How long a slip and fall case can take depends on the severity of the accident. The length of time it takes to resolve a slip and fall can range from a few months to a few years, depending on the circumstances. In general, accidents with more severe injuries usually result in higher damage amounts and longer time periods to resolve. Cases that appear in court also take significantly longer than those that settle out of court.
Louisiana Slip and Fall Lawyer
Louisiana Slip and Fall Attorney
Slip and fall accidents can cause a variety of injuries, some of which are quite intense. If the fall is bad enough, it can cause permanent damage to the head or neck, resulting in nerve damage or a traumatic brain injury. They can also cause injuries to the back, break bones, or emotionally impact the victim by making them fearful of coming back to the property. If you or a loved one are a victim of an accident like this, contact a Louisiana slip and fall lawyer.
Murphy Law Firm: Your Louisiana Slip and Fall Lawyers
At Murphy Law Firm, we know firsthand how landlords, business owners, and insurance companies attempt to prevent paying damages to individuals who were hurt on their property. Our goal is to provide aggressive support to our clients and recover the damages that they deserve. We work with clients all across Louisiana and can travel to you to hear your story and review your case.
Slip and Falls
While some slip and falls are minor and cause limited harm to the victim, others can be extremely severe and result in injuries that can permanently affect someone’s life. Slip and fall accidents can occur in many different places for a variety of reasons, including:
- Government Property: Louisiana has detailed rules for filing a slip and fall claim within a government building. This includes limits on your damages as well as additional requirements. It’s important to speak with an attorney if your slip and fall happened on government property. They can make sure that your claim is filed correctly.
- Another Individual’s Residence: If your injuries were caused by hazards on another person’s property, you could receive compensation through their homeowner’s insurance policy. Homeowners’ insurance coverage typically offers funds for medical expenses as well as coverage for liability if the property was the cause of the accident and subsequent injuries.
- Business or Shop: A storefront or business is typically responsible for providing a safe environment for customers. These establishments can often provide coverage for an injury under their insurance policy, which they’re required to have to stay in operation. To qualify for a slip and fall claim, the business must have known about the hazard that injured you but chose to neglect it or not alert customers about it.
- A Rental Property: Even though landlords’ responsibilities can change depending on the state, most of them need to keep their buildings maintained enough for both residents and visitors to safely use the property. This can include both communal areas of a building as well as an individual’s unit if the landlord knew about maintenance issues and neglected to fix them before an injury.
- Sidewalks: Similar to a storefront, the property owner of the land near the sidewalk is usually responsible for its maintenance. If a sidewalk slip and fall accident occurred due to some issue with the sidewalk itself that the landowner should have known about, then it might be possible to file a claim. If the sidewalk is not near a piece of land, then it might be owned by the government, which has separate rules for a claim.
Regardless of where your fall happened, if it occurred due to an issue on the physical property itself that should have been noticed by the owner before the accident, then you might be eligible for a personal injury claim. Working with an attorney can determine who might be liable in your case and how much you could expect to receive for your injuries.
Why Do I Need a Louisiana Slip and Fall Lawyer?
Insurance companies, businesses, and government entities almost always have legal teams that assist them with slip and fall claims. Their aim is to avoid paying damages that are owed to victims who were injured on their property. You deserve to have an experienced attorney on your side to negotiate with large companies and organizations on your behalf.
An attorney can perform their own investigation to gather more evidence and determine who might be liable for your injuries. They can also calculate how much in damages you might be entitled to based on the scope of your injuries and how long it might take to recover from them. This can be helpful for evaluating any settlement offers that you might receive from an insurance company. An experienced attorney can determine if these offers are appropriate for the harm you suffered.
Additionally, navigating the aftermath of a slip and fall accident can be difficult. A severe fall can lead to serious injuries that require extensive recovery time. Filing paperwork, gathering evidence, and negotiating with insurance companies can be exhausting, especially while you’re trying to heal from an accident. An attorney can help with all these elements of a claim to more efficiently streamline your case.
What Should I Do After a Slip and Fall?
One of the most important things to do after a slip and fall accident is to document your injuries and report them to the owner of the property. The owner will usually create a report in writing outlining what happened and the injuries you sustained. If possible, obtain a copy for your records. After this, the owner will probably contact their insurance company.
After the accident is documented, make sure to receive medical attention as soon as possible, even if you don’t feel very injured. Some injuries don’t show themselves immediately after an accident and can take days or weeks to appear. Seeking medical help can bring those injuries to your attention early enough to receive proper treatment. It can also create additional documentation proving the extent of your injuries for a future personal injury claim. This documentation can play a critical role in determining personal injury settlement amounts, ensuring you are fairly compensated for your damages.
Don’t forget to document important information like the name of the building, the owner’s contact information, and the contact information of any witnesses who were present at the time of the accident. It can also be helpful to take photos and videos of the scene itself. If there are hazards present, like spills or broken floors, make sure to document those as well. Don’t speak to anyone about the incident until you speak with a lawyer.
Finally, contact a personal injury attorney and make sure to give them a copy of the accident report, medical records, and any evidence you gathered surrounding the accident. If an insurance representative calls you for more information on the accident, refer them to your attorney instead. It is also a good idea to avoid posting about the accident on social media because insurance companies can use any information you post against your claim.
FAQs
When Should I Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer for a Slip and Fall?
ndividuals should hire a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after their slip and fall accident. This is because Louisiana has strict time limits on how long a person has to file a claim after their accident occurs. The sooner a personal injury lawyer is hired, the sooner they can review all the options and file a claim within the case’s statute of limitations. For more information on slip and fall claims, contact a personal injury lawyer.
Are Slip and Fall Cases Hard to Win?
Slip and fall cases can be hard to win without the help of a personal injury attorney. To win a slip and fall case, you must be able to prove that your injuries were caused by an issue on the property that the owner refused to fix, even though they already knew about it or should have known about it at the time of the injury. You must also prove that the issue in the building would not be a reasonable hazard to expect based on the context of the situation.
Can I Still Receive Compensation for a Slip and Fall If I Was at Fault?
It might still be possible to receive compensation for a slip and fall, even if you were somewhat to blame for your injuries. Louisiana participates in comparative negligence law, which means that an individual’s potential damages are reduced by the percentage that they are found to be at fault. This means that, even if you suspect that you were partially at fault, you might still be able to recover damages to compensate for medical expenses and other issues.
Don’t Go Through This Alone
Even textbook cases of negligence that resulted in a slip and fall can be difficult to prove in a claim or in court. It often takes lots of evidence in many different formats to prove that your injuries were directly caused by the owner’s negligence. For assistance in your slip and fall case, consider working with a firm that has been helping slip and fall victims for almost 30 years. Schedule a consultation with Murphy Law Firm today to learn about your options.
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