Did you know that around 40 million people visit U.S. emergency rooms every year seeking treatment for an injury? Injuries from slip and fall accidents account for over one million of these ER visits.
When someone else’s negligence causes these accidents and injuries, the patient may be eligible to seek financial compensation for their damages through a personal injury claim. However, your settlement might not cover all your expenses unless you have a knowledgeable slip and fall accident lawyer advocating for your best interests.
What Is a Slip and Fall Accident?
This term refers to falls that occur on someone else’s property, usually in public places like stores, workplaces, parks, sports venues and parking lots, where large numbers of people typically congregate. These accidents can also take place on private property.
Not all falls qualify injured individuals to seek compensation. The responsible party’s negligence must cause someone to slip and fall to be eligible. Responsible parties might include property owners or managers, tenants, government agencies or business owners. Whoever is responsible for property upkeep and maintenance may be at fault, although your slip and fall attorney will be sure to include all liable parties.
These parties have a duty of care to maintain their premises safely to avoid causing accidents that can harm others. Part of this duty includes an obligation to repair dangerous areas as soon as a hazard becomes apparent. Placing barriers or hazard signs to keep others away before and during repairs is also necessary.
If you slip and fall on someone else’s property because of unaddressed hazards, you can sustain serious injuries. You may need multiple medical treatments and an extended recovery period. Your injuries may also cause life-altering conditions, and you deserve compensation.
What Can Cause Slip and Fall Accidents?
Various hazardous conditions can cause slips and falls, and most of these accidents are avoidable. People might slip and fall because of:
- Poor lighting
- Damaged or uneven surfaces, such as worn carpet and chipped sidewalks or floor tiles
- Obstructions, debris or loose cords left in walkways
- Spills, snow and ice that create slippery surfaces
- Damaged stairs or handrails
If the responsible party knows about hazards like these but doesn’t address them immediately, your slip and fall accident lawyer will investigate and gather evidence proving negligence. You can then seek compensation for your damages.
How Does a Slip and Fall Accident Claim Work?
The circumstances of every accident are different, and each claim uses case-specific information. However, the basic steps remain similar.
The party responsible for causing your accident probably has liability insurance coverage. You can file an insurance claim against them, asking for reimbursement for your accident-related expenses and compensation for other damages.
Insurance companies may deny your claim, but they might also make a settlement offer. These initial offers are usually intentionally low. You can accept the first offer or negotiate for a higher payout. In rare cases, you might have to go to court to reach a satisfactory resolution.
What If Your Injuries Get Worse Later?
Many injuries — and conditions caused by them — might take an unexpected turn for the worse as time passes. You might need further medical treatments or experience other complications months or years later. As long as you can prove your initial slip and fall accident is the reason, you can get more compensation, right? Wrong.
You may think that the at-fault party is responsible for all conditions caused by your accident from this point forward. However, that is not the case. A signed settlement agreement is a binding legal document. Signing this document means the liable party agrees to pay the specified sum, and you agree not to hold them accountable for any further damages.
Accurately assessing the value of your claim before you sign a settlement agreement is crucial. Most people who handle their claims without the assistance of a slip and fall attorney don’t have the knowledge or experience to determine how much their claims are worth. These people may accept low settlement offers without realizing they could and should have gotten more.
Why Don’t Insurance Companies Offer Fair Settlements?
Insurance companies know how much compensation you might obtain through a trial and don’t want to pay anywhere close to those maximum amounts. Insurers routinely use various tactics and strategies to minimize payouts and increase their own profits.
Insurance companies know that injured accident victims often want money quickly to pay for current medical bills and living expenses. Receiving a lump sum fast is tempting, but these victims may not take time to calculate the total accident-related costs.
What Is Maximum Medical Improvement?
After a slip and fall accident, your medical condition will hopefully continue to improve. You will reach a stage known as maximum medical improvement. At this point, you may be fully recovered.
However, some injuries produce permanent conditions that require life-long treatments. For these patients, MMI represents the most improvement your injuries permit.
If your MMI isn’t a full recovery, your slip and fall attorney can seek compensation for future medical expenses, lost wages and other applicable damages during settlement negotiations. Even the best lawyers can’t force insurance companies to pay more compensation after you sign a settlement agreement.
What Kinds of Damages Can You Receive?
Most New York personal injury claims qualify for different types of compensation. The amounts and your eligibility depend on your specific circumstances.
Cellino Law can calculate your claim’s value. If applicable, we will include the costs of future damages.
Economic Damages
Slip and fall accidents and injuries typically involve many directly related expenses:
- Medical treatments
- Lost wages
- Replacement services
- Property damage
Economic damages reimburse you for these qualifying costs.
Non-Economic Damages
Your slip and fall accident may damage your quality of life, causing conditions like:
- Anxiety, depression and PTSD
- Pain and suffering
- Losing the ability to enjoy life
- Permanent disfigurement or disability
- Damage to personal relationships
Non-economic damages compensate for these conditions, but insurance companies rarely offer these damages voluntarily and may deny these claims altogether. You may have to provide solid evidence demonstrating how severely these conditions affect you.
Does Hiring a Slip and Fall Attorney Really Help?
Competent slip and fall accident lawyers from Cellino Law typically help our clients recover significantly more compensation than they would receive handling their claims alone. How?
- We know how insurance companies operate and how to overcome their tactics.
- We can accurately calculate fair settlements.
- We have the resources to investigate your claim and gather supporting evidence.
- We won’t hesitate to take your case to trial if insurance companies won’t pay fairly otherwise.
With Cellino Law on your side, you can focus on recovering from your injuries, knowing we will fiercely advocate for your right to fair compensation.
Why Should You Hire a Slip and Fall Accident Lawyer from Cellino Law?
A Cellino Law firm has assisted New Yorkers since 1958, obtaining over $2 billion for our clients through settlements and recoveries. Our focus on personal injury law gives us the experience and knowledge necessary to fight and win against greedy insurance companies.
Best of all, you won’t pay us any fees until we win compensation for you. If you need a slip and fall accident lawyer, contact Cellino Law today to request your free case evaluation. We will tell you how much your case is worth and won’t let insurance companies take advantage of you. Call us at (888) 888-8888, use live chat or submit our online contact request form.