Slip and Fall Accidents

slip and fall injury

“Slip and fall” or “trip and fall” cases arise where a person slips or falls as a result of a dangerous or hazardous condition on another person’s property. Slip and fall injuries can range from minor scrapes or bruises to more serious injuries, such as broken bones or fractures, scars, facial injuries, back injuries or brain trauma. If a property has not been properly maintained, a person injured on that property may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering and lost wages.

If you have been injured in a slip and fall injury in the Los Angeles area, it is important to speak with an attorney about your rights. If your injury occurred on property owned by a government entity, such as a city sidewalk, you will have six months to file a claim under the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations will be longer for injuries that occurred on private property, but it is important to contact an attorney who can help determine what the applicable statute of limitations is. We offer free case evaluations to allow you to meet with one of our skilled Los Angeles slip and fall attorneys to discuss the facts of your case.

When is the Property Owner Liable?

Property owners may be liable for injuries on their property if they knew of the dangerous or hazardous condition and failed to correct it. There may also be liability if the owner or occupant of the property fails to take reasonable steps to inspect the property for dangerous or hazardous conditions. For example, if the owner of a property acts recklessly by putting too much wax on a floor or not cleaning up a spill, you may be able to bring a case against the property owner.

Contact a Los Angeles Slip and Fall Attorney Today

When it comes to slip and fall accidents there are two main categories of accidents. There are accidents that occur from long-term negligence to the property and there are accidents that happen because of short-term negligence. With long-term dangerous conditions it can be easier to prove that the property owner was aware of the situation. Referring to the cement floor example above it is easier to show that the property owner was aware of what type of floor was laid.

Short-term negligence can be more difficult to prove as it will be more difficult though to prove that the property owner is aware that a customer has spilled liquid on a business floor. If an employee of the company has dropped liquid on a floor this situation is more akin to long-term negligence because the knowledge of the employee is vicariously linked to the company. In legal terms the knowledge of the company is the sum of the knowledge of the employees.

If it is the customer who has made the spill, not an employee, there are ways to prove that the property owner was aware of the dangerous situation. The liquid may have been on the floor surface for a longer period of time so the owner may have been aware of this. Another customer may have complained about the spill so there is evidence of negligence. Many companies will have a policy where by these type of spills are checked for so this can be used to show carelessness.

Some hazardous conditions may have been present for a long period of time. For example, City authorities may have failed to repair a cracked sidewalk after numerous complaints over a period of time. This shows the City would have been aware of the issue. It would be very unlikely that a damaged sidewalk would have become hazardous overnight.

Poor lighting is another example of something that can create an inference of knowledge on the part of the property owner. Poor lighting may have been installed in the first place or maybe a light bulb has not been replaced for a period of weeks or months. You may consider what actually constitutes adequate lighting. The mechanism for deciding this is the Jury. It needs to be ascertained whether the property owner, or the people being sued, behaved reasonably. Like many aspects of law this is an oversimplification. It has to be considered whether the person being sued acted as a normal prudent would under the same circumstances. The plaintiff will take a big step towards proving liability if they can show the accused has not behaved as an ordinary prudent person would and compensation can be issued.

Contingency Fee

If you have been involved in Slip and Fall accident, please call us to speak to our Los Angeles slip and fall lawyer who can carefully evaluate your claim and determine whether liability may exist.

Our Los Angeles Slip and Fall Attorneys handle injury cases on a contingency basis, which means that we do not charge attorneys fees unless we obtain a favorable verdict or settlement for you. If we collect a verdict or settlement in your favor, our fees are paid as a percentage of what you receive. If we don’t get you anything we do not get anything, so we work hard to ensure that you get the maximum payout. Please note that litigation expenses may be paid from the client’s percentage of any recovery or as otherwise agreed between the client and attorney. Contact one of our car accident Lawyers Los Angeles for car accident information.