Phoenix Trip and Fall Lawyer

You’ve been injured in a trip and fall accident, you’ve found out how much your injuries are worth, and that the insurance company will cover it. Now you want compensation. You know that you should file a trip and fall injury claim, but it’s hard to know just how to go about it. Our trip and fall lawyer in Phoenix, AZ, at Saavedra Law Firm, PLC, is ready to help you.

Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and fall accidents can occur in a variety of different settings and are typically caused by negligence. Here are some common causes of slip and fall accidents:

• Wet Floors: A high percentage of slip and fall accidents result from wet floors. For example, if you walk over spilled milk in a grocery store, you’re in danger of slipping and falling. In this situation, the grocery store manager or owner would be held liable for your injuries.
• Uneven Surfaces: If you walk over uneven surfaces, such as torn carpeting or cluttered floors, you can lose your balance and suffer a slip-and-fall accident.
• Poor Lighting: Slip and fall accidents are more likely to occur if you can’t see where you’re going. Property owners are responsible for keeping walking areas properly lit so that these accidents don’t happen.
• Icy Sidewalks: When there’s ice on the ground, you can suffer a slip-and-fall accident. Property owners are responsible for putting salt on their sidewalks to reduce the risk of these accidents.

No matter what caused your slip, trip, or fall, you need to make sure to retain legal assistance as soon as possible. Your lawyer can evaluate what happened and whether or not you should try to receive compensation from another negligent party. Even if you feel that the accident could have been partly your fault, you can still receive some compensation, if not everything, if there was a dangerous circumstance that primarily caused your fall.

Common Injuries in Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip, trip, and fall accidents can result in minor to severe injuries. Here are the most common injuries a slip-and-fall lawyer in Peoria, AZ, sees:

• Broken Bones: If you suffer a slip and fall accident, you’re in danger of breaking bones in your wrists, hips, or ankles. If you break a bone in more than one spot, you may require surgery.
• Traumatic Brain Injuries: If you hit your head on the ground during a slip and fall accident, you can suffer a traumatic brain injury. Signs of a traumatic brain injury include headaches, loss of consciousness, fatigue, and problems with speech. Severe brain injuries can affect you for the rest of your life.
• Sprained Ankles: During a slip and fall accident, you may take an uneven step and sprain your ankle. Although it’s not a life-threatening injury, it can prevent you from doing normal everyday activities.
• Cuts: If you get into a slip-and-fall accident, you can also suffer cuts. If they’re not treated promptly, they can lead to infection and scarring.

These are just some of the many injuries you may sustain in a slip, trip, or fall. It all depends on where the fall takes place and what kind of environment you are in. For example, a construction worker falling from a great height will likely be more severely injured because of the more dangerous situation he or she was in when the slip and fall happened.

Compensation for Slip and Fall Accidents

There is a lot that you can file for in terms of compensation for slip and fall accidents. Who you are taking to court will depend on who was at fault, how many parties could have been at fault, and what kind of injuries you sustained.

The most common type of compensation in a slip and fall accident will be from the medical costs you have incurred from the accident. This will include all of your medical bills, surgery costs, and anything else that you need to treat the injuries you sustained. Most slip-and-fall lawyers will want to look at the grand scheme of things to see how affected your everyday life will be due to the accident. If your life will change dramatically, your lawyer will want you to be compensated for this.

For example, if the slip and fall occurred at a construction site and you were severely injured, you should definitely file for workers’ compensation and try to recover all past, present, and future medical costs you have paid and will have to pay. This is only fair, as you should not have been injured in the first place. A lawyer may not be able to help you heal or get better, but they can try to make sure you are compensated for all of your losses from this accident.

You should also be compensated if you have permanent injuries that will make it so that you are unable to go back to your usual job. Hopefully, your workplace will be able to adjust and find you something that will keep your salary the same and will make your financial life unchanged. You deserve to be compensated if this part of your life is negatively impacted. If you will be unable to go back to work, your slip-and-fall lawyer will try their best to recoup the damages from this and collect all of the money that you deserve.

