When a business has failed to maintain a slip/trip-hazard-free property or the company you work for has allowed unsafe conditions to go unchecked, you may have a slip and fall accident that inflicts severe injuries.
A serious fall can drastically alter the trajectory of your health and financial future, leaving you burdened by medical debt and unable to return to your career. A trusted slip/trip and fall attorney can help demonstrate that the damages resulting from your injury deserve compensation from negligent property owners.
KMW Legal Can Help With Your Slip/Trip and Fall Lawsuit
In order to have the best chance of recovering a fair settlement, you’ll need an experienced personal injury lawyer to aggressively pursue compensation when a negligent property owner or company is deemed liable for your slip/trip and fall injury.
At KMW Legal, our team isn’t afraid to go up against powerful insurance companies to negotiate a settlement that satisfies our clients and provides for their financial, physical, and emotional needs. If the insurance carrier resists offering fair compensation, you’ll need a tough litigator on your side to see your slip and fall case through negotiations or to trial.
The lawyers of Keller, Melchiorre & Walsh have spent the last decade advocating for the injured, and we have a successful record of results. We invite you to contact us for a complimentary strategy session where we will thoroughly review the details of your case and devise a personalized approach to your slip and fall lawsuit.
Slip/Trip and Fall Accidents Can Cause Severe Injuries
The National Safety Council estimates that 6.8 million people sought treatment in emergency rooms in 2019 for injuries from falls. After slipping on a floor that hadn’t been properly cleaned, tripping over materials that had been left out, or falling down the stairs, you may have tried to break your fall using your arms or hands. It’s also common for people to hit their heads on the ground or nearby tabletops and counters when they lose their footing.
Examples of Common Fall Injuries:
- Fractured bones or sprains
- Severe bruising and lacerations
- Internal injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
Seek Immediate Medical Assistance After a Slip and Fall Accident
In the immediate aftermath, you may have felt embarrassed and declined medical attention, especially if there were no visible indications of injury. Many people dismiss their pain as “having pulled something in their back” or label it as “just a sprain”, but even relatively minor injuries may impede your ability to work or care for yourself.
You may be inclined to brush off the fall, but if you have been injured it is important to seek medical assistance as soon as possible. Not only does this reduce the risk of a serious injury going untreated, but it also prevents insurance companies from claiming that your injuries are being overstated, allowing them to get away with offering a lower settlement.
Common Hazards that Cause Slip and Fall Accidents
People can trip over their own shoes or simply lose their balance but a slip and fall case requires the presence of a hazard that caused a plaintiff’s injury due of a property owner’s negligence. The following are some of the most common hazards involved in slip and fall accident cases.
- Uneven or loose flooring
- Recently mopped or waxed floors with no warning of slip risk
- Potholes or ditches
- Uncleaned spills or puddles
- Ice or grease accumulation on floors
- Debris on the ground
- Poor lighting or blinding light
- Cords running across walkways
- Open drawers or small doors
- Uneven or sudden transitions between floor surfaces
- Lack of handrails or similar safety features
Who is Most at Risk for a Slip/Trip and Fall Injury?
Slip/trip and fall injuries can be devastating, especially for at-risk groups, like construction workers and the elderly. We often think of fall injuries occurring when someone is in a rush or is generally clumsy, but in many cases, these injuries occur because of parties such as a negligent employer or a nursing home.
Slip and fall accidents can be particularly threatening for the elderly, who are at an increased risk of death or injury due to falls. The CDC states that over 36 million falls are reported by senior citizens each year in the U.S., claiming 32,000 lives and accounting for more than a third of nursing home admissions to hospitals. When a negligent or abusive nursing home caretaker fails to protect the senior in their care, they can be held liable for damages in a slip and fall lawsuit.
Workplaces Are the Site of Many Slip/Trip and Fall Accidents
A slip and fall accident on a construction site is the most common cause of fatal workplace injuries, claiming 1,102 lives in 2019 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Construction jobs tend to be high-risk occupations wrought with potential hazards. Employers are responsible for ensuring that safety protocols are observed and risk is mitigated wherever feasible.
When a loose wire caused someone to trip, a worker delays cleaning up a spilled chemical, or an unstable scaffold caused a worker to plummet to their death, the injured worker or their family may obtain workers’ compensation to cover the cost of medical bills and lost wages, regardless of fault.
You don’t have to be a construction worker falling from one level to another to be seriously injured; office workers are also at risk of slip/trip and fall or chair fall accidents. In order to protect yourself from insurance carriers looking to evade liability and compensatory costs, it is advisable to seek out the counsel of a qualified Tampa slip/trip and fall attorney to shepherd your claim through the negotiations process.
Who is Liable for a Slip and Fall Accident Injury?
