Get Legal Help After a Trip & Fall Accident
At first‚ your accident didn’t seem like a big deal. Just a small slip on your way to work or a trip on your way home and you were on your way. But then the pain began to set in. Starting with one extremity and extending all the way out‚ till you could no longer walk and the idea of standing up was agonizing. Now you are bedridden‚ frustrated and running out of money to cover all your hospital visits. Undoubtedly‚ at this point, you’ve got more than a few questions‚ such as:
- How am I going to pay for these bills and my family’s needs?
- Will I ever recover from this pain?
- Should I call an attorney?
- Do I even have a case?
Don’t wait a moment longer. Call the Jurewitz Law Group Injury & Accident Lawyers today at (619) 233-5020 or (888) 233-5020 and let our understanding personal injury attorneys help you explore your rights and potential legal options. Everyday‚ people such as you are hurt and in some cases severely injured in slip and fall accidents. While a few of these incidents are certainly the result of clumsiness‚ a majority of them are the result of a negligent property owner or building manager’s disregard for public safety. As a result‚ innocent people are left to contend with injuries that otherwise could have been prevented. If you believe you have been victimized in a similar way‚ call our office today. Some of the more common situations that lead to slip and fall accidents in San Diego include:
- Slippery tile or laminated floors in malls‚ department stores and retail chains;
- Broken sidewalks that jut up from the ground;
- Shoddy stairwells‚ that lack handrails or are falling apart;
- Inclement weather that creates treacherous surface areas;
- â¦and many other situations.
Ross Jurewitz Discusses San Diego’s Dangerous Sidewalks on ABC 10 News
Depending on the circumstances surrounding your accident‚ you could be eligible to receive significant compensation. But time is of the essence. In the state of California‚ as well as the rest of the country‚ you are granted a limited amount of time in which to file your case. This is known as the statute of limitations and it exists to prevent the courts from being overrun with frivolous lawsuits. Failing to meet the established deadline can mean a loss of rights and an inability to collect compensation for your injuries. Don’t let this opportunity go by. Get the help you and your family need‚ before it is too late. Call the Jurewitz Law Group Injury & Accident Lawyers today and schedule a free consultation with our experienced team of San Diego personal injury attorneys.
Dial (619) 233-5020 or submit your information online and a representative will contact you shortly.
What Are Premises Liability Claims?
Slip and fall accidents fall under the umbrella of what is known as premises liability claims. Under California premises liability laws, a victim who is injured on someone’s property may be entitled to compensation for their medical expenses. California Civil Code 1714 outlines how property owners have a legal obligation to ensure their property is safe and free from hazards.
When a property owner is negligent in their duty to maintain a safe and relatively hazard-free environment, a victim may be able to recover financial compensation for their expenses related to a slip and fall accident on the property.
Things to Know About Trip and Fall Claims
There are several important things to know about California trip and fall claims. To begin, premises liability claims are based upon a property owner exercising negligence in the maintenance of their property. Under the law, what exactly does this mean? It means that for a premises liability claim to be successful, a number of conditions must be met. These conditions include:
- The property owner owed the victim a duty of care.
- There were unreasonably hazardous conditions on the property.
- A reasonable owner would know about the dangerous conditions.
- Negligence on the part of the property owner was to blame for an accident.
- The victim suffered measurable harm and damages as a result of the accident.
Premises liability claims boil down to establishing that the property itself is unsafe and the owner should know or have reasonably known that there was a potential safety issue and that the owner failed to take reasonable steps to correct the safety hazard. If these factors are in play, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your injuries after a trip and fall accident on someone else’s property.
However, the amount of compensation you may be entitled to also depends on California’s comparative negligence rule. This rule outlines how compensation may be allocated after a serious incident like a trip and fall accident. The comparative negligence model works by assigning liability, or blame, to each party associated with a trip and fall accident. The percentage of blame each party bears has an impact on the amount of compensation they are then able to recover.
For example, let’s say that, in a trip and fall accident, a property owner is assigned 80 percent of the blame for the accident, and the victim is assigned 20 percent. The victim would then be entitled to receive the total amount of their damages, minus 20 percent. If their damages equal $100,000, they may collect $80,000.
This rule makes it even more crucial for trip and fall victims to secure experienced legal representation in the event of a slip and fall accident. An attorney will be able to assess the circumstances of your claim, find evidence to support your case, and help counter arguments by the property owner designed to place blame on your shoulders.
Injuries Associated With Trip and Fall Accidents
Trip and fall accidents are no laughing matter. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list slip and fall accidents are one of the leading causes of traumatic brain injury-related emergency department visits. Nearly half of all traumatic brain injury-related ER visits in children aged 0 to 17 were caused by falls. That jumps to almost 81 percent in older adults over the age of 65.
In addition to serious brain injuries, slip and fall accidents can cause a wide range of serious injuries such as:
- Broken bones
- Fractured hip
- Wrist injuries
- Concussion
- Knee injury
- Sprained ankles or joints
- Neck injuries
- Facial and dental injuries
- Cuts and bruises
These injuries can result in major medical bills and may put a financial strain on victims by keeping them out of the workforce for a time. When negligence is to blame for a fall, victims deserve to be able to seek full and fair compensation for their injuries. At Jurewitz Law Group Injury & Accident Lawyers, we strive to help victims recover from trip and fall accidents by helping them go after the financial compensation they deserve for their injuries and pain and suffering.
California Statute of Limitations
Being involved in a trip and fall accident can be traumatic. It can take time to get your bearings about you and figure out what your next steps should be. However, time is not always on your side. Victims involved in premises liability claims, such as trip and fall accidents, have a limited amount of time to pursue legal action against a negligent party. California gives victims two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit against a negligent property owner.
This may sound like a long period of time, especially if you are pursuing an insurance claim or are hoping for a settlement. However, it is in your best interest to have a lawyer on your side early and prepare for any and all scenarios. It takes time to negotiate an insurance claim settlement. If, after a lengthy negotiation, the insurance company fails to offer you a settlement that’s fair, it may be too late to file a lawsuit for full and fair compensation.
Once the statute of limitations expires, any lawsuit you try to pursue against the negligent property owner can be dismissed, and you will be left without any legal recourse.
What Kind of Compensation Can I Expect in San Diego?
While it is impossible to say what kind of monetary award you could be eligible for without weighing the facts of your case‚ it is safe to say that you can expect compensation in one or more of the following categories:
- Medical bills and doctor’s fees
- Loss of wages or employment
- Potential pain and suffering
For more information or to further explore your legal options‚ contact a San Diego premises liability lawyer the Jurewitz Law Group Injury & Accident Lawyers today and schedule a free case evaluation.
Trip and Fall Case Results
- Awarded: $250‚000 – San Diego Trip and Fall Accident With Shoulder Surgery
- Awarded: $47‚500 – Broken Ankle from Lemon Grove Trip and Fall
DISCLAIMER: Please be aware that the case results described above are not intended to be representative of usual results and not every result is typical or expected of every case. Every case is different and case values turn on small facts and differences. Please contact our office to discuss your case and the range of reasonable case values for your personal injury case.
TERMS: By viewing and reading the case values on this website‚ you are agreeing not to disseminate and distribute the case results described herein. The Jurewitz Law Group Injury & Accident Lawyers retains any and all rights with respect to the use and enforcement of copywright and trademark violations with respect to any use which violated state or federal law.
