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Slip and fall accidents generally occur when a person slips or trips on a hazard on someone else’s property. Some people think these accidents are minor, but in many cases, they frequently cause serious injuries. Those injuries are often so severe that injured individuals cannot return to work, all while they suffer from severe pain and have significant medical bills.
If this happened to you, you know how deeply this property owner’s carelessness affected your life. Our Southfield slip and fall lawyers are ready to file your claim or lawsuit, and we can pursue the full settlement you deserve. Contact Christensen Law now for a free claim review and discussion of your legal options.
Hiring a Southfield Lawyer to Work on Your Slip and Fall Case
Too often after an accident, victims do not think they need a lawyer’s help to pursue a claim, particularly if the insurance company offers a settlement right away. However, you could greatly benefit from a personal injury lawyer’s help.
With Christensen Law, you gain a team of lawyers with years of experience who aren’t afraid of challenging slip and fall cases. You also gain a team of compassionate advocates who will pursue fair compensation for your injuries and other losses.
Our Southfield Injury Lawyers Work to Prove Liability
Like all personal injury cases, slip and fall cases hinge on negligence. Therefore, any claim or lawsuit must prove:
- Your right to be on the property – Invitees and licensees have permission to be on the property, and property owners generally owe them the highest duty of care. By contrast, trespassers are not owed the same duty of care and typically cannot file to recover injury compensation. Exceptions can apply when the trespasser is a young child. We can obtain evidence to demonstrate you were owed a duty of care. We will fight back against property owners who try to claim you were not on the property legally.
- Negligence – Property owners, occupiers, or businesses are liable for paying compensation when they display carelessness. In slip and fall claims, negligence usually stems from failing to identify, correct, or warn about hazardous conditions. Our lawyers highlight maintenance failures or lack of prevention by the other party.
- Causation – The dangerous condition must have directly caused the accident. If a dangerous condition existed but did not cause your injuries, you can’t pursue compensation. We connect the property’s hazard to your fall.
- Injury – When filing a claim, you must have sustained injuries. Without an injury, there is no claim to file. With medical evidence, witness testimony, and other proof, we can demonstrate how the fall caused your injuries.
Although liability may seem obvious to you after an accident, proving it is often not an easy or straightforward process. The other side will likely argue that you were partly at fault for the accident. Under Michigan’s comparative fault laws, this could reduce the compensation you receive.
A Southfield slip and fall attorney from our firm can help you prove these elements to give you the best chance of success with your claim. We gather the evidence, investigate the hazard, interview witnesses, and form a timeline to show the property owner knew or should have known their property was dangerous.
We Work in Your Best Interests
Just as you want to recover compensation for your injuries, the property owner and their insurance company do not want to pay it. They may try many defenses, including excuses like that you wore the wrong shoes, the hazard was obvious, or they didn’t know the hazard existed.
Even if they don’t attempt to discredit your story, they may still cause problems in other ways—constant calls and emails, excessive requirements to prove your claim, and pressure to close it fast. Our team won’t let them get to you. Instead, we handle the calls and emails, verify the other party’s reasonable requests, and prevent high-pressure situations.
Our Team Seeks Fair Compensation for You and Your Family
Even when an insurance company does not directly refuse your claim, they may only offer a settlement that does not fully cover the costs of your injuries.
Our lawyers will aggressively negotiate to seek the fair settlement you deserve. If the other party doesn’t settle, we’ll go to trial to seek a favorable judgment if necessary.
We Take Care of All Legal Matters
On top of everything else, our Southfield injury lawyers handle the daily work:
- Drafting court documents
- Making sure we meet all case-related deadlines
- Communicating with the insurance company and other parties
- Consulting an extensive network of experts to help substantiate your claim
- Accurately evaluating your injury claim or lawsuit
- Referring to case law to support your arguments
These are just a few of the things our firm’s slip and fall lawyer will do when working on your claim. Christensen Law handles every aspect of your case, allowing you to focus on your recovery.
Recoverable Damages After a Michigan Slip and Fall Accident
Damages refer to the financial compensation you can seek for any loss or injury caused by another person’s negligence. The most common types of damages sought in slip and fall claims include:
- Current and future medical expenses
- Loss of income
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Mental distress
- Household necessities, such as cleaning services if your injuries prevent you from maintaining your home
While these are the most common damages, you can also claim damages for other losses specific to your case. For example, if you are preparing for a vacation and cannot go because of your injuries, we can seek compensation for any paid trip-related expenses.
We Consider Your Situation
Our premises liability lawyers look beyond just your bills and income losses and look at your injuries in the context of your life.
