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A “slip and fall” accident may sound relatively benign, but such accidents can lead to serious injury and permanent disability. If the fall occurs due to the negligence of a property owner, the victim should consult with a personal injury lawyer to find out if the property owner is liable. When an elderly patient recently slipped and fell at a hospital due to poor maintenance, her family was awarded $2 million. In another recent incident, a victim who suffered paralysis as the result of a fall was awarded $5 million. In a relatively higher profile case, a medical student sustained serious injury when she stepped into an uncovered manhole on her college campus at night because maintenance workers had failed to properly cover the manhole. The student received $15.8 million dollars in compensation. Individuals who have suffered injuries in a slip and fall accident through no fault of their own should do as much as they possibly can to document the incident fully as soon as possible. If the victim is not completely disabled by the injury, using a cell phone to take photographs of the unsafe condition at the time of the accident, as well as of injuries sustained, will help when pursuing compensation. Getting contact information from witnesses may turn out to be very important, too. Premises liability lawsuits often command substantial amounts in compensation because the property owner demonstrated extreme negligence, and the courts consider such compensation just for losses that occur due to an accident that could have, and should have, been avoided. Unfortunately, personal injury lawyers often get a negative rap for greedily pursuing obscene amounts of money, but there is more to judgment amounts than meets the layman’s eye. Some losses in one’s life are so significant that not even millions of dollars can suffice as adequate compensation. Such losses can include medical and rehabilitation expenses, loss of earnings due to the accident and potential future earnings due to disabling injuries, loss of benefits if no longer able to continue in one’s occupation, pain and suffering experienced by the victim (both physical and emotional) and the victim’s family, general damages, and in some cases, punitive damages. When you’ve been injured due to a property issue that should have been remedied by the property owner, speak with a reputable injury lawyer before you talk to any insurance representatives. It’s a fact that when an attorney seeks a settlement from the insurance companies, rather than the victim attempting to negotiate a claim without the help of an attorney, the outcome is inevitably better. If the factors that contributed to your injury could have been prevented by the property owner, either through repairs or warnings, an injury attorney will know exactly what steps to take in order to prove both in court should that become necessary to receiving an appropriate amount of compensation. For more information visit : http://www.bizfair.co/law-services
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