Premise liability injuries, including slips and falls, are some of the most frequent and serious of all injuries, and if you’ve been injured in a fall on someone else’s property, with the help of a good Dallas slip and fall attorney, you may potentially be able to receive money as compensation for your damages.
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The law in Texas requires that those who own or operate premises open to the public maintain the premises in a safe condition.
Slip, trip, and fall accidents are the most common type of premises liability accident. Those in charge of the premises owe a duty of care to anyone legally on the property.
If a property owner, lessee, manager, or maintenance contractor neglects to maintain and properly monitor the premises and fails to make repairs or post warnings, and a hazard occurs and is allowed to remain, if someone visiting the property is injured or killed as a result, the party responsible for the premises may be found liable for the victim’s damages.
If you have experienced a serious injury from a fall, chances are that you are in a lot of pain and are forced to restrict your activities substantially.
You may be unable to work or take care of your regular duties in and around your home, and you have probably incurred piles of medical bills.
When your fall was caused by a hazardous condition on someone else’s property in Texas, you may be able to recover money to compensate you for your economic and non-economic damages.
You will, however, need to prove that the property owner was negligent and caused or allowed a hazardous condition to exist.
This is best accomplished with the help of an experienced law firm and board-certified Dallas premises liability lawyer.
To have grounds for a premises liability claim, you or your lawyer will have to prove that you were lawfully on the property at the time of the accident, the defendant owed you a duty of care, the defendant breached this duty of care and you suffered injuries as a result.
The defendant may have owed you specific duties of care or none at all depending on your status as a visitor.
Your Dallas premises liability lawyer can analyze the facts of your case to determine what type of visitor you were at the time of your accident.
From there, your lawyer can ascertain the defendant’s duties to you and gather proof of a breach of duty, if applicable. A Dallas personal injury attorney can help you navigate every step of your premises liability claim in Dallas.
During any personal injury case, the burden of proof rests with the victim. When you hire a premises liability lawyer in Dallas, he or she can take care of this burden for you.
An injury attorney can help you gather evidence that could help you win your case – evidence that will stand up to the scrutiny of a judge or jury.
Your personal injury lawyer will need to show enough evidence to establish the defendant’s fault and your related damages.
The evidence your attorney preserves collects and submits during your claim will need to establish your classification as an invited guest to the property, the property owner’s breach of duty of care, and your injuries or losses due to the owner’s negligence.
Hiring an attorney from the beginning can help you prove your right to compensation under Texas’ premises liability laws. Your Dallas premises liability lawyer can take care of the burden of proof while you focus on healing.
The compensation or damages you could receive through a claim may be enough to help you and your family move forward after a serious property-related accident.
With the help of an experienced Dallas premises liability attorney, you can potentially recover both economic and non-economic damages from a premises liability claim.
Economic damages are those that can be proven with bills, receipts, and employment records:
Non-economic damages are harder to assign a monetary value. They include:
The monetary value of your case will depend on factors such as how much your injury impacted your life and whether you will continue to need medical care or disability accommodations. It could also rely on what the defendant did to cause your injuries.
If the defendant was guilty of malice, fraud or gross negligence, you could receive additional compensation in the form of a punitive damage award. Speak to an injury attorney to learn what your case might be worth.
If you’ve fallen on someone else’s premises, taking certain steps can improve the likelihood that you will eventually receive money for your injuries.
These are some of the things that you will benefit from doing (and avoiding). Clearly, your ability to do some of these things will depend on how badly you’ve been hurt.
Slip and fall accidents send nearly nine million people to the emergency room each year, and the latest figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) show the annual number of fatalities in the United States to be 30,208.
That’s right behind motor vehicle accidents (In 2013, 32,719 people died in traffic crashes) as a cause of death.
Here are some more statistics about fall injuries that illustrate the extent of the problem and the negative impact on the lives and health of many Americans:
Falls can easily result in very serious and sometimes catastrophic injuries. These are some of the common ones:
Although a person of any age can be injured in a fall, the most vulnerable are our senior citizens. They are naturally frailer than younger people and tend to suffer from more serious injuries when they fall, often leading to loss of mobility, loss of independence, and a decreased life expectancy.
Falls are most common on public walkways, they can occur anywhere: on stairs, ladders, job sites, restaurants, malls, store aisles, and driveways.
They can be caused by fallen merchandise, food spills, potholes, and floors that have been over-waxed or are slippery and wet because of icy or rainy weather, or in areas that are strewn with items that create a tripping hazard.
Stairs may be in poor repair or may lack handrails, or lighting conditions may be poor. There are many conditions that can cause a person to fall, and many things a property owner can and should do to prevent falls and the injuries they cause, for example:
Slip, trip, and fall accidents can seriously disrupt your life. To get the compensation you need and deserve when your injury was someone else’s fault, call Aaron A. Herbert, P.C. to discuss your case with a top-rated, board-certified personal injury attorney.
To contact our law firm for additional information regarding premises liability claims, please call us at (214) 200-4878 or fill out our free online form.
If you’re in the San Antonio area reach out to our San Antonio Slip and Fall lawyers.