Are you a victim of a fall in a public place? It may seem to be your own fault, or is it? Maybe you weren’t just clumsy, maybe you stumbled over an unsafe condition which caused you to trip and fall. Something like a crack in a sidewalk, water on the floor of a store, or poorly lit stairs, any of which can be the reason for a slip and fall accident with injuries. If this is your situation, you will need to hire an Southern California personal injury attorney who specializes in slip and fall accident settlements. It is important to be able to determine what caused your fall, and to properly assess who has the liability for your injuries. To proceed with a slip and fall accident claim, you will need to meet with a lawyer whose speciality is personal injury law.
If your injuries are not life threatening, the first thing after immediate medical care should be filing an incident report. It does not matter if it occurred at a retail store, on a public street, or in a private home. It is of great important to have a record of the conditions which contributed to the incident causing your injuries. Proper documentation of the dangerous condition should include photos showing the problem which caused the accident. If the floor was wet, was there warning sign? Was the pavement uneven? Was proper lighting installed on the stairway? Any of these these conditions should be properly noted and photographed.
Was the retail establishment aware of the dangerous condition? Perhaps they were, but there was corrective action taken. Slip and fall cases in California generally involve insurance companies. Whether you have slipped at a neighbor’s property or tripped over a piece of equipment in a retail establishment, a slip and fall settlement is most likely in your future. Do not deal directly with the insurance company. Trying to deal with this on your own, without proper representation by an experienced personal injury lawyer can be frustrating and disappointing. Remember, insurance companies want to settle as quickly as possible, for the smallest amount of money. You need someone to represent your interests and to be able get the most compensation to which you are entitled.