A property owner’s duty of care extends to lawful visitors, guests, or customers who have permission to enter their property for either personal or business reasons. The property owner is required to maintain reasonably safe premises and address any foreseeable safety hazards as soon as they appear, or they must provide clear warnings of known hazards. Property owners are not liable for injuries to trespassers or intruders who unlawfully enter their properties.
Baton Rouge Slip and Fall Lawyer
Baton Rouge, LA Slip and Fall Attorney
A slip and fall may sound like a minor incident, but the reality is that slip and fall accidents are one of the most commonly cited personal injuries in the state each year, and these incidents can happen unexpectedly in many different ways. If you or a loved one recently suffered a slip and fall due to a property owner’s negligence, you may be eligible to claim compensation. A Baton Rouge slip and fall lawyer is the ideal asset to have on your side for this type of claim.
The Murphy Law Firm has years of professional experience representing the victims of all types of personal injuries, including slip and fall accidents. We know how to hold a property owner accountable for their failure to address foreseeable safety risks on their property and how to help an injured client recover their damages. When you choose our firm to represent you, you can rest assured we will do everything we can to maximize your recovery.
Slip & Fall Litigation
Information & What To Do
Slip and falls often occur due to wet floors, spilled liquids, inadequate or missing entryway mats, and many other hidden hazards you don’t notice until it is too late. Trip and falls happen when unexpected objects or conditions impede your intended direction of travel. People often trip over large cracks in the sidewalk, potholes in crosswalks, unmarked and unexpected steps, and a host of many dangerous conditions that can cause a bad fall. Falls can happen when stairs break or crumble, or when a handrail or other safety device fails and causes a fall rather than preventing one.
All Louisiana property owners have a duty to maintain their premises in a safe manner. If you sustained injuries while shopping at a store or while on someone else’s property, you may have a claim against the property or business owner. In such a case, a Louisiana slip-and-fall attorney can help protect your rights.
What To Do After the Slip, Trip, or Fall?
Seek Medical Attention
Your health and well-being are paramount, but seeking medical attention quickly will help document any injuries you suffered from the fall as well. Even if you think you only suffered minor injuries, it is crucial to see a doctor as soon as you can. Some internal injuries may not be immediately noticeable, and you want to have a record that proves you sought care immediately. This medical report could be invaluable to your future recovery efforts.
Report the Incident
If you are in a retail establishment immediately report the incident to the staff so that they can document your fall and the conditions that caused the slip or trip. Similarly, immediately report any fall to your landlord if the fall occurs on premises you rent or if you are a guest on a rental premises. If the fall happened at the home of another make sure the homeowner is informed of where and how the fall occurred.
Take Photographs
If your post-fall condition allows, or if you have another person with you, make sure to take pictures of the exact spot and conditions where the fall occurred. It is important to capture these photographs immediately, if possible, in the event that anyone attempts to alter the injury site to conceal their liability.
Collect Information
Obtain the names and phone numbers of any witness to your fall if your condition allows. It’s prudent to have your Baton Rogue slip and fall lawyer contact these witnesses to obtain their statements. If you attempt to collect formal statements on your own, it could create a conflict of interest.
Don’t Speak to Just Anyone About the Accident
If you think that someone is responsible for causing your fall and injuries say as little as possible to anyone until you have a chance to speak with an attorney. Often insurance companies will contact you looking for information or to offer small sums to get you to sign a waiver. If this is the case, politely decline to speak with them until you’ve had a chance to have personal injury lawyer evaluate the facts of your case.
Preserve Evidence of the Accident
Other post-fall steps to take include, keeping the clothes you were wearing at the time in a plastic bag to preserve them, especially if the clothes have any tears, stains or other marks. In addition, preserve the footwear you were wearing and do not wear them again until you speak with any attorney.
Consult Professional Legal Help
Call and speak with an experienced slip-and-fall attorney about your case. They can guide you on how to proceed and help you draft a slip and fall demand letter. This document outlines your injuries, damages, and desired compensation. And sending it to the property owner, business, or insurance company initiates the negotiating process.
It is also vital to contact an experienced attorney so you can be sure of your legal options. Depending on how, where, and why your slip and fall happened, you could have multiple avenues of legal recourse available to you. Different recovery efforts will require different strategies and meeting different procedural obligations. Consulting an attorney as soon as you can ensures you are as prepared as possible to address your case’s unique requirements.