We evaluate the following factors:
- Age and health
- Injury severity
- Lifestyle
- Career
- Interests and hobbies
- Family responsibilities
For example, some of the common injuries from a slip and fall can be especially severe or life-threatening to older adults. Injuries like broken hips and TBIs, already painful for any victim, can cause dangerous secondary conditions and longer recovery times for others.
By considering age and other factors, we can identify additional damages you may need to help you reach your maximum medical improvement. Your compensation could cover scenarios as varied as training for a new job after a permanent injury, losing a favorite hobby due to a disability, or the inability to play with your young children because of lost mobility.
Time Limit for Filing a Slip and Fall Lawsuit in Southfield, MI
Michigan has a statute of limitations on slip and fall lawsuits, which sets a time limit on your case. According to Michigan Compiled Laws § 600.5805, you have three years from the date of the accident.
Although there are certain narrow exceptions to this law, in most cases if you do not file your claim within that time, you will likely forfeit your right to compensation.
We Discern the Cause of Your Slip and Fall Accident in Southfield
Any hazardous condition can cause a slip and fall accident, but there are some causes that are more common than others. Examples include:
- Uneven and wet surfaces – Loose floorboards, potholes, ripped carpeting, loose mats, or poorly constructed staircases.
- Weather – There is little a property owner can do to stop heavy rains, snow, ice, and high winds on their property. However, they must accommodate these conditions by installing proper drainage systems, mopping up water, shoveling snow, or salting icy pavement
- Nursing home neglect – A common location for falls, accidents are more likely to occur when staff do not properly supervise residents, or when the facility is not kept clean and safe.
- Inadequate lighting – Failure to provide proper lighting on dark walkways can result in falls.
The bottom line: property owners are expected to practice good maintenance and make regular checks to ensure all areas are safe.
Places Where Slip and Fall Accidents Occur
Slip and fall accidents can happen just about anywhere, but certain places are more common than others. Our firm has experience representing victims of accidents in:
- Grocery stores – An item may break and spill on the floor, products or inventory might block walkways, or store layouts may cause hazards. Inattentive staff who do not warn customers or address a hazard are liable.
- Hotels and resorts – Walkways, staircases, pool and spa areas, and even renovations can cause a slip and fall accident in a hotel or resort.
- Small businesses – Small business owners often focus on helping customers or obtaining new ones, and this inattention to operations can mean they fail to regularly inspect or maintain the property.
- Private homes – If you injured yourself on a friend’s property, compensation would come from the insurance company, not your loved one. If the injury occurred in an apartment building, another party may be responsible, such as the landlord.
- Public spaces – Slip and fall accidents also happen in public spaces, such as in parks and on sidewalks, when these areas are not properly maintained.
Each of these locations presents unique challenges. For example, a hotel or resort may require immediate notice of an accident, while filing a claim against the government for a hazard in a public space will also have its own procedural rules.
For this reason, it is always best to speak to one of our lawyers about your claim. We will tailor our approach to your case based on the type and location of your slip and fall.
How to Protect Your Rights If You Were Hurt in a Fall in Southfield
To protect your rights after a slip and fall accident, immediate action is necessary. The five most important steps you must take are as follows.
Seek Medical Treatment
Your health is the most important priority after an accident, so seek treatment as soon as possible, even if you feel okay. Some symptoms do not present for days or weeks. Getting treatment creates medical records, which can serve as evidence for your compensation.
Report the Accident
Regardless of where a slip and fall occurs, you must report it to the owner, landlord, or manager. Provide the details of the accident in writing and ask for a copy before you leave.
Document the Accident
Immediately take as many pictures as possible of anything that contributed to your accident. Obtain witnesses’ names and contact information. Keep the clothes and shoes you were wearing and do not wash them or throw them away. All of this can serve as valuable evidence.
Throughout your recovery, you can also keep a journal of your injuries, treatment progress, and the injuries’ effect on your life. These details can help inform us of the amount of compensation you deserve.
Limit Your Communications
Other than filling out an incident report, don’t communicate with the property owner or their insurance company. They may take your words out of context, twist them, and use them against you to reduce your compensation.
Call a Personal Injury Lawyer
Even if you do not speak to them right after your accident, you will have to communicate with the insurance company and perhaps the property owner during your claim. While you focus on your recovery, our lawyers can deal with them and negotiate a fair settlement. We know how to prove who was at fault and hold the insurance company accountable.
Talk to a Southfield Slip and Fall Attorney Now – We’re Ready to Help
At Christensen Law, we can give you a voice. Our Southfield slip and fall lawyers know how to overcome the challenges of pursuing compensation after an accident. We are ready to accurately evaluate your claim and aggressively negotiate with the insurance companies to pursue the fair settlement you need.
When you have been hurt by the negligence of another person, call us or contact us online for a free consultation and to learn more about how we can help with your case.
