Michigan Slip and Fall Lawyers
LegalGenius achieves results in slip & fall cases.
When you’re on someone else’s property, you should be able to expect a reasonably safe environment. Slip and trip hazards are a preventable cause of injury that can pose a serious threat to your safety. When you’ve had a slip and fall accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. LegalGenius slip and fall lawyers can represent you in your slip and fall or trip and fall case to get you the compensation you deserve.
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Slip And Fall Cases And The Premises Liability Law
Slip and fall or trip and fall cases fall under the premises liability law. This law requires that property owners – both commercial and residential – maintain their properties to be reasonably safe for visitors. Property owners are legally required to tend to hazardous or unsafe conditions on their property promptly or provide a warning to visitors of potentially hazardous conditions. Failure to do so can leave property owners liable for any injury – or in extreme cases, death – that occurs on the premises.
The premises liability law protects visitors on another person or company’s property any time they have a legal right to be there. Any time you’re on someone else’s property as a guest, visitor, customer, or client, the premises liability law is covering you. This law does not provide protection for trespassers on someone else’s property who do not have a right to be there. The premises liability law covers other types of injury that may occur while you’re on someone else’s property, but slip and fall injuries are some of the most common.
What Causes A Slip And Fall Accident?
A slip and fall or trip and fall accident occurs when an environmental hazard causes you or a loved one to slip or trip, resulting in a fall. Accidents can happen anywhere and from all kinds of causes, but there are some common culprits that frequently lead to slip and fall cases.
Common Examples Of Slip And Fall Causes
The following are some common causes of slip and fall or trip and fall accidents:
- Snow or ice accumulation
- Damaged pavement or potholes in parking lots or sidewalks
- Unmarked step-ups, ledges, or curbs
- Standing water or puddles
- Wet or slippery floors
- Unsecured or damaged carpets or rugs
- Loose or broken floor tiles
- Loose or uneven floorboards
- Damaged or broken stairs
- Damaged or missing handrails
- Debris, clutter, or other foreign objects obstructing walkways
- Inadequate lighting
- Missing signage to warn of safety hazards
- Failure to block off unsafe areas
- Safety code violations
Any hazardous environmental condition could be the cause of a slip and fall injury. If you or a loved one sustained an injury from a slip and fall accident that you believe was caused by unreasonably dangerous conditions, contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your case and learn if you are entitled to compensation.
Common Injuries In Slip And Fall Cases
In order for a slip and fall case to be made, an injury must have been sustained by the victim. Injuries sustained in slip and fall cases could include:
- Bruising or laceration that leads to infection or internal bleeding
- Sprains, strains, and torn ligaments
- Broken bones such as fingers, toes, ankles, hips, or pelvis
- Spinal cord injury
- Traumatic brain injury
Slip and fall accidents could lead to other kinds of injury as well, and even death in extreme cases. Even if an injury doesn’t seem serious, any complications caused by the injury are also covered in slip and fall cases. Talk to a slip and fall attorney to help you understand if your injury could lead to a case and what damages you can be compensated for.
Who Is Liable In A Slip And Fall Case?
The person liable in a slip and fall case is the owner of the property where the accident occurred. The property owner is responsible for maintaining the property and meeting reasonable safety standards to prevent injury to guests and visitors on the property. If the injury occurs at a place of business, the business or business owner is liable. If the injury occurs at a private residence, the owner of the residence is responsible. When an injury occurs from a slip and fall accident in an outdoor or public space, like a sidewalk or parking lot, for example, whoever is responsible for maintaining that space is liable. This could be a city government or other organization. A Michigan slip and fall lawyer can help you determine who is at fault in a slip and fall case.
When Can A Slip And Fall Claim Be Made?
In order to make a slip and fall claim, you must be able to prove two things:
- There was negligence on the part of the property owner that led to a slip and fall.
- You or a family member obtained injury as a result of the fall.
The property owner has a duty of care to ensure their property is maintained and safe for visitors. This is always the case when you have a right to be on someone else’s property as an invited guest or visitor, as is the case when you visit a business or you’re invited into someone else’s home. The property owner commits negligence when there is a safety hazard on their property that they know about or reasonably should know about, and they have the opportunity to fix it or warn visitors of the potential danger but fail to do so.
Collecting evidence as soon after the accident as possible will strengthen your case when you have a slip and fall injury. In the event that you experience or have experienced a slip and fall, notify the property owner as soon as possible. Keep a record of all correspondence you have with the property owner regarding the accident. If the injury occurred at a place of business, you may be able to fill out an accident report and request a copy for your records. If there are security cameras in the area, see if you can obtain a copy of any video footage that shows the accident, or request that video footage at least be saved. Take photographs of the conditions that led to the accident as soon as possible to show the conditions at the time of the accident. Seek medical treatment for serious injuries, and get in touch with a personal injury lawyer as soon as you can. A Michigan slip and fall attorney will help you collect evidence to prove that negligence occurred and that you deserve compensation.
The Process For Filing A Slip And Fall Claim
Navigating the legal system can seem scary and difficult. A trip and fall lawyer will help you through the process, from learning more about your legal options to taking the party responsible for your injuries to court. The process for filing a slip and fall claim takes several steps:
- File an incident report. If your accident occurs on commercial property, the business should have a process for filing a report. Do this as soon as you possibly can – immediately after the incident if possible. If you need immediate medical treatment, file an incident report as soon as you can, or have a friend or family member file a report on your behalf. Make sure you receive a copy of the report.
