SLIP & FALL ACCIDENT LAWYERS BAKERSFIELD

INJURIES

Don’t Allow Someone’s Negligence to Derail Your Future.

Not every slip and fall accident will support an injury claim. When you suffer an unavoidable injury, there is no legal liability for your damages. But if your injury resulted from the negligent actions of a person or business, you may have a claim for damages.

But the burden of proving negligence falls on the claimant. This means that you and your personal injury lawyer must point to a specific lapse by the person or business that owned, occupied, or controlled the premises. And you must show that this negligent act caused your injuries.

Most people rely on an accident injury lawyer to develop the theory of the case and assemble the evidence to support that theory.

To prepare for your slip and fall case, our personal injury lawyers may need to:

• Investigate the accident
• Gather evidence to prove liability
• File an insurance claim for compensation
• Negotiate to settle the claim
• File and litigate a lawsuit if we cannot reach a settlement

Investigating the accident and gathering evidence can take on special significance in a slip and fall accident. Unlike a car accident, police rarely investigate slip and fall accidents and produce an accident report. Instead, the best evidence of negligence will often rest in the hands of the person or business accused of negligence.

For example, a slip and fall accident in a store might have many witnesses and even security camera footage that can verify what happened. But investigating what happened may require a personal injury accident lawyer to:

• Find customers who witnessed the accident
• Interview store employees and managers
• Obtain a copy of security videos

Throughout your case, we will remain up to date on your injuries and treatment. The severity and duration of your injuries will play a key role in determining your damages. Our personal injury accident lawyers will also work with you to identify your goals for your case so we understand whether we can settle the case or need to take the case to court.

In a slip and fall accident, your feet lose traction. Your feet usually slide forward, which makes you fall backward. As you fall, you can hit your hip, back, neck, or head on the ground. You might also try to break your fall by reaching back with your arms. This can lead to hand, wrist, elbow, arm, and shoulder injuries.

In a trip and fall accident, your foot or leg catches on something or you lose your footing. Your momentum causes you to fall forward. When you impact the ground, you hit your hands, wrists, arms, elbows, knees, chest, or head.

Common injuries in a falling accident include:

• Fractured or sprained wrists
• Fractured or sprained knees
• Fractured hips
• Fractured arms
• Fractured ribs
• Fractured vertebra
• Fractured skull
• Dislocated elbows or shoulders
• Herniated discs
• Strained back muscles

Falling accidents can also lead to long-standing problems. A bump on the head can cause a traumatic brain injury (TBI), like a concussion or contusion. A herniated disc or fractured vertebra can compress or sever the spinal cord. This can cause nerve pain, numbness or tingling, muscle weakness, and paralysis.

Slip and fall injury accidents happen frequently and can have grave consequences. About 8 million emergency room visits happen every year due to falls. Of these, about 1 million ER visits happen after a slip and fall accident.

Injuries after a fall range in severity from bumps and bruises to death. Falls have an especially severe impact on older people. Falls are the leading cause of accident-related death for people over 85 and the second-leading cause of accident-related death for people between the ages of 65 and 85.

Even for younger people, falls can result in a temporary or permanent disability that causes them to miss work or change jobs. This could lead to a loss of income or even a permanent diminishment in earning capacity.

The person or business that controlled the premises will have liability for negligence that occurred on the premises. For example, suppose a shop in Bakersfield leases its space from a property owner. The lease requires the property owner to maintain the stairs leading to the shop.

If your accident happened on the stairs, you would file your claim against the property owner. If your accident happened inside the shop, you would file your claim against the store owner.

But this only provides part of the story. Most owners, occupiers, and managers of land have property liability insurance. For homeowners, this coverage usually appears in their homeowner’s insurance policy. For residential tenants, this coverage usually comes from their renter’s insurance policy. For businesses that rent or own property, a property insurance policy and general business liability policy usually cover on-premises accidents.

When you suffer from an injury in a slip and fall accident, you usually begin with the liability insurer for the property on which the accident happened. If the insurer agrees that their customer acted negligently, the insurer will pay your claim.

If you cannot reach a settlement agreement with the insurer, you will file a lawsuit against the person or business that controlled the premises. The insurer will be responsible for any damages awarded, up to the policy limits.

To discuss your slip and fall accident with an experienced and knowledgeable Bakersfield personal injury lawyer, contact OPO or a free consultation. During your consultation, you can tell us about your injuries and how you got them. We will then help you to devise a legal strategy to seek a fair settlement and compensation for your damages.