Slip and Fall Accidents: A Personal Injury Lawyer Can Safeguard Your Interests and Help You Get The Compensation You Deserve
In legal terms, the phrase “slip and fall” refers to the provisions that govern situations in which a person falls to the ground on another’s property and is injured because of someone else’s fault or negligence. State laws apply in such cases, unless the property belonged to the federal government.
Such accidents can cause injuries ranging from cuts, bruises or sprains to serious head, neck and spinal damage, or fractures, resulting in time out from work, hospitalization, loss of income/wages, medical treatment and rehabilitation and pain and suffering.
As an injured victim, you are entitled to seek compensation from those responsible for the accident. Consult an experienced personal injury lawyer Toronto to assist you with this.
Seek A Personal Injury Lawyer’s Advice
In the chaos, confusion and distress following accidents, however minor they’re assumed to be, everyone’s primary focus remains on getting immediate medical attention for the injured person.
Following this, contact a personal injury lawyer Toronto with experience in handling slip and fall cases. They can provide a swift, genuine assessment of the circumstances and advise you on the further steps to be taken.
Personal injury cases are governed by strict statute-of-limitations rules and any delay could result in your claim being declared invalid.
Personal Injury Lawyers Assist in Establishing Liability
Proving negligence in slip and fall cases can be challenging. That’s why it’s important to consult a slip and fall accident lawyer with experience in this sector. The concept of premises or owner’s liability applies in such cases.
- It presumes that the owner has a duty of care to ensure the safety of all who legitimately enter the premises.
- The owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition and failed to correct it.
It may be difficult to establish ownership clearly without detailed investigations. There may be multiple owners, or the person whose negligence directly caused the accident may not be the owner. Personal injury lawyers Toronto can unravel the chain of liability and identify the responsible parties.
They can conduct independent investigations into the case, gather evidence and take depositions from eye-witnesses. During the process of legal “discovery” the at-fault party would also have to share maintenance/repair logs, CCTV footage if any, etc. These would help clearly establish negligence.
Points to Remember
Even if you’ve received a settlement offer from at-fault parties, consult a personal injury lawyer to safeguard your rights. It’s important to:
- Report the accident and get documentary proof of this
- Take photos/videos of the spot if possible since circumstances may change
- Note names/contact details of witnesses
- Store the clothes/shoes you were wearing carefully
- Keep all accident-related bills/prescriptions/medical-reports
- Note all expenses incurred
- Don’t make statements/admissions like “I’m sorry, it’s my fault” etc
Legal Assistance Advantages
Personal injury cases are usually pursued on a contingency-fee basis, and are fully funded by the lawyer/firm handling your case. Most cases are settled out-of-court through negotiations but an experienced slip and fall accident lawyer can ably represent you in court as well.
