Accidental slips, trips and falls are one of the leading causes of accidental injury and death for Florida residents. The risk is particularly acute among seniors because of their physical frailties. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), every year, roughly one out of every three Americans will suffer some type of fall, with nearly 30% of those resulting in severe to moderate injury. All told, the cost of medical bills as a result of preventable falls among seniors alone is $30 billion each year. This does not even account for the myriad of other costs associated with these accidents.
Needless to say, fall accidents must be taken seriously. As a legal matter, when the fall occurs on another’s property, the victim may have legal rights to receive compensation to help in their recovery with the help of a skilled injury attorney. For support on these matters in Miami and nearby Florida communities, please contact a Miami slip and fall lawyer today.
The statute of limitations to file a slip-and-fall claim in Florida is four years after the date of your accident. Many people think that this is a long time, but you would be surprised by how quickly it passes and how much there is to prepare. Before filing a claim, a lawyer must conduct an investigation, gather evidence, and obtain medical records and other papers documenting your medical bills, lost wages and other damages. You should contact a Miami slip-and-fall attorney as soon as possible if you are considering filing a lawsuit.
If you suffered a serious injury in a slip-and-fall accident, then you’ll want legal representation. A fall accident lawyer in Miami has the training and knowledge to perform a variety of tasks that you cannot do on your own. Below are some examples of how experienced slip-and-fall lawyers could provide legal help in your situation.
Many factors must align for a slip-and-fall lawsuit to go through to a court trial. The slip-and-fall attorney must be ready at all times, proving not only that you suffered substantial injury and damages on someone else’s property, but also that they were caused by the negligence of property owners or managers.
The first thing we will do is examine the circumstances of your accident in detail. We evaluate the accident’s fundamental elements to determine how we can legally hold the property owner accountable for your slip-and-fall.
For example, let’s say that you fell down some steps. We’ll examine not only whether you missed a step, but also why. Did you slip on anything on the step, perhaps? Did you try to grab the handrail only to discover that it was loose, causing you to lose your balance? Was the wood of the step rotting and starting to crater? We are skilled slip-and-fall attorneys who will analyze the situation, speak with you about all the possibilities, and figure out why and how you fell. In addition, we will collaborate with and hire specialists as needed to help you show that there were warning signs of a dangerous condition to strengthen your case.
We will seek other types of proof in addition to establishing liability. We will go to the location of the incident and take photos. We will also gather evidence, including video surveillance, witness statements and documentation of past injuries in the same spot.
Additionally, our Miami slip and fall attorneys will work with medical experts to document the fall injuries that you’ve sustained, like broken bones or severe head trauma. We’ll present all the evidence plus your medical bills to the court to assist you in winning your case. This will be important so you can recover compensation for all your injuries.
Sometimes, slip-and-fall injuries are the fault of another – often, the owners of dangerous locations. Property owners owe a duty of care to other persons on their premises. These duties include:
If an individual is injured in a slip-and-fall accident on someone else’s premises, they may be able to recover compensation with the help of an experienced Miami attorney.
Slip-and-fall accidents may lead to a host of devastating yet preventable injuries. These injuries may include:
According to the CDC, slip-and-falls lead to approximately 8.9 million visits to emergency rooms (ERs) every year, and approximately 25,000 people a day are victims of slip-and-fall accidents. It is estimated that every year, 17,000 people die from a slip-and-fall accident.
About 15% of all work-related injuries are made up of slip-and-falls. In 2012, there were 219,630 nonfatal slip-and-fall accidents in workplaces. In 2012, 668 people experienced a fatal workplace fall, slip or trip, and 65% of all lost workdays are due to slip-and-fall accidents, resulting in 95 million lost workdays per year. Compensation and medical costs associated with employee slip-and-fall accidents average at about $70 billion annually.
Roughly 57% of all food service general liability insurance claims are due to slip-and-fall accidents. The average restaurant has approximately three to nine slip-and-fall accidents each year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, slip-and-falls are the No. 1 cause of accidents in hotels, restaurants and public buildings.
In the United States, the grocery store industry spends $450 million annually to defend slip-and-fall claims. These accidents in supermarkets are the No. 1 cause of both employee and guest injuries.
At Kaire & Heffernan, we will be able to build a strong case on your behalf and use it to negotiate a good settlement with the lawyers for the property owner or insurance company. If a fair compensation agreement cannot be reached, then we will represent you in a court trial and fight aggressively to win your Miami slip-and-fall case.
We’ll handle all of this so that you can focus on healing and putting your life back together. We will stand by you at trial, providing evidence to support your case that the property owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the potential hazard and is responsible for your injuries.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a slip and fall accident, please contact us today for a free consultation. We take our attorney-client relationship seriously and will do everything in our power to get you the outcome your desire. Fall accident victims do not have to suffer because of a negligent property owner, and our personal injury law firm is here to provide all the help that they need.
Call us today or contact us online to connect with an experienced Miami slip and fall lawyer who is well versed in Florida law on slip-and-fall accidents. We are ready and willing to take on your personal injury claim.
(305) 876-6001