Millions of Americans are injured every year as a result of trip-and-fall accidents. According to the National Safety Council, more than 25,000 slips, trips, and falls happen every day in the United States. That’s one every 17 minutes.
Many of these incidents occur due to unsafe and dangerous conditions. Maybe the floor is slippery, the stairs are unstable, a stairway railing is loose, a wire or cord is not fastened to the floor (becoming a trip hazard), or the sidewalk is uneven and cracked. The incident can occur at the workplace or school, at the shopping mall or the grocery store. Regardless of where it took place, if you believe someone else 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.
Why hire an attorney? Most trip-and-fall cases aren’t easily settled for at least two reasons. First, most business or property owners (and the insurance companies that represent them) aren’t typically interested in accepting legal responsibility for an incident on their premises unless their liability is obvious. Second, it’s quite common for property owners to argue that the victim’s injuries aren’t serious or certainly not as bad as they claim.
For a property owner or a third-party defendant to be held responsible for your accident, you will need to prove that the defendant was negligent, and that this negligence created the hazardous conditions that caused your accident. And, you might also need to prove that the defendant knew about the problem (or should have reasonably known) and didn’t make a sincere effort to keep the property safe.
To be successful, a thorough investigation will be needed in order to prove your case. Such an investigation could include:
- Obtaining surveillance footage of the fall;
- Securing witness statements and testimony;
- Finding expert witnesses, seeking their opinions and potential testimony;
- Researching records to determine whether previous trip-and-fall accidents occurred on the property; and more.
In addition, you will need to document any lost income via your employment records, organize all your medical records and bills, and reasonably project your loss of future earnings. Nothing short of a team of professionals will be needed to help you investigate, analyze, negotiate and litigate your case. For more information, considering hiring an experienced and specialized legal professional, like a trip and fall attorney from a law firm such as Yearin Law Office.