- Get medical attention for your injuries. Your well-being should come first. Seek the medical treatment you need as soon after the incident as you can, even if your injuries seem minor. Your medical evaluation will become part of your evidence later.
- Gather evidence. Keep a record of any communication you have with the property owner, and if you’re able, take pictures of the hazardous environment that led to your injuries.
- Consult with a personal injury lawyer. They will give you guidance as to your rights and steps you should take. They’ll also guide you through the legal process and help build your case.
- File a notice to preserve evidence. This is a letter sent to the property owner which prevents them from destroying evidence related to your case. This could include the incident report you made, witness statements, video footage, maintenance and inspection records, and more.
- File a slip and fall claim. Your attorney will help you determine when and where to file your claim to take the responsible party to court.
- Conduct discovery. Both sides gather, share, and review evidence and information. This process will enable you and your lawyer to prepare to take the case to court.
- Resolution. You and your lawyer may be able to negotiate and reach a settlement with the responsible party. Litigation or taking the case to trial may be necessary if you’re unable to reach a settlement. Your personal injury attorney will fight for you to come to a resolution that’s fair.
The length of time it takes to reach a resolution in your case will vary depending on many factors. The complexity of your case and whether or not you go to trial could make your case take more or less time to resolve. Many cases take several months to reach a conclusion. Your attorney will help you feel supported throughout the process and help you get fair compensation.
Statute Of Limitations For Slip And Fall Cases
Legal cases have a set timeframe during which you can sue a negligent party for injuries you obtained on their property. For slip and fall cases, as with other personal injury cases, you have three years from the time of the accident to file a case. Additionally, the sooner you start talking to an attorney after the incident, the easier it will be to collect good evidence to maximize the compensation you receive. It’s imperative that you get in touch with a personal injury lawyer as soon as you can after the incident so that we can assist you in taking all the right steps to get the compensation you deserve.
Compensation For Damages In Slip And Fall Cases
For slip and fall cases, you can receive compensation for economic and non-economic losses. These can include:
- Medical bills for expenses such as injury treatment, surgery, medications, and therapy
- Future medical costs
- Lost income
- Lost future earnings
- Specialized equipment and disability accommodations
- Lost ability to manage household tasks
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
A LegalGenius attorney will help assess your injuries and losses to determine what the maximum value of your damages may be. When you schedule your free consultation, you’ll receive an estimate of the value of your case.
Make LegalGenius Your Slip and Fall Lawyer
Why Choose Legal Genius As Your Slip And Fall Lawyer?
LegalGenius is a team of attorneys specializing in personal injury cases. With over 100 years of combined experience and a track record for success, we’ve recovered millions of dollars for injury victims across Michigan. Our team will fight for you and make sure you receive the compensation you deserve, leaving nothing on the table.
As much as we’re proud of our success, we’re more proud of the way we treat each of our clients with the respect each individual deserves. You’re more than just a case number to us, and we care about your well-being. We strive to provide exceptional customer service and help you feel at ease throughout your case.
How Does Legal Genius Win Slip And Fall Cases?
One of our secrets to success is making an argument on our client’s behalf that defense attorneys would say is a distinction without a difference or an artificially created distinction, but we disagree. Premises liability claims arise from conditions of the premises under the defendant’s control – which sounds simple, but it’s not. Consider a slip and fall event at an entrance to a grocery store where water is “tracked in” from outside rainwater or snow. Many attorneys would reject this client’s case because the water is an open and obvious condition and/or the result of water naturally brought in from the conditions outside. However, our attorneys have represented clients with this exact scenario and been successful. We put forth the argument on behalf of our clients that not only was our client’s injury caused by an unsafe condition of the premises, but the injury was also caused by the conduct of the grocery store for failing to clean up the spill after having notice. Many conditions of a premises arise not only as a result of the condition of the premises but also out of the property owner’s actions or inactions.
Our Track Record For Success
Some examples of cases where we achieved outstanding results for our clients include:
A client contacted 2 attorneys, both of whom rejected this case before she contacted LegalGenius. The porch of a rental property had a slight gap between the porch and the door. The client’s high-heeled shoes became stuck in the gap causing an ankle fracture. The insurance company maintained this gap was open & obvious and that our client was not entitled to recovery. LegalGenius won, and we were able to recover $265,000 for our client.
A client contacted 3 attorneys, all of whom rejected this case before he contacted LegalGenius. Our client slipped and fell on ice near the entryway to a building, suffering a leg fracture and torn rotator cuff. The insurance company claimed the ice was an open and obvious condition and also had naturally accumulated and therefore our client had no case. We successfully argued the building employees and snow removal company caused the dangerous conditions. LegalGenius won, and we recovered $400,000 for our client.
A client slipped and fell on a recently laid concrete sidewalk after in-ground sprinklers caused the concrete to become wet and slippery. Our client fell resulting in a fractured arm. Again, the insurance company argued there was no defective condition and therefore no liability. However, we demonstrated the “coefficient of friction” of the recently laid concrete was insufficient for sidewalk use. LegalGenius recovered $195,000 for our client.
Request A Free Slip And Fall Consultation
Have you or a family member experienced a slip and fall or trip and fall accident on someone else’s property, resulting in an injury? A personal injury attorney can help you determine what your rights are, who is at fault, and what kind of compensation you’re entitled to. Schedule a free consultation with LegalGenius to understand what your legal options are in your situation. Schedule a free consultation with a LegalGenius attorney by pressing the live chat button, calling (800) 209-4000, or by filling out an online contact form.
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