Were you or a loved one injured from a severe fall? Here is what you should know about a slip and fall in Tampa. Give us a call to get started.
1) Medical Payments Coverage
Oftentimes individuals that are injured in commercial establishments will have a very difficult time proving that their fall was the result of the carelessness or negligence or a dangerous condition on the property, and yet they have in some cases substantial medical bills. Oftentimes commercial businesses and buildings will have what’s called medical payments coverage which will provide benefits, insurance coverage that will pay for your treatment for a specific period of time and up to a certain limit regardless of whether you can prove any responsibility on the part of that business. Oftentimes, there is insurance that will cover your medical bills up to a certain amount and for a certain time after an injury or in commercial building.
2) What To Do After a Slip And Fall
- The first thing you need to do if find out what you slipped on.
- Once you figure out what you slipped on the you should immediately take a picture of the area with your cellphone if you have one
- If there were any witnesses, you should talk to them and get their contact information
- Finally, you will want to contact an attorney because they may want to get an expert involved to look at the location of the slip and fall
Slip and fall accidents are one of the more difficult claims that an attorney can prosecute. The reason is that in effect you are saying that there was a dangerous condition that would or should’ve been obvious to the landowner that should’ve been corrected that caused a slip and fall and an injury. Unfortunately, the comeback to that point of view is if the defect or the problem was so obvious and so visible, why didn’t the person that was injured see it and avoid it?
If you are involved in a slip and fall accident, there’s several things that you need to do that are very important. The first thing you should do is ascertain on what you slipped and fell. Was it water? Was it coffee? What was the substance that you fell on? Was it a vegetable or a fruit in a supermarket perhaps? You want to discern on what you slipped and fell. Many times we’ll handle slip and fall cases where the client’s asked, “What did you slip and fall on?” “I don’t know.” “Was there any wetness on your clothes?” “I don’t remember.” “What kind of shoes were you wearing?” “I don’t remember,” or “I do remember, and I’ve worn them for the past year, and they’re totally worn out, and I’m about to throw them out.”
If you’re involved in a slip and fall accident, you want to first, if possible, take photographs of the scene of the accident, and that can be done on your cellphone. We all have cellphones nowadays. You want to find out if there are any witnesses, and if there are, you want to get their names, addresses, and phone numbers. You want to give notice to the store or the property on which you fell. If there is a report that’s done, you want to get a copy of the report. Lastly and probably most importantly, you want to contact an attorney early on because he may need to get an expert involved to look at the information, to look at the property. There may be code violations. There may be, for example, faulty handrails. The steps may be unequal. They can be too small or too large according to applicable codes.
3) Dangerous Conditions
First of all, if you have a slip and fall case, there must be a dangerous condition that contributed to causing you to fall. We’re all responsible for watching where we walk, and if there’s an open and obvious condition, you can’t recover for your injuries related to that open and obvious condition. If on the other hand there’s a latent condition, water on the Walmart floor that you can’t see but that Walmart ought to know is there and they have actual or what we call constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition and you fall and break your arm, you need to see a good orthopedic surgeon. You have an obligation to mitigate your damages to improve as much as you possibly can. You should see a reputable orthopedic surgeon in your area and consult personal injury lawyer who can evaluate that claim.
- There must be a dangerous condition that caused you to slip
- We are responsible for watching where we walk so there must be a latent condition, like water on the floor at Walmart, in order for us to pursue a claim
Were you injured recently due to a slip or fall and have questions about what you should know about a slip and fall? If so, contact experienced Tampa Slip and Fall Attorneys to schedule your first free legal consultation and case evaluation.
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