Pompano Beach Slip and Fall Injury Attorneys

After a slip and fall accident, many victims are left unable to work and facing heavy medical bills. If they weren’t responsible for the accident, they wonder why they should pay the consequences. The good news is that, in many cases, they shouldn’t (and often don’t!).

If you experienced an injury on somebody else’s property, you could be entitled to compensation. However, it’s not as simple as the success stories online might suggest. The best way to succeed, and this means compensation in a slip and fall case, is to team up with a personal injury lawyer. Fortunately, we have the experience and resources to help at The Injury Firm.

Sadly, around 15 in every 100 accidental deaths in the United States are a result of falls (according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration). While many of these occur in restaurants, retail stores, and other commercial venues, they can occur anywhere. Later, we’ll review some of the most common causes.

Are you entitled to compensation? Who is responsible for your injuries? What can a lawyer do to help your case? We’re going to answer all these questions in this guide!

Slip and Fall Accidents in Pompano Beach, Florida

In Broward County and wider Florida, slip and fall cases are a serious concern for elderly residents. While younger generations can bounce back up after a fall and avoid serious damage (although not in all cases), older residents are more likely to cause lasting damage due to the fragility of their bodies and pre-existing medical conditions.

Recently, the Florida Department of Health revealed that slip and fall accidents cause more deaths in the state than car accidents. For many people, this is the statistic that makes them sit up in their seats and take notice. What’s more, falls are the leading cause of hospitalization in the state.

But what causes the slip and fall accidents in the first place? Here are some of the most common causes:

• Slippery floors
• Hazards on the floor
• Poor lighting
• Uneven or damaged steps
• Cracked sidewalks
• Damaged handrails
• Lack of maintenance with steps or railing

As you can see, a diverse range of situations can cause a slip or fall. Often, the problem with this type of accident is that the victim isn’t expecting it. Therefore, there’s no bracing or protection for the body. As an example, you might not see a step while walking in a parking lot with poor lighting. Alternatively, you might not see a small spillage when walking through a restaurant.

With little warning, the victim falls to the ground and can cause serious damage to their bodies. Those who are lucky can walk away with light bruising and a couple of scratches. Unfortunately, not everybody is lucky, and we’ve seen sprains, strains, broken bones, dislocations, concussions, brain damage, nerve damage, spinal cord injuries, and more.

Who is Responsible for a Slip and Fall Accident?

Ultimately, all business owners in Florida must follow premises liability laws, and this means that the property should be safe for all visitors. As an example, restaurants need to keep the property as safe as possible and as free from hazards as possible. As well as applying to customers, it also applies to suppliers, workers, and other visitors.

When a slip and fall case arises, responsibility for the accident depends on the manager’s awareness of the hazard and their actions in the time before the accident. For example, you could be entitled to compensation if your injuries were caused by a hazard of which the managers were either aware or should have been aware.

What does this mean? If a customer spilled a drink and food, there’s a difference between a customer falling seven seconds later and an hour later. In the former, the restaurant didn’t have time to react before the fall. In the latter, they had ample opportunity to spot the hazard and deal with it effectively.

Just because the restaurant didn’t act appropriately still doesn’t mean that you’ll get 100% compensation for your damages. Sometimes, victims can contribute to their accidents. A common example is using a phone while walking; it might be that you’re partially to blame for the accident. In this case, you might get compensation for the portion for which you weren’t responsible.

Either way, we recommend talking with a professional and experienced slip and fall attorneys. When you contact The Injury Firm, we’ll consider the facts of your case before offering advice and potentially representing you in the fight for compensation.

What is the Importance of Negligence in Slip and Fall Accidents?

If you’ve done some research already, you may have seen the topic of negligence arise. Essentially, this is what your personal injury lawyer needs to prove if you’re to receive damages after an accident. Using documentation, witness statements, images, and other evidence, your lawyers need to prove firstly that the property owner had a responsibility to keep you safe. Thankfully, this is simple in commercial cases because of the premises liability laws in Broward County and Florida.

Assuming you weren’t trespassing or otherwise illegally on the property, the Pompano Beach business owner had a responsibility to keep you safe. After this, we’ll need to prove that the owner breached this safety in some way. Rather than directly placing visitors in danger, this is normally not spotting a hazard or failing to fix one after noticing it. Just as we saw before, this could be a broken handrail, poor lighting, or a similar hazard.

From here, we’ll prove that the breach of duty of care not only caused your accident but that this accident led to serious injuries and damages. If the Pompano Beach business owner failed in their duty, you shouldn’t have to deal with the associated medical bills and lost wages.

Earlier, we mentioned that owners sometimes should have been aware of hazards, and this is governed by the reasonable person standard. In other words, should the average business owner or manager have been aware that the hazard existed? If they shouldn’t, the manager didn’t act negligently. If yes, you have a case against the business.

If the insurance company doesn’t offer a fair settlement, your personal injury lawyer will gather evidence and file a case. Here, the court will determine whether the owner acted reasonably to protect all customers. If they failed in this duty, you’ll receive compensation for the damages associated with your accident.

Why Are Slip and Fall Cases Essential?

Why should you even bother with a slip and fall cause in Pompano Beach? For one thing, you aren’t responsible for the damages if you didn’t cause the accident. Sadly, serious slip and fall cases can cause thousands of dollars in damage not just in medical bills but also in property damage, lost wages, and other expenses. This burden has the potential to affect individuals for many years and can even impact retirement savings.

After a slip and fall case, you can expect the event to cost anywhere up to $50,000. While you might think that this only applies to extreme cases, the average is now over $30,000 (according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Can you afford this expense?

To prevent a slip or fall from damaging your family’s finances for many years, contact The Injury Firm and seek compensation.

How Can a Slip and Fall Personal Injury Lawyer Help?

Finally, you might see stories online of people obtaining compensation after a slip and fall accident in Pompano Beach without legal representation. While this does happen, it’s a rare occurrence. Instead, the best way to ensure that you get the amount that reflects your damages is to contact The Injury Firm today.

After experiencing an incident at a business property or in a public space, victims need to deal with insurance companies. One of the biggest problems with this is that they send adjusters to get statements and trick victims into mistakes. After this one phone call, they can twist your words and reduce your opportunities for compensation.

Fortunately, a personal injury lawyer in any Broward County city, such as Pompano Beach, knows how to deal with insurance adjusters without affecting your claim. The last thing you need is to make a small mistake when giving a statement that eliminates your compensation package. The Injury Firm will protect your legal rights and make sure that nothing stands in your way. After experiencing injuries after the negligence of a company, you deserve compensation for medical bills, lost wages, property damage, pain and suffering, and emotional distress.

The Injury Firm has decades of experience and can gather evidence, speak to eyewitnesses, compile documentation, and hold the right people accountable for their negligence. What’s more, we’ll obtain surveillance footage while also reviewing the safety records and maintenance information of the business. Over time, we’ll build a strong case and call on experts when required. Ultimately, we’ll negotiate a settlement with the insurance company or take the case to court on your behalf.

Contact The Injury Firm today for experienced and skilled slip and fall attorneys!