Falling Isn’t the End: Guide To Slip and Fall Personal Injury Lawsuits
It was a simple slip and fall but with devastating consequences. You failed to see the banana peel on the floor at your grocery store, stepped on it, and fell, breaking your arm. Now, you have to deal with the pain, the days off work, and, most of all, the mounting medical bills.
Who is to blame in such a scenario? Keep reading to learn about slip and fall accidents and how to prove liability.
What Is a Slip and Fall Accident?
Simply put, a slip-and-fall accident occurs when someone slips, trips, or falls due to a hazardous condition at someone else’s property. Legally speaking, individuals and companies owning property are responsible for ensuring their premises are safe for their clients and any other entity with a right to enter their property.
Therefore, if you sustain injuries in a slip and fall incident at a commercial property, you could seek retribution from the owner. It could be the owner of a supermarket, department store, strip mall, restaurant, multi-family housing, apartment complexes, or condominium associations.
Here are some of the dangerous conditions that can lead to slip and fall accidents:
- Fallen vegetables at the product section of a supermarket
- Uneven, cracked, and slippery sidewalks
- Poor lighting
- Torn carpets
- Slippery floors
- Unplowed parking lots
However, proving liability and winning cases like those mentioned above can be difficult. It’s generally advised to consult with a Georgia personal injury lawyer. A good attorney will help you collect and present relevant and helpful evidence to prove the property owner knew or should have known about the hazardous condition that led to your injury.
How To Prove Liability in a Slip and Fall Accident
To prove liability in a slip and fall personal injury case, you must show the court that the property owner knew or should have known about the slippery floor, torn carpet, or the hazardous condition that led to your fall.
To do this, collecting evidence at the incident scene is best. If you are in a position to do so, take pictures of the hazard, and if you cannot, ask someone to help you, as this crucial piece of evidence can tip the scales in your favor.
Consult a Personal Injury Attorney
In such cases, it’s important to consult a good personal injury attorney to serve the grocery store with a demand letter for evidence, say surveillance footage of the accident. “Time is of the essence here because most surveillance videos have short loops where new images and videos quickly record over old ones,” says Personal injury attorney Ronny Hulsey.
You are entitled to compensation for all the damages you sustain due to the incident. Therefore, you should keep medical documentation showing evidence of doctor visits and medication expenses.
If you have never tried journaling, now would be a good time to begin. It’s good to keep a journal showing how the accident has affected your life and the things you could do with ease before but now find yourself struggling with. Your account can provide a first-hand account of the injury’s impact, further solidifying your case.
Conclusion
If you have suffered from a slip and fall accident as a result of a hazardous condition at your local grocery store, supermarket, mall or any other commercial property, you should file a slip and fall personal injury claim against the owner. A qualified Georgia personal injury attorney can advise on the best legal strategy to follow and protect your rights.
Also Read: Understanding the Rights of Minors in Personal Injury Cases