Developing fault in Arizona slip and fall cases

Slip and fall claims are generally neglect claims. This suggests that in order to develop liability for your slip and fall injury, you’ll have to prove 4 components:

• Task. You need to prove that the accused owed you a task of care.
• Breach. You need to prove that the accused breached their responsibility of care.
• Causation. You need to prove that your injury was triggered by the offender’s breach.
• Damage. You need to show that you actually suffered an injury.

When it concerns slip-and-fall cases, the focus of litigation is usually on the responsibility the defendant owed and whether the offender breached that duty. If you need to learn more about this topic, the slip and fall lawyers in Peoria, Arizona, working at Saavedra Law Firm, PLC, can help you.

Arizona property owners should take particular measures to make sure that their residential or commercial property is safe for visitors. The measures that an owner should take depend upon the status of the visitor.

Visitors are divided into 3 categories:

• Invitee. A company invitee is somebody who enters the residential or commercial property for a business function (e.g., many customers are company invitees). The property owner owes a guest a responsibility of “sensible care” to keep the property “fairly safe.”
• Licensee. A licensee is someone who gets into the residential or commercial property with authorization but for their own purpose (e.g., the majority of social visitors are licensees). The property owner needs to caution the licensee of any hazardous condition that creates an unreasonable threat of harm so long as (1) the homeowner understands the condition and (2) the licensee is not most likely to find it.
• Intruder. A trespasser is someone who gets on the property without permission. Homeowners do not owe trespassers any task of care unless the trespasser is a child.

Building Your Case

Evidence is one of the most critical components to building a solid case against the party at fault. As the plaintiff, you will be responsible for proving that the property owner failed to uphold their duty of care, and as a result of their negligence, damages were incurred by the victim. Our team can advise you and assist with collecting evidence that will support your case; however, keep in mind that it’s in your best interest to begin collecting evidence as soon as possible. Evidence to gather should include:

• Photos/Videos of the Accident Scene
• Photos/Videos of Injuries
• Medical Records
• Accident Reports
• Proof of Lost Wages/Missed Time from Work
• Statements from Witnesses

Injuries from slip and fall accidents can leave a victim seriously impaired, suffering from immense pain and contending with financial fallout. Evidence will play a critical role in proving your case and how your injuries and losses have impacted you.

Tips & Tricks

Here are a few things you should remember to do when filing a trip and fall injury claim:

• Don’t Wait Too Long: You generally have between one to four years to file a claim, depending on the statute of limitations in your state. Although you may want to wait a while until you know the extent of your injuries, you won’t have a case if you wait past the statute of limitations.
• Gather Information: Take the time to gather all of the necessary information to support your claim. You should have proof of the doctor’s diagnosis, how long it will take you to heal, and what treatments you will need. Gather up doctor’s bills and proof of lost wages caused by your injuries. If local law enforcement released a statement regarding your accident, make use of that as well.
• Lawyer Up: Don’t attempt to file a trip and fall injury claim without an accomplished trip and fall lawyer in Phoenix, AZ, at your side. The legal system can be difficult to comprehend. It’s all too easy to make a mistake if you don’t thoroughly understand what you’re doing, and some mistakes can really harm your claim. Also, even if you have a broad understanding of the legal system, do you really want to take on that stress while you’re still recovering from your accident? A trip and fall lawyer in Phoenix, AZ, can walk you through the process and deal with the entire business side of things.
• Don’t Take Lowball Offers: The insurance company wants to protect its bottom line and, as a result, will probably offer you a ridiculously low sum in hopes that you’ll settle. Don’t accept any lowball offers. Your injuries entitle you to far more than the insurance company’s first offer.
• Don’t Draw it Out Too Long: While it is important not to settle until you understand the extent of your injuries and receive the compensation you deserve, you should also be aware that there are certain delay tactics that an insurance company might use to delay your case. Some insurance companies will attempt to draw it out past the statute of limitations, making your claim completely useless.

If you are in an accident and are not at fault, you deserve to be fully compensated for your injuries. A trip and fall lawyer in Phoenix, AZ, can help you know if you have a case, how much it is worth, and what types of compensation you are most likely to recover. If you’ve been injured by a slip, trip, or fall on someone else’s property, contact our firm today to learn more.

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