When you enter a building or walk through a parking lot, a slippery surface may lead to a slip-and-fall accident. Most slip-and-falls that produce serious injuries are caused by negligence and carelessness on the part of the property owner.
If you slip and fall in a store, swimming pool, parking lot, school or other setting, chances are that the property owner will do all they can to blame you for the accident. If and when this happens, it is essential to seek help from an experienced slip-and-fall lawyer. Many people in and around Sherman Oaks have turned to our attorneys at Okhovat Law Firm to get results.
Over one million Americans need emergency treatment for slip-and-fall accidents each year. These occurrences are so common that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has established that a hospital stay costs between $33,000 and $48,000 on average. These costs alone are a financial strain for families, and it takes dedicated personal injury attorneys to get them through it.
In fact, anytime you are experiencing an emotional, financial or physical toll at the hands of someone else’s negligence, you should work with our team to take legal action. Our multilingual legal staff members work hard to give clients the results they deserve. Our attorneys provide legal counsel, support and the highest level of care. Not only does our team have a reputation for getting clients the results they need, but they also:
Before, during and after every legal consultation, our lawyers will answer any questions about your slip-and-fall before providing you with the best service and support possible. Give us a call at 424-294-4831 or email us to get started with your claim.
Whether you slip and fall inside a building, outside in a parking lot or in another area, you will likely suffer a variety of serious injuries that will require prolonged medical treatment and keep you out of work for a long period of time. In most of these accidents, victims suffer injuries such as:
No matter what injuries you bear, always make sure that you seek immediate medical treatment at the accident scene and at a hospital. In doing so, you will not only get started on the path to recovery much sooner but also allow doctors to enter your injuries into your medical records, which can prevent insurance companies from claiming that you suffered no injuries in the accident.
When you have a slip-and-fall accident that leads to serious injuries, you will immediately need to consult with a fall injury attorney who knows Sherman Oaks and can quickly help you establish a premises liability claim against the property owner. This will be a crucial part of your case, as these cases are not always straightforward.
For example, if you were injured in a store while shopping, then you should try to take photos of the area where you fell. Did you notice any puddles, hidden hazards, inadequate lighting or items in the middle of the aisle that never should have been there from the start? Make sure to write them down to address with your lawyer. These are key signs of owner negligence.
A Los Angeles property injury attorney can also obtain surveillance footage from a business that shows exactly what happened concerning the accident. Our lawyers will be able to gather witnesses who were there at that time for an interview. Any supporting evidence for your case will significantly help.
When you go to a restaurant, bar, club or cafe or stay in a hotel, you expect the premises to be free of hazards. If you have been injured in a slip-and-fall that was the result of someone else’s oversight and negligence, then you can hold them accountable.
Not all slip-and-falls cause serious harm and hospitalization. But, if you had an especially bad fall, you may end up with serious injuries. No matter what your age or physical condition are, such a fall can put you on your back for weeks. You may need to undergo invasive surgeries to put you on the path to health. You will also need to deal with the financial fallout of not working and earning wages. These challenges can put you under tremendous financial strain.
You don’t need to deal with matters all on your own. Our Sherman Oaks personal injury attorneys at Okhovat Law Firm can give you the advice and representation you need to claim the compensation you are owed.
From your perspective, your slip-and-fall case may seem straightforward. But nothing is ever simple in tort law. Every claim you make will be scrutinized and challenged by the other side. Only a slip-and-fall lawyer can help you ensure that your case is sound. They will also make sure that you are on solid ground with regard to California law. Two laws in particular will have a great influence on your case: shared fault and statute of limitations.
The owner of the property on which the accident took place will argue that you share some of the responsibility for it. Under California’s shared fault rules, they have the right to make their case. There are numerous arguments that a property owner can make to put some of the blame for the accident on you. They may say that:
To get the maximum amount of money, you will need to disprove such arguments. If your case makes it to court, then the amount of money you receive will be determined by the state’s comparative negligence rule. This rule mandates the reduction of your award according to the percentage of your fault – assuming, of course, that you are found partly at fault.
