You can slip and fall on wet floors in a public place like a restaurant, mall, grocery store, office building, café, hotel, or airport if the property owner is negligent. Fall accidents lead to severe injuries, especially when it’s not your back receiving the most impact, but your head. You can suffer brain damage and concussions. In other parts of your body, you could break a leg, an arm, or your nose, and the injury list is extensive.
It’s the responsibility of business owners and public property managers to cordon off wet floor areas and place signs to warn people, pending when they’ll dry the floor. If they fail in this responsibility and you are the unfortunate victim, you have a right to compensation claims.
If you’ve sustained a fall injury by slipping on a wet floor in a public place, or if you’re a worker who slipped and fell at work, you can claim damages by filing a slip and fall claim.
Understanding Your Compensation Rights
You are entitled to compensation when you make a slip-and-fall case with a seasoned attorney. However, your compensation will only be possible if you can prove that the floor was wet and that the negligence of the property owner or staff led to your accident.
Also, you must prove that you’ve spent substantially on medical treatments because of the fall injuries you sustained, and if you’ve lost your job, your case gets stronger with proof of job loss. Most property owners usually have public liability insurance to cover compensation like this when someone is injured. Yet, they may want to save that cost by avoiding premises liability rather than directing their insurance company to do the needful.
Some do not have insurance coverage for slip and fall cases and may try to maneuver the situation in their favor by offering immediate compensation. You have the right to reject their offerings and push for full compensation.
Furthermore, you are limited in time to file fall claims when you slip and fall on someone else’s property. Hence, proceed to involve an experienced attorney because the time frame for filing for compensation in a slip-and-fall case is three years, starting from the date you were injured.
How Much Can You Claim in Compensation?
You’ll be looking at receiving thousands of dollars as compensation. But that will depend on how severe your injury is after proving that the property owner was aware of the potential hazard and failed to do anything about it. The compensation’s worth will also depend on how much medical bills you’ve spent, and if the property owner acted carefully but you were partly at fault in the accident.
More importantly, your chances of receiving higher compensation increase when you have a competent and experienced slip-and-fall lawyer on your side.
What to do after Slipping on a Wet Floor?
After slipping on a wet floor and sustaining a serious injury, please do the following:
Examine Yourself
Check yourself properly to determine the extent of the fall injury. Depending on the floor’s texture and the level of your body’s impact on the ground, injuries can range from a broken arm and leg to an injured spine or broken tailbone. If the injury is so severe that you can’t get up, call for medical attention and wait for it. The medical team will also qualify as witnesses to the incident, solidifying your compensation claims should the property owner decide to be tricky.
Report to a Staff or Security Guard
While awaiting emergency medical attention, report or have someone report on your behalf to the security guard or any staff on duty to help witness and corroborate your claim. If you don’t and the medical team whisks you away, your claim might not be weighty because you failed to report to any staff on duty, and that’s a strong argument any good lawyer can use against you.
Take Pictures and Video Evidence
Next, ask someone to take pictures or video of the wet floor and you. If the fall renders you immobile and the emergency team is yet to arrive, a picture of you on the floor will be substantial evidence no one can deny. Also, confirm what caused the floor to be slippery.
Call An Attorney
Although the picture and video evidence can help you build a good case, it’s also important to call a personal injury lawyer immediately to arrive at the scene and take eyewitness accounts if he can. Most property or business owners might quickly erase the evidence by mopping the floor, drying it, and even placing a warning sign. A lack of evidence can make your slip-and-fall case difficult to handle. When your attorney arrives at the scene, you are halfway to your compensation benefits because he can carefully examine you, the slippery spot, request the CCTV footage, and begin legal action instantly.
Don’t Settle with the Business Owner
If your lawyer is yet to arrive, do not accept any fair compensation the business owner will offer on the spot, regardless of how tempting it is. It’s an attempt to avoid paying full compensation when the case involves a reputable attorney. You’re not even certain of the extent of the injuries you may have sustained and how they will affect your life afterward. So, don’t sign any compensation brought to the scene until your lawyer arrives. They may pressure you by saying their compensation offer is time-limited and you could end up with nothing if you don’t take it. It’s a ploy to convince you further; don’t yield until your lawyer arrives.
Increase Your Compensation Chances with the Best Personal Injury Law Firm in Media, PA
If you’ve been injured in a wet floor slip and fall accident, you need a skilled and experienced personal injury lawyer to argue in your favor and guarantee due compensation. Michael Alan Siddons’s law office will provide the best legal representation for your case, ensuring you surmount all odds and enjoy substantial compensation.
Contact us now at 610-255-7500 for a free consultation, and a lawyer will attend to you promptly.
