You might qualify for money damages if you got hurt when you slipped and fell on someone else’s property in Lee County, FL. The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can evaluate your situation to see if you are eligible to go after compensation.
Call us today at 1-800-747-3733 to line up your free consultation with a slip & fall lawyer in Lee County, FL. Let our personal injury firm take care of your legal matters so that you can focus on getting better.
How Negligence Works in Slip and Fall Accidents
The person you want to sue must have legal liability for your injuries. Merely owning the property is not enough to saddle someone with responsibility for your losses.
We have to prove all three of these factors to hold a landowner liable for your injuries from a slip and fall incident:
- There was a dangerous condition on the premises;
- The owner knew about the hazard; and
- The owner did not take steps to correct the situation or warn people about it.
We can go after money damages from the owner if we can prove all three of these elements and that negligence caused your injury.
Let’s say, for example, that there is an outdoor beach shower in Lee County for beachgoers to rinse off the sand before going indoors. The surfaces of the shower and surrounding area do not have skid-resistance features.
Several people have reported to the front desk of the hotel that they slipped and slid after using the outdoor shower, but the hotel did not put down any anti-skid strips or post warning signs to users of the shower. Then, a hotel guest used the shower to remove sand before going from the beach into the hotel. He slipped, fell, and sustained a head injury from the paving.
Evaluation of liability of the hotel for the slip and fall accident would note that:
- There was a hazardous condition on the premises. The walking surface of the beach shower and the nearby areas were slick when wet such that even if a person used the shower correctly, the individual could get hurt.
- The owner knew about the dangerous condition. The front desk received reports from multiple people about the slippery surface and had a duty of care to take steps to remedy the problem.
- The owner took no steps to fix the problem or warn foreseeable users. The owner could have prevented the hotel guest’s head injury by laying down some anti-skid strips at and around the beach shower. Also, the owner could have warned people of the risk of slipping and falling. The owner failed to take any steps to protect visitors from getting hurt from the known hazardous condition.
The hotel owner is liable for the injured person’s damages. The hotel’s negligence caused the harm, so the hotel will have to pay compensation for the guest’s losses.
What You Should Do After a Slip and Fall Accident in Lee County, FL
Every situation is different, so you should do what makes sense in your case. Some of the general things you should do if you get hurt in a Lee County, FL slip and fall accident are:
- Get prompt medical care. You should get immediate medical attention if you detect injuries after a fall. Even if you have experienced a hard fall, but you do not notice physical harm initially, get a full examination right away. Some significant injuries do not display symptoms at first. Without immediate medical care, the defendant can claim that you got hurt from some other incident and not from a slip and fall on their premises.
- Have someone take photographs of the place where you fell. Make sure that the images show clearly the hazard that caused the accident. If the hotel management removes the dangerous element after your incident, it will be hard to prove what happened without evidence.
- Get the names and contact information of people in the area. A bystander might have information that could be helpful to your injury claim. For example, someone might have seen another person slip because of the same hazard.
- Notify the property owner of the accident. Make a written incident report and keep a copy as proof of when you gave notice.
- Talk to a slip and fall lawyer who serves Lee County, FL. If you got hurt at a commercial property, the landowner will likely have a multi-billion dollar insurance company defending against your claim. Most people do not want to take on such an intimidating opponent without a lawyer on their side.
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Compensation for Lee County, FL Slip and Fall Accidents
The amount of damages is different in every case because each person’s injuries are unique. The amount of compensation you can collect will depend on the facts of your case. Some of the damages your slip & fall lawyer in Lee County, FL might fight for include:
- Medical expenses for care to treat your injuries. This category can include such things as the ambulance, emergency room, hospital, surgery, lab work, x-rays, doctors, physical therapy, prescription drugs, and rehabilitation facility.
- Lost income, like wages, average tips, salary, self-employment, and other income you missed because you got hurt.
- Decreased earning capacity, if you cannot make as much money as before because of the slip and fall.
- Long-term care for devastating injuries that leave you with an ongoing need for daily help with medical treatment and personal care.
- Intangible losses, that can include things like pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and a spousal claim for loss of consortium.
Getting Legal Assistance for Your Lee County, FL Slip and Fall Case
If you want a lawyer who will listen to you and provide responsive legal care, you should talk to a slip & fall lawyer in Lee County, FL from the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine. Don’t delay in pursuing damages as you have a limited period of time
to file a lawsuit. When you hire one of our attorneys, you will not have upfront legal fees because we take slip and fall accident injury claims on a contingent fee basis. Our fees will come out of the settlement or award at the end of the matter. Call us today at 1-800-747-3733, to set up your free, no-obligation consultation.