If the accident owed completely to the negligence of the owner or the people they charged with the management of their property, your lawyer will work to prove this and get you the compensation you deserve.
The statute of limitations is the other California law that will affect your case. Statute of limitations is a state law that puts a time limit on your right to have your case heard by the court. California has a two-year deadline for filing slip-and-fall accident cases. That is why you should begin building your case as soon as possible. It will leave you plenty of time to file a lawsuit.
The clock starts ticking on the statute of limitations on the date that the injury was discovered and disclosed to you. Even if you had a full physical examination after the fall, the harm done to you may not present itself until some later time. Even then, the doctors may not know the exact problem. It is not until you are diagnosed that the time to file your claim begins.
The first thing your Sherman Oaks property liability accident lawyer will try to figure out is who was actually responsible for the slip-and-fall. The proprietor is not automatically held responsible for such incidents. If, for example, you were in a restaurant and you slipped on liquid from a glass that someone had just dropped on the floor, there is no way that the staff could have gotten to the scene in time to clean it up. In this instance, it would have been your responsibility to avoid the spilled drink and alert a member of the staff to the accident.
The same goes for an accident at a bar, hotel or nightclub. These are busy public spaces, and things go wrong all the time in them. If any reasonable person would have simply avoided a hazard in plain sight and told someone about it, then the premises owner cannot be held responsible for what happens to someone who chose not to do this.
On the other hand, if a hazard has been long-standing and is not so easily detectable, then you may be able to make a case against the owner. If you can prove that they knew of the hazard and did nothing to repair it or seal the affected area off, then you may be able to claim compensation from them.
Even if it is clear to you that the owner is liable for the accident, you must still prove it. To prove owner liability, you must demonstrate that the owner knew about the hazard on their property and failed to repair or remove it, that their failure led to your accident and injury, and that you are therefore entitled to a certain amount of money in compensation.
The owner will, of course, fight back. They will defend themselves by arguing that you could have reasonably avoided the affected space until they could repair or remove the hazard. Your own carelessness will be invoked as a means of their defense. You must therefore look closely at your actions before the accident. Some of the questions that your lawyer will go over with you include:
Your answers to these questions can affect the solidity of your case. If you can show that you acted as a reasonable person would have, then your attorney can proceed with the case against the proprietor.
No matter how serious your injuries are and how much evidence you and your fall injury lawsuit attorney have against the property owner, it is almost certain that the insurance company will still attempt to deny your injury claim. Whether you were not seriously injured in the accident or claiming it wasn’t your fault, expect insurance companies to use every trick they know to deny you compensation.
Rather than allowing this to happen, work with an accident lawyer who has extensive experience in these cases and is not intimidated by insurance companies. The slightest mistake can cost you thousands of dollars as you cope with the aftermath of your injury. Let our accident injury attorneys at Okhovat Law Firm take charge of the matter.
Any sort of personal injury lawsuit hinges on who is at fault for the accident. Often, it’s the owner who owes guests a duty of reasonable care to ensure their safety after entering the premises. But, property owners are not responsible 100% of the time.
For example, if someone in a restaurant spilled water, creating a slick floor, the staff would typically mop it up or put up a “Wet Floor” sign there to protect others from falling. However, busy restaurant and bar staff members don’t always have time to clean up after guests right away. In these cases, liability is blurry. Depending on the length of time the spill has sat around, liability may be on the guests for not avoiding a glass.
If you are in a spotty situation like this, a talented slip-and-fall liability attorney in Sherman Oaks can help you build a strong case that results in maximum compensation.
Absolutely. If you were injured on government-owned property, then you could still file a lawsuit. Keep in mind that the process will be different, and you’ll have a much smaller window in which to act.
Our Sherman Oaks personal injury lawyers are familiar with the process and can help you file a Notice of Claim against the government agency.
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