Washington DC Slip And Fall Lawyer

Although a slip and fall might seem trivial, it can result in significant injuries, including broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, back injuries, and more. When you slip and fall due to the failure of the property owner to keep the property safe, you may have a claim for compensation. A Washington, D.C. slip and fall lawyer can be crucial in assisting injured parties in pursuing these personal injury claims.

Property owners owe a duty to members of the public to reasonably discover and remedy dangerous conditions on their property. If they fail to remove hazards or otherwise warn visitors of the potential dangers, they can be financially responsible for any injuries to others. When you have suffered injuries in a slip and fall accident, you may need a personal injury lawyer to hold property owners and other potentially responsible parties accountable. Roger Gelb is ready to help your case.

Liability of Property Owners for Slip and Fall Accidents

Whether property owners are liable for slip and fall accidents depends in part on whether the injured parties were lawfully present on the property. For people who are legally present on the property, property owners owe a reasonable duty of care to keep them safe from harm. This duty generally requires them to regularly inspect their property and eliminate any hazards that might exist.

Property owners also must repair any dangerous conditions that they know or should know about within a reasonable timeframe. Once they become aware or should be aware of a hazard, then they should take steps to warn others of the danger, such as posting a sign or taping off the area with caution tape. This duty to warn is particularly pertinent in situations in which property owners cannot immediately remedy a dangerous condition on the property.

However, if individuals are not legally on the property, such as in the case of trespassers, then the legal duty of care of the property owner decreases significantly. In this instance, the property owner has a responsibility only to refrain from willful or intentional harm to the trespasser. As a slip and fall lawyer in Washington, D.C. may know, intentionally setting a trap on their property to harm trespassers could subject property owners to liability.

The Slip and Fall Claims Process

Following a tripping accident, a slip and fall attorney can take various steps to build a claim for compensation. These steps often include:

• Gathering evidence in support of the claim
• Interviewing witnesses and obtaining relevant documents
• Documenting the existence of injuries and the costs of treating them

Once legal counsel has gathered adequate evidence of liability, they will put the property owner on formal notice of the claim. This step is particularly crucial in claims against governmental entities, which often are subject to much shorter timeframes than other personal injury claims. This notice triggers the involvement of the insurance companies for all potentially liable parties.

A slip and fall attorney will then present the facts needed to establish liability on the part of the property owner and the legal basis for the claim. Documentation of expenses related to the injuries sustained in the slip and fall accident also is necessary to establish damages. Based on this information, negotiations may start between the parties to acceptably resolve the claim.

Call a Washington, D.C. Slip and Fall Attorney for Guidance

In the aftermath of a slip and fall accident, you should continue to get the treatment that you need to recover from your injuries to the greatest extent possible. If your injuries have resulted in permanent impairments, you may need to make significant changes to your lifestyle, which can be difficult and time-consuming. While you are working through surgery, rehabilitation, therapy, or whatever steps are necessary to regain your health, your Washington, D.C. slip and fall lawyer can work toward getting the compensation for your injuries that you need.

Medical documentation of your injuries is often key to reaching an adequate settlement in your case. Evidence of causation is likewise an essential factor. Having a strong legal advocate on your side may make you more likely to achieve an adequate resolution in your case. Call Gelb & Gelb, P.C., to get started on your case.