While exactly what slip and fall lawyers do depends on the details of your case, they aim to help you pursue fair financial awards for damages you incurred due to injuries that someone else’s negligence caused. Essentially, they help you hold the person who caused your injuries responsible for your financial losses. They can do this in many ways, and the methods they choose vary based on your circumstances, needs, and preferences.
A slip and fall lawyer can:
Establish Liability in Your Case
In California, liability plays an important role in the outcome of your case. While certain cases involve the full responsibility of the property owner, some victims have partial fault in the accident that caused their injuries.
This does not mean they do not qualify for financial awards. As a pure comparative negligence state, California requires the property owner to cover their portion of the award amount based on their level of responsibility in the case.
For example, if they hold 80% of the fault, they must pay 80% of the total award amount to the victim. Victims can pursue compensation from property owners, even if they hold the majority of the responsibility for their accident themselves.
A lawyer can help determine liability in your case and push back against insurance company adjusters who might try to minimize the responsibility of the property owner who had a part in your slip and fall injury.
Assess Your Damages
Evaluating the damages you accrued as a result of your injury can help you and your attorney seek a fair amount of financial recovery in your case. Certain types of losses, known as economic damages, have a measurable value. These include medical bills and lost wages, among others. You may also qualify for non-economic damages, which have subjective value. These include damages such as mental anguish and physical disfigurement and may present a challenge to calculate.
Lawyers can help with this process by examining the circumstances related to your injury and how they affect your life when helping you determine a fair amount to pursue. Your suffering matters, and an attorney can help you assess both the economic and non-economic damages in your case and pursue just compensation for your injuries.
Choose an Approach to Seeking Compensation
Lawyers prefer to settle out of court when possible. California offers many types of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) processes to encourage these types of civil proceedings, as explained by the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles.
- Negotiation: Legal teams from both parties discuss the case in person, over the phone, or via videoconference and attempt to reach an agreement.
- Mediation: A neutral party known as a mediator helps each party evaluate the pros and cons of all sides and come to a compromise that suits all involved.
- Arbitration: The parties present their arguments to an unbiased arbitrator, who then makes a conclusion based on the evidence and facts of the case. Parties can accept or deny the decision.
- Mandatory Settlement Conference (MSC): A judge attempts at least once more to present the arguments, assist the parties in evaluating them, and help them negotiate a settlement.
If these steps fail, your case likely will go to trial. Similarly, your lawyer could examine the details of your case and deem a trial a better approach for you than ADR. Regardless of what they recommend, a lawyer will have your best interest in mind.
Collect Evidence to Build Your Case
Certain types of evidence from the scene of your accident and those involved with your case might strengthen your claim. An attorney can help you gather documentation, statements, and other items, which may include:
- Photos and videos of injuries and the location of the incident
- Eyewitness testimony
- Incident reports
- Medical bills and records
- Surveillance footage
- Residential contracts and agreements
Your lawyer will likely request your detailed recollection of the situation, too, which can help determine liability and provide an accurate account of your injury and damages.
Provide You with Support and Guidance
Slip and fall lawyers care about the well-being of the people they serve. By pursuing just compensation on your behalf, they work hard to alleviate some of the burden and stress associated with your injury and its consequences. Your lawyer and their team will provide you with legal support every step of the way. They will explain the legal process to you, update you regularly on your case’s progress, and address any questions and concerns you may have.
Tell Pintas & Mullins Law Firm about Your Slip and Fall Case
What a slip and fall lawyer will do specifically depends on your case, but you can count on us to help you pursue fair financial awards for your injury. If you suffered an injury as the result of a slip and fall accident caused by another person’s negligence, the attorneys at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm could help you hold the liable party accountable for your financial losses. Contact our legal team today at (800) 223-5115 to get started on your case.