If you suffered injuries because of a slip and fall accident, you might face astronomical costs and bills as a result. Many people do not truly realize the extent of financial hardship that can occur when a person slips and falls due to the property owner’s negligence.
If you suffered injuries, financial harm, and other losses because of a slip and fall accident, consider visiting with the legal team at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm. Call us today at (800) 223-5115 to learn how a Torrance slip and fall lawyer can help you uphold your legal rights.
Facts About Slip and Fall Accidents
Many people simply do not understand the devastation that a slip and fall accident can cause until it affects them or their family. The following facts about slip and fall accidents can help you understand the seriousness of this type of accident and more about your legal rights:
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that falls are the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries.
- The CDC also found that falls led to almost 10.5 million emergency room visits each year (This totals more than 28,700 people per day in the United States).
- According to the journal Calcified Tissue International, 95 percent of hip fractures in elderly persons result from a slip or fall.
- Slip and fall victims often miss weeks of work and lost wages because of their injuries related to their accident.
- Medical bills often can total thousands of dollars following a slip and fall accident.
- The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) found that only three percent of all personal injury cases go to trial. Most personal injury cases settle between the parties long before the victims see the inside of a courtroom.
Slip and Fall Accidents on a Business Property
Business owners have a legal responsibility to ensure that their premises remain safe for all customers, patrons, or any other guest allowed on the property. Suppose a business owner fails to take reasonable precautions to ensure that their property remains safe or fails to warn visitors or guests that a particular hazard exists on their property. In that case, they may face legal liability to compensate any victims who suffer injuries on their property in a slip and fall accident.
Some examples of areas where a slip and fall injury could occur on business property include:
- Spills or pools of water where a roof leak collects
- Staircases with damaged steps or broken handrails
- Dimly lit areas
- Walkways and common areas with crumbling or broken concrete
- Rotted balconies or porches
- Common areas that have not had snow or ice removed
If you experienced a slip and fall accident on business property, you might consider visiting with a Torrance slip and fall lawyer to help you understand how to build a case that ensures your legal rights remain protected and you receive the compensation you deserve. Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today to get started.
For a free legal consultation with a Slip and Fall Accidents Lawyer serving Torrance, call (800) 794-0444
Slip and Fall Accidents on Private Property
Just as business owners have a legal responsibility to ensure that their property remains free from hazardous or dangerous conditions, homeowners also have a legal obligation to ensure that their property has no unsafe conditions for visitors or guests. If a social guest to a private property experiences a slip and fall accident, they might have the legal right to pursue a claim against the property owner.
It is important to note that while guests and visitors to private property should receive the highest level of care, the California 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled in 1970 that even trespassers have the right to notification of dangerous or hazardous conditions on a property in Beard v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co.
Torrance Slip and Fall Accidents Lawyer Near Me (800) 794-0444
Defenses Against Slip and Fall Lawsuits
If property owners must warn even trespassers of potential dangers, what other defenses could they mount to shift blame for the slip and fall accident onto the victim? Here are a couple of examples.
Lack of Knowledge
Property owners typically claim they had no knowledge of the hazard nor any reasonable expectation to know of the unsafe condition as a defense in a personal injury suit. Their lawyers will argue that they had no way to either warn guests or repair the unsafe area.
In some cases, they may have a legitimate defense. If a child spills something in a grocery store, and another patron slips on the spill only moments later, the grocery store owner or manager would likely have no way to know about the spill, let alone have the opportunity to put warning signs up or have an employee clean the spill.
In a case such as this example, the property owner may not have a legal responsibility to compensate a victim. However, suppose a property owner knew that a staircase was in desperate need of repair and failed to fix the defective step in a reasonable period or warn guests of the danger. In that case, the property owner might have a legal responsibility to compensate a victim who slipped and fell on the staircase.
The “Open and Obvious” Defense
Another defense used by property owners is that the dangerous or unsafe condition is so “open and obvious” that no reasonable person would have ever slipped and fallen because of its existence. Examples include large water features or fountains, or a frozen lake on the property.
By arguing lack of knowledge, open and obvious conditions, or other defenses, property owners and their representatives hope to shift some of the blame for the accident onto the victim, reducing the compensation they must pay under California’s pure comparative negligence laws.
A Torrance slip and fall lawyer can help you counter their arguments so you could recover the full amount of your medical bills, lost income, and other damages you incurred because of their negligence managing their property.
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Consider Visiting with a Torrance Slip and Fall Lawyer
If you suffered any injuries or losses on another person’s property because of a slip and fall injury, consider visiting with a Torrance slip and fall lawyer to discuss your legal rights and how you could recover the compensation you might deserve. Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today at (800) 223-5115 for a free case review with a team member.
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