“Slip and Fall” is a catch phrase used by doctors and lawyers alike to describe injuries that result from someone falling down as a result of a dangerous or hazardous condition on someone else’s property. Sometimes, you can also hear someone call the same event a “trip and fall” or a “step and fall” — it always involves a serious falling injury.
What are serious slip and falling injuries
Falling injuries can result from slippery substances (ice, snow, rain, grease, etc.) on the walking surface. They can also happen when there are unexpected changes in flooring, poor visibility from bad lighting, or a partially hidden hazard, like a hole in the ground. According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), falling injuries account for most of the serious and fatal injuries in the workplace.
Both the property owner and the injured person may be held to varying degrees of responsibility for a fall injury. While the property owner has a legal duty to keep its property safe, all pedestrians have a legal duty to watch where they are going, and to observe what can normally be observed through reasonable care, such as an open and obvious patch of ice on walking surfaces. A person is expected to use reasonable care to prevent injury, and that legal axiom applies to companies and/or individuals who own or operate premises, as well as those using another’s premises.
Who is responsible fall accidents under the law?
Both Indiana and Illinois recognize legal liability for damages and injury suffered in an accident which the property owner could, through reasonable care, anticipate and prevent. The key is often whether the property owner knew, or through reasonable care could have discovered, the dangerous condition or activity, and could have taken reasonable steps to prevent the accident. So, for example, when someone falls because a long-missing manhole cover is not replaced, there is legal liability even if the party responsible for maintaining the cover claims he didn’t know the manhole was uncovered.
Some property owners are particularly accountable. Owners of hotels and apartment complexes, for example, have special legal responsibilities to those folk they’ve invited to enter and use their property. These owners must keep the common facilities in a safe condition.
How can a lawyer help?
In a simple accident or a fall case, insurance adjusters will often attempt to take recorded or written statements of the accident victim. NEVER GIVE A STATEMENT TO AN INSURANCE ADJUSTER OR REPRESENTATIVE WITHOUT YOUR LAWYER PRESENT!
Insurance adjusters are highly trained to gain the confidence of accident victims in order to undermine claims. A recorded or written statement taken by an experienced insurance adjuster can create huge problems in a fall or accident case. Insurance personnel are trained to phrase questions in a way which can pose problems if the case goes to court.
A seemingly simple accident can have complex repercussions – both medical and legal – and therefore requires a complex legal approach. At Allen Law Group, injury attorneys have years of experience with a wide variety of slip and fall injuries.
These Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland slip and fall accident lawyers know the questions to ask – for example, what was the coefficient of friction for the floor covering or coating? Was there was a chronic problem evidenced by prior similar accidents at the facility where the slip and fall occurred?
Furthermore, firm engineers are versed in technical details – determining applicable ASME, ANSI, BOCA and other codes and regulations to establish legal liability. And, firm medical experts can explain to a jury in simple terms the injury you suffered, and the day-to-day, as well as life-long, implications of a serious injury suffered in a slip, trip and fall.
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If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed due to the wrongful acts of another, then you may have a legal claim for damages as well as the right to justice against the wrongdoer and you are welcomed to contact the Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland personal injury lawyers at Allen Law Group to schedule a free initial legal consultation.