Accidents at the Workplace
Slip, trips, and falls can happen to even the most careful individuals. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) slips, trips, and falls make up the majority of general industry accidents. These accidents make up 15% of all accidental deaths, and are second only to motor vehicles as a cause of fatalities. Wet and damp floors are not the only cause of these accidents, clutter, improper cleaning, and multi level floors are also common factors. In fact, according to reports, 50% of facility accidents can be attributed to the type of flooring used.
Regardless of the cause, these accidents are easily preventable. Accidents are common in the workplace but can happen to customers and the general public. Fortunately, safety precautions are simple and cost-effective: clean, dry walking surfaces and signs and cones for multi-level and wet flooring.
For a workplace accident, you can pursue a workers’ compensation claim with your employer’s insurer. Before filing it, make sure to consult with a workers’ comp lawyer. Insurance companies often try to minimize payouts. A legal professional can protect your rights and ensure you get what you deserve. You can also avoid having your slip-and-fall claim denied.
If you’re a maritime worker who suffered a slip and fall through an oil platform or rig accident, workers’ comp may not apply to you. But, the Jones Act grants you specific rights to pursue a civil action against your employer for negligence-related injuries. Consult with our maritime injury attorney to learn about your legal options.
For slip and fall cases that occur while visiting someone else’s property, the best way to proceed is the seek the help of a premises liability attorney. Murphy Law Firm can help you identify the defendant, prove negligence, and seek damages for your losses. You might be eligible to recover for your hospital bills, lost wages from missed time at work, and non-economic damages such as pain and suffering.
Resolving Your Slip and Fall Injury Claim in Baton Rouge
In most premises liability claims, an injured plaintiff will need to prove they were legally present at the location where their injury occurred, meaning they had a property owner’s express or implied permission to enter the property. They will then need to prove that the property owner failed to meet their duty of care under the state’s premises liability laws and consequently caused their injury.
An experienced Baton Rouge slip & fall lawyer can streamline your recovery process following any type of slip and fall incident. If you must file a personal injury claim against a property owner under the state’s premises liability laws, your attorney can streamline this process and significantly increase your chance of success. The same applies to filing a workers’ compensation case, which could be very difficult without an attorney’s help.
When you choose the Murphy Law Firm to represent you, we can help you develop a cohesive and efficient legal strategy that aims for maximum recovery in the shortest possible timeframe. Whether you must build a standard personal injury case against a property owner or other, more specific laws apply to your situation, trust the team at the Murphy Law Firm to address all your legal options for you and guide you to a positive outcome in your case.
You may have more opportunities to recover from a slip and fall than you initially expected. Book a free consultation with one of our personal injury attorneys at Murphy Law Firm. Call (225) 928-8800 to discuss your slip and fall today. The personal injury lawyers at Murphy Law Firm take an aggressive approach to all of our cases, and we fight to ensure our clients receive maximum compensation for their injuries.
FAQs
What Are the Most Common Slip and Fall Injuries?
The most common slip and fall injuries include broken bones, soft tissue injuries, and traumatic brain injuries. While any slip and fall has the potential to cause minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises, many of these incidents have far more serious effects. The height and location of the fall, as well as the age and condition of the victim, are all important factors when it comes to the severity of any resulting injuries.
How Much Compensation Can I Claim for a Slip and Fall?
The amount of compensation you could claim for a slip and fall will depend on the scope and severity of your injuries. You will need to prove that the defendant is directly responsible for your damages before you can recover any compensation. The damages you may be able to recover from a successful claim are likely to include medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
What Happens if I’m Partially Responsible for My Slip and Fall Accident?
If you are partially responsible for your slip and fall accident, it will result in you losing a percentage of your case award to reflect your shared liability. Louisiana enforces a pure comparative fault rule, so if a plaintiff is assigned a percentage of fault for causing their claimed damages, they lose this percentage of their case award as a penalty and keep the remainder. Your attorney can potentially help you minimize the fault percentage assigned to you.
Why Should I Hire a Baton Rouge Slip and Fall Lawyer?
You should hire a Baton Rouge maritime accident lawyer because these cases are inherently complex in many ways. If you tried to handle your case on your own, you would likely encounter legal challenges that you would not know how to overcome without legal representation on your side. Working with an experienced Baton Rouge maritime accident lawyer significantly increases your chance of success with your claim.
You should hire a Baton Rouge slip & fall lawyer because you are significantly more likely to succeed with all the recovery efforts you attempt when you have trustworthy legal counsel on your side. Your attorney can help you file an effective civil suit, file a workers’ compensation claim, or pursue alternative legal recourse to help you recover. You’re more likely to succeed with these efforts and obtain maximum compensation for your losses with their help.
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