Personal Injury Law Suits often include Slip and Fall Accidents.
The last thing anyone expects is to trip over an uneven piece of pavement or slip on a slick oil spill and end up in the hospital. When you are injured because of a stumble, trip, or slip that results in a fall, the law calls it a slip and fall accident. If a slip and fall injury occurs on someone else’s property, the owner can be held liable under certain conditions for that injury. The Law Offices of Essa, Janho & Associates, LLC. has handled many of these types of cases over the past decade and has the experience and know how to help you win your case.
Property owners have a duty to keep their property safe at all times. This includes keeping up with sidewalks, landscaped areas, and keeping all driveways and inside flooring well-maintained. This includes cleaning up spills, removing debris, and clearing away ice and snow after a storm. Responsibilities of the property owner also include repairing broken or damaged steps, handrails, gutters, and other areas that routinely need maintenance.
If a property owner fails that duty and does not properly post signs and/or warn visitors about a potentially hazardous or dangerous situation, this is where an area of law called premises liability comes into play. When a Slip and Fall Injury occurs on a property where the owner was negligent, a lawsuit can be filed against that owner. The injured victim can use this financial compensation to pay for recovery costs, hospital bills costs, loss of wage costs, and pain and suffering caused by the accident.
Contact Us Today To Achieve Maximum Recovery For Your Case.
The rules of premises liability in the state of Georgia can be complicated. If you were a victim of a slip and fall accident on someone else’s property and did not see the hazard or any posted signs or warnings regarding the hazard, you need the assistance of an experienced firm like Essa, Janho & Associates, LLC. First, let’s go over everything you need to know about slip and fall injuries and their claims.
Understanding Slip & Fall Law Suits
The first thing to understand about slip and fall injury lawsuits is the concept of negligence. When a property owner fails to keep their property well-maintained, they are acting negligently. When injuries occur due to their negligence, they can be held financially liable for those injuries. If, however, your injuries were caused partially by your own actions or carelessness (if, for example, you were distracted by your cell phone or ignored a warning sign), your award for injuries and other damages may be lessened by the amount that you were comparatively at fault.
During the process of filing a Slip and Fall Accident Injury Claim, you may be asked questions such as:
- Would a person of reasonable caution (if they weren’t distracted in any way) in the same situation have noticed and avoided the dangerous condition?
- Did you have good reason to be on the property owner’s premises at the time of the accident?
- Did the property owner give warning of the dangerous condition that led to your slip and fall accident?
- Were you engaging in any activities that contributed to your slip and fall injury?
After being a victim of a slip and fall accident, you will likely be asked such questions by the property owner’s insurance agency to establish if you were acting negligently. Depending on how you answer, this can drastically reduce your accident settlement.
It is our Job To prove Your Slip and Fall Accident
To prove that the only reason your accident occurred was due to the negligence of the property owner, you will need to prove two things:
- The property owner had knowledge of the hazardous condition or should have reasonably known about its existence
- The injured victim was not aware of the dangerous condition (they could not see it in time and there were no signs posted)
Under the above rules, a property owner is given a reasonable amount of time to fix any hazardous conditions which may be present. During this time is when the owner should post signs and/or keep visitors away from the dangerous area.
The exact definition of “reasonable” as it applies to slip and fall cases will be determined by the judge and/or jury at the time of litigation or negotiations. Our team serves the entire Greater Atlanta area.
Common Causes for Slip and Fall Injuries in the Atlanta area
There are a wide variety of causes and conditions that lead to slip and fall accidents in the state of Georgia. Some of the most common include but are not limited to:
- Structural defects or improper maintenance/upkeep that leads to uneven steps, cracked sidewalks, potholes in streets/parking lots, broken floor tiles, or torn carpeting
- Unlit walkways or hallways
- Malfunctioning escalators or broken staircases (including missing handrails)
- Wet/slick walkways, staircases, or floors
- Spills that aren’t cleaned up inside stores, hospitals, nursing homes, etc.
- Hazardous debris such as tree branches, etc. that does not get cleaned up
- Weather-related conditions such as snow or ice that doesn’t get shoveled away and/or salted
- A failure to install gutters, storm drains, or anti-slip devices which lead to hazardous conditions during heavy rainfall or snowfall
- A failure to place signs and/or restrict areas when hazardous conditions like any of the above exist
If you have been involved in a Slip and Fall Accident contact us today.
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