at places such as:
Grocery stores: Grocery stores have the duty to keep customers free from harm. This includes taking care of a spill or leak, they are to follow protocol to prevent a slip and fall accident. Workers must place a warning sign surrounding the area and clean up as soon as possible.
Hotels: Often, resorts do not take the proper measures to ensure that their guests are safe. For example, if a ski resort observes that many of its clients are entering the building with wet shoes they should have a sturdy carpet that will prevent an accident, or provide slip warnings.
Apartment complexes: The property owner or landlord of the complex must inspect the grounds regularly to safeguard tenants. For instance, if a stairway was reported to be damaged and the property owner fails to repair it right away, this may be negligence.
Workplaces: If you have experienced a slip and fall at work, you may be entitled to compensation. Employers are to keep workers safe while on the job. Hundreds of slip and falls occur yearly at workplace establishments which include retail stores and warehouse distribution centers.
Causes of Serious Slip and Fall Injuries in Tustin
Many slip-and-fall accidents result from a hazardous condition such as a slippery floor or broken stair. It is the responsibility of all property owners to fix the problem within a reasonable time after learning about the dangerous condition.
For example, a spill on a shopping mall floor should be mopped up right away or caution tape should be placed around it so visitors are warned. It only takes a small puddle or wet spot for a serious slip-and-fall injury accident to occur.
Dangerous conditions that can lead to a serious slip and fall injury include cracked steps, damaged railings, uneven floors, poorly lit areas with poor visibility, and much more.
Common Slip, Trip and Fall Injuries
Every year, over eight million people are admitted to emergency rooms for severe slip and fall injuries. Slip & fall injuries can range from a minor sprain to a catastrophic head wound. It is strongly recommended that you seek medical attention as soon as possible. Below are five injuries slip and fall victims commonly suffer from after an accident.
- Traumatic Brain Injury: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in one year 56,800 people died, were hospitalized, or were taken to the emergency room due to a head injury. A trip and fall is one of the common causes for a brain injury. A traumatic brain injury is when the head experiences a sudden blow or force that leads to temporary or permanent brain damage.
- Hip Rupture: A staggering 90% of hip fractures are the consequence of a fall. Even if the fracture is initially minor, there is an increased probability that an older man or woman will suffer from a more severe hip fracture over the next five years. Symptoms of a hip fracture can be mobility problems, intense pain in the groin or hip area, and stiffness.
- Spinal Cord and Back Wounds: According to the Mayo Clinic, about 15% of serious spinal cord injuries are a result of a fall. Falls involving harm to the spinal cord can lead to a slip and fall victim to suffer from a herniated disc or paralysis.
- Dislocation of a Shoulder: Experiencing a slip and fall accident can lead to a severe shoulder injury. If the “brachial plexus”, a collection of nerves that connects the hand, arm and spinal cord, are wounded, it would either take rehabilitation or surgery in order for the slip and fall victim to heal.
- Fractures and Sprains: Slipping or falling can cause multiple fractures, especially in elderly people. One of the most common injuries is a knee fracture. When a person falls directly on their knee, this causes the “patellar” to be immobile or bruised, with a person losing the ability to stretch or straighten their leg.
Property Owners Duty of Care for Visitors
There are two main types of visitors that property owners owe a duty of care to. These include invitees and licensees. Invitees are people that property owners invited on the premises. Property owners are to provide the highest duty of care to invitees, meaning that they must make sure the grounds are free of dangers such as broken stair steps, slippery floors, or an unsteady roof.
Licensees, such as a small business leasing a property, are also owed a duty of care. Properties must be free of hazards. Property owners have the responsibility of maintaining the property to prevent injuries.
People who are not invited on the premises or break in, such as trespassers, are not owed the same duty of care. For example, a burglar will not be able to file a lawsuit after a slip and fall accident, because they were not on the property lawfully.
Prevent Yourself from Being a Slip and Fall Victim
Property owners are not responsible for all accidents that occur on their premises. When someone suffers an injury because of their own negligence, they may not be able to seek compensation from their slip and fall case.
Therefore, all pedestrians should:
- Pay attention to where they are going to avoid hazardous situations.
- Wear comfortable shoes that have adequate soles to grip the floor.
- Never send text messages or talk on a cell phone while walking.
- Use caution when on a property that they are not familiar with.
- Avoid areas that are poorly lit or covered in debris.
Advantages of Hiring a Tustin Slip and Fall Lawyer
After experiencing a slip and fall, many do not have the physical capability to fend for themselves. Victims can suffer from intense traumatic brain injuries and are not able to fight for the compensation they need to recover. The Tustin slip and fall attorneys of Bisnar Chase want to be your legal advocate and win you what you deserve to heal from the incident.
Our personal injury lawyers will:
Inform you of your rights: Personal injury victims, at times, do not have much knowledge of the rights they hold after an accident. A lawyer with years of legal experience will be able to break down what rights you have without the confusing legal jargon. It is encouraged that you do not speak to the other party’s insurance company, they will not only try to intimidate you but they may misinform you when it comes to the compensation you are entitled to.
Estimate the value of your case: Some legal sites offer the option to estimate your potential settlement through a calculator. Do not take this avenue of determining how much compensation you will receive. There may be damages that you are not factoring into the settlement and you may be inclined to take a lower amount from the at-fault party’s insurance company than you are entitled to. Your slip and fall lawyer in Tustin will take every injury and damage factor that you have faced in your accident into account, so you can win a fair settlement.
Negotiate: There are many techniques that insurance adjusters use to scare and downplay the options you have as a victim. These techniques are not obvious and often deter people from filing a claim. Our personal injury attorneys do not take the first offer an insurance company will give you. We believe that people should not have to pay for the damages others have caused.
Contact our Tustin Slip and Fall Attorneys
The skilled Slip and Fall Lawyers at Bisnar Chase have handled countless premises liability cases.
Injured slip & fall victims can seek compensation to cover medical expenses, lost wages, cost of hospitalization, rehabilitation, and other related damages.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a slip-and-fall accident, please contact us for a free legal advice. Upon your call you will have the opportunity to speak with a top-rated premise liability lawyer. Call 949-203-3814 today.
