Over $150 Million Recovered For Our Clients “Roger K. Gelb is one of the area’s most respected and sought-after legal minds” – Washingtonian Magazine
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 compensation claim. A Washington, DC, 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 with your case.
A slip and fall is a type of personal injury case; over one million occur yearly in the United States. A slip and fall occurs when a victim slips, trips, or falls on another person’s property due to a dangerous condition. It does not necessarily need to be a wet floor, though that is the most common. It may also be loose carpeting, poor lighting, or a broken stair. Additionally, while a homeowner can be legally liable for your injury and use them if you wish, most slip and fall cases are against a restaurant, store, or hotel.
According to our Washington, DC Slip and Fall Lawyers: Tips to Avoid Slip and Fall Accidents
Please keep in mind your surroundings. While it sounds simple, not all restaurants, bars, and hotels reasonably maintain their premises. While they may be legally liable, it is ultimately on you to protect yourself against the negligence of others. Also, could you use handrails when on the stairs? We handle cases where staircases are broken. Especially when there is poor lighting, these can be particularly dangerous. We can take your case if the fall happens at work.
While not necessary, try to report dangerous conditions to the owner. By doing so, you are putting the owner on notice. This has legal significance. The owner must inspect for hazardous conditions reasonably. This means they do not have a legal duty to detect each dangerous condition as it presents itself immediately. Also, what is inspected reasonably differs from incident to incident. Once an owner is on notice, they have a legal duty to warn patrons reasonably or remedy the condition.
Common Slip and Fall Injuries
For the most part, slip and fall injuries mirror those of any other personal injury accident. Below is a list of the most common compensable injuries we handle.
Broken bones
Head and neck injuries
Back and spinal cord injuries
Soft tissue injuries
Cuts and bruises
Concussions
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents
Many instances can lead to a slip-and-fall accident. Remember that each of these must be negligent in some way for you to have a claim. Many of these can be negligent or reasonable (not negligent), depending on the facts of your case. So, it is always beneficial to consult a Washington, DC, slip and fall lawyer.
Wet floor
Slippery floor
Uneven surface
Poor lighting
Cluttered walkway
Loose or torn carpeting
Protruding object
Broken or damaged stairs
Inadequate handrails
Why Choose Gelb & Gelb, P.C.
Many good Washington, DC, slip-and-fall lawyers can take your case. So, what makes Gelb & Gelb the right firm for you?
Experience
You should look for this characteristic in nearly any business you seek to hire. Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes, which means that a newer attorney will make mistakes. In the practice of law, no one is perfect. It can take years to understand the legal process in even one legal discipline fully. Here, we have been practicing personal injury law for nearly 70 years. We have handled thousands of personal injury and slip and fall cases during this time. This is one key factor differentiating us from the other firms in the area.
Through experience, we can handle your case more efficiently. While a newer attorney may need to research relevant laws, we know the law and how it applies to your case. Moreover, we have professional relationships and networks with other legal institutions in DC that can help you in your case if you need it. Whether it is an understanding of how a defense attorney operates or the unique preferences of a particular judge, networking can be valuable.
Our Washington, DC Slip, and Fall Lawyers Put our Clients First
Second, we take a personal approach to each case. We understand the difficulty you are going through when your slip and fall leads to a painful injury. You may no longer be able to work and pay bills. Our decades of experience have seen practically every scenario you may encounter. Given that, we are well-equipped to help you handle each situation. Not only that, but we make it a priority to communicate effectively with our clients. This means a few things. First, our phone lines are available 24/7 to receive your questions. While our attorneys are not on-call 24/7, you will receive a call back right away during most normal hours, seven days a week.
Many matters in a slip-and-fall case are time-sensitive. So, hiring an attorney that responds to your questions or concerns is in your best interest. This gives you peace of mind when you have an important question and can make or break your case. There are deadlines in personal injury cases. Some are as soon as 30 or 60 days after your accident. These cases require not just an attorney with experience but one who will pay particular and personal attention to your case.
Aggressive Pursuit
When you hire legal representation, your goal is to protect your rights and secure maximum and fair compensation for your injuries. Meanwhile, the insurance company for the defendant is interested in paying out as little as it is legally required to. This is why aggressive pursuit against the defendant is necessary. This does not mean blind aggression. Instead, initiating negotiations before filing suit on a claim is very important. Doing so can save a plaintiff several months of waiting for trial, court costs, and other legal fees associated with a trial.
Moreover, precise aggression can benefit a case can benefit you in court. You have a right to be upset when you are injured due to someone else’s negligence. An aggressive slip-and-fall lawyer will fight for your rights. This can lead to a jury being more sympathetic if they feel the passion of someone battling for you. Of course, aggression does not mean disrespect. The courtroom is still a place of professionalism. It takes an attorney with experience to toe the line and win your case.
Liability of Property Owners for Slip and Fall Accidents
Whether property owners are liable for slip and fall accidents depends partly 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 inspect their property and eliminate potential hazards regularly.
Property owners must also repair any dangerous conditions they know or should know about within a reasonable timeframe. Once they become aware of a hazard, they should warn others of the danger, such as posting a sign or taping off the area with caution tape. This duty to let you know is essential in situations in which property owners cannot immediately fix 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 is only responsible for refraining 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 with a Washington, DC Slip and Fall Lawyer
Following a tripping accident, a slip and fall attorney can take various steps to build a compensation claim. 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 property owner’s part and the claim’s legal basis. I would also like you to know that documentation of expenses related to the injuries sustained in the slip and fall accident is also necessary to establish damages. Based on this information, negotiations may start between the parties to resolve the claim acceptably.
Mistakes to Avoid After a Slip and Fall Accident
First, you must know the statute of limitations applicable to a slip and fall case in Washington, D.C. The statute of limitations for any personal injury case in the District is three years. While there are exceptions to this general rule, the exceptions do not apply to individual injury cases. You must only have discovered the injury later for the exception to be used. While possible, it is unlikely. The first mistake to avoid is not seeking medical attention immediately. If you are seriously hurt, you must immediately seek medical attention.
If you wait a few weeks, this will hurt the value of your claim. This is because we have to be able to make our case to a judge or jury. While your case may be legitimate, it will appear that your injury is not as severe as you would lead a jury to believe. Second, look to document the scene of the fall. Take pictures or videos. This evidence is crucial for a slip-and-fall case. Third, speak to an attorney immediately. Your Washington, DC, slip and fall lawyer, will contact the establishment’s owner and send a spoliation of evidence letter. Hopefully, this will preserve any video evidence that may exist. For this mistake to be avoided, time is of the essence.
Contact a Washington, DC, Slip and Fall Lawyer
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 vital in 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. today for a free consultation.