Negligence is at the heart of a slip and fall case, and proving negligence can win your case. There is a process for proving negligence that your lawyer will follow to make sure that you have all of the right elements present in your case. This process works because there are basic legal standards that must be followed on anyone’s property. Your lawyer can identify the appropriate statute, then show how it was undermined by negligence leading to your injuries. Here is how you can prove negligence in a slip and fall case in Los Angeles.
Investigating Negligence in a Slip and Fall Case
Whether you are going to the store or you are in a nursing facility, the owner of the facility has a responsibility to maintain safe conditions for everyone. This means repairing damage to the floors, cleaning up spills, and making sure that everyone can get around safely. When the property owner fails to meet basic safety standards, this is called negligence, and it puts you and anyone else who visits the property in danger of injury from a slip or fall.
If you file a lawsuit against the property owner for a slip and fall accident, you will likely have to prove negligence of some kind in order to win your case. Accidents can happen for a variety of reasons.
For example, a bottle may fall off of the shelf at a grocery store, creating a slip hazard in one of the aisles. While the facility is expected to clean it up quickly and try to keep everyone safe, this will not happen instantly. They are afforded a reasonable amount of time to respond to a situation before they can be held liable for damages. It is when the owner fails to address the problem that they can be held liable for injuries.
Proving negligence requires some type of evidence that the property owner failed to take action when it was appropriate. This can be obtained from security cameras, witnesses, store employees, and other sources. This is a type of evidence your lawyer will look for when building a case along with records of your expenses and a police report about the incident.
One thing to remember about slip and fall accidents is that they can happen just about anywhere. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), slip and fall injuries are becoming a bigger problem in the nursing care industry as more seniors are falling and being injured. They are particularly susceptible to fall injuries; however, anyone can be injured in a slip and fall accident and file a lawsuit in response.
Understanding Your Rights
If you are injured in a slip and fall accident, you have the right to file a lawsuit against the person responsible for your injuries. This is usually the property owner who was negligent in keeping the property safe. In some cases, it could be another party that is responsible for the property. This is how liability works in many stores since they are renting the property rather than owning it outright.
Recovering from a slip and fall injury will likely leave you with medical expenses that you need to deal with. Most people do not have extra funds saved up to handle unexpected expenses. This is especially true when it comes to medical bills since they can be more expensive than other potential expenses that you may have.
Since you are not responsible for the accident, you do not have to struggle with these expenses alone. You can take legal action to get help with your recovery costs by collecting financial compensation from the property owner.
Statute of Limitations
If you are considering filing a lawsuit for your slip and fall case, you should do so sooner than later. There is a limited amount of time for you to file your case with the court. According to the California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) §335.1, you have two years from the date of the incident to file your personal injury lawsuit.
Call for a Free Consultation
After an accident, it is important to take the right steps to make sure that you are protected and that you can file a lawsuit. Start by reporting the incident to law enforcement so that they can come and investigate the situation. They will also create a police report which can be used later as evidence. You can also reach out to the owner of the facility to see if you can find a resolution to the problem. Otherwise, you should discuss your case with the office of a slip and fall lawyer to see what your legal options are.
Your lawyer can help you prove negligence in a slip and fall case in Los Angeles if you decide that legal action is the right step for you. Contact the offices of Pintas & Mullins Law Firm at (800) 223-5115 for a free consultation about your case.