Commonly known as trip and fall injury, a slip and fall injury normally occurs when the interface of the injured person’s shoe and the floor fails. It should be noted here that in a slip and fall injury lawsuit, both the property owner as well as the victim can be held liable to certain degrees of responsibility. In legal language, it is also known as contributory negligence in Maryland, and comparative fault in most other states. This contributory negligence/comparative fault will depend upon the property owner’s duty to maintain the property and the injured person’s responsibility to maintain ordinary care to walk carefully on slippery surfaces.
Here are certain things which slip and fall lawyers will consider while taking up your case:
Required documentation
It will be extremely helpful for your slip and fall lawyer if you have proper documentation of the whole situation. The documentation will include the following:
• Note down the time and date of the slip and fall accident.
• Write down a description of the surroundings of the accident spot.
• Note down if any witnesses were present in the surrounding.
• Try to take some photographs of the accident site.
• Immediately go to a medical examiner/doctor and get your injuries treated. Submit the doctor’s report with the documentation.
Witnesses
Witnesses play a very important role in the case of a slip and fall injury lawsuit. The lawyers for both the parties will examine those witnesses. Here is a list of people who can be possible witnesses in your case:
• People who can testify about your condition and the impact of your injury
• Accident witnesses
• Police or rescue workers who came to the accident site
• Expert witnesses such as doctors, accident reconstruction engineers, etc.
• Medical examiners
Compensation
If your slip and fall lawyer is able to win the lawsuit for you, then you will be able to get compensation from the other party. The compensation may include the following:
• Medical bills
• Potential medical expenses that you can incur in the future
• Wage loss
Slip and fall injury on commercial property
Shopping malls and grocery stores are responsible to maintain their property as per the industry standards. If you go through a slip and fall injury in a grocery store or in a shopping mall, then they will be held liable for the damages incurred by you if they failed to recognize these standards. You should immediately contact your slip and fall lawyer and he will help you in taking the required steps.
Slip and fall injury on municipality owned property
If you incurred a slip and fall injury on a municipality-owned property, then you should make sure that you seek the opinion of a slip and fall lawyer ASAP. This is because notice of a claim to the municipality must often strictly compliy with special legal standards, and the law is different in the case of municipality-owned property from what applies to other property.
Thus, if you have incurred a slip and fall injury, you should immediately contact a professional, well-qualified and experienced slip and fall lawyer who will be able to help you get the justice you deserve.