In most cases, it is the owner of the property that is considered liable for a slip and fall injury case. Premises liability is a property owner’s responsibility to those they invite onto their property to provide a reasonably safe environment. Property owners owe those they invite onto their property a duty of care and their failure to ensure that potentially dangerous conditions that can cause an injury are not addressed can result in their liability when they do end up hurting someone.
It is important to note that slipping and falling on someone else’s property does not always mean that premises liability is applicable. The property owner needs to have been negligent in a way that led to a hazard to cause a slip and fall accident involving someone they owed a duty of care to. In order for the property owner to be considered negligent, they need to have been aware of and able to address the dangerous conditions on their property that created a risk of slip and fall yet failed to do anything.
Liability for Slip and Fall Accidents On-the-Job
In some cases, a slip and fall accident may occur on the job and would instead involve filing a worker’s compensation claim. These claims are no-fault which means that you do not need to worry about proving employer negligence in order to get compensation for your work injury.
However, Florida worker’s compensation only covers damages like medical bills and lost wages. If you want to seek compensation for pain and suffering then you will have to consider filing a third-party lawsuit against a party other than your employer. This is not always an option but sometimes parties such as cleaners, maintenance providers, contractors, or even product manufacturers can contribute to a slip and fall accident on the job in some way and be considered liable.
What Damages Can I Claim in a Slip and Fall Lawsuit?
A slip and fall accident can potentially result in permanent impairment or disability, which may necessitate a complete lifestyle adjustment. You may have to switch careers, depend on mobility aids like a wheelchair to navigate the work, rely on a home healthcare aide for everyday tasks, and face mental health struggles as a result of your injury.
- Medical bills
- Lab Tests
- Ambulance Rides
- Surgeries
- Hospital Stays
- Medication
- Home Healthcare Services
- Physical or Occupational Therapy
- Lost Wages
- Lost Earning Potential
- Costs of Job Retraining
- Missed Promotions
- Inability to Continue Career
- Pain and Suffering
- Wrongful Death
- Funeral and Burial Costs
- Loss of Consortium
You are entitled to recover the cost of these damages in a slip and fall lawsuit, but a workers’ compensation claim will only cover the value of medical bills and lost wages. Further legal action may be necessary to recover additional costs on an on-the-job injury, should the accident and injury meet additional criteria.
A qualified slip and fall attorney will be able to help you gauge the value of these costs and the future impact of your injury. An experienced litigator will also be familiar with the deadlines associated with the process of recuperating expenses in a workers’ compensation claim or a slip/trip and fall lawsuit.
How Can a Slip/Trip and Fall Lawyer Help Me?
The National Floor Safety Institute reports that disabling slip and fall injuries cost Americans upwards of $250,000 a year and about a month’s worth of work on average. Even relatively minor injuries incurred in a slip and fall accident can cost you a full paycheck of lost wages and a hefty hospital bill.
Slip and fall claims can be complex because they often involve the arduous task of establishing a duty of care existed between a property owner and the injured party, combing through limited evidence to prove that another party’s negligence was connected to the injury and resulting damages, or battling insurance companies attempting to circumvent the requirement workers’ compensation claims.
That’s why it is critical to employ an attorney who has a long track record of success, specifically in slip/trip and fall cases. At KMW Legal, we’ve helped injured people recover hundreds of thousands of dollars to compensate them for medical debt, lost wages, and earning capacity, as well as emotional distress.
KMW Legal is Proud to Serve Slip and Fall Accident Victims in Tampa, Florida
387,916 people call the thriving Tampa Bay area home, making it the largest city in Hillsborough County. We have had the privilege of serving its residents for many years. The lawyers of KMW Legal have spoken with many Tampa clients who debated taking lowball settlement offers just to offset costs or avoid tense negotiations with insurance companies.
Insurance companies and other businesses rely on your hesitancy and lack of knowledge about the personal injury claims process to protect their bottom line. At KMW Legal, our expertise makes us an asset in any negotiation.
You can be sure that your concerns will be addressed and respected by our team as we pursue a fair settlement offer on your behalf. We don’t collect a fee as a portion of the settlement until we have successfully settled your case, so you don’t have to worry about any upfront or out-of-pocket costs.
Contact a Tampa Slip/Trip and Fall Lawyer Today
KMW Legal recognizes that after being injured in a slip/trip and fall accident, you may not know what legal options are available to you or how to handle the unexpected burden of medical bills and lost wages. You may have even initially brushed off slip/trip and fall injuries only to realize you needed rehabilitation or surgery.
KMW Legal won’t let you be intimidated out of seeking the compensation you are eligible for or taken advantage of by companies looking to protect their profit. Your experience is personal and unique, and our legal team prepares accordingly.
Our legal team will construct a solid settlement offer tailored to the specific demands of your case and pursue it relentlessly in negotiations or at trial. Reach out to us at your convenience to set up a custom strategy session with our experienced legal team to discuss the next steps in your slip/trip and fall lawsuit.