Have you or a loved one been injured in a slip and fall accident?
You may be entitled to financial compensation. First, you need to prove that someone should be held responsible because they were negligent. You must have evidence that proves exactly what happened.
Each Chicago slip and fall lawyer at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC believes those responsible for your severe slip and fall injuries must be held fully accountable when they disregard public safety concerns.
One of our Chicago slip and fall attorneys will fight for you if you suffer severe fall-related injuries due to another party’s negligence.
Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers has recovered over $400 million for clients since attorney Jonathan Rosenfeld founded our law firm. We are a nationally-recognized law firm with a track record of success for our clients. To us, customer service is an integral part of your experience with a lawyer. Our lawyers are effective because we know how to listen to our clients and how to fight on their behalf.
We are available at (888) 424-5757 for a free consultation at your convenience. Even better, your Chicago slip & fall lawyer works on a contingency fee basis, which means we only charge a fee once we win a settlement for you.
How a Chicago Lawyer Can Help You After Fall Accidents
A slip and fall accident lawsuit is not always the easiest case to win. However, it is not only possible to get compensation after a slip and fall incident, but you may even be able to get all the money that you deserve. The key is to hire a slip and fall accident lawyer for your case.
At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, an experienced attorney will help you at every step of your personal injury claim. Your fight is our fight, and we will not rest until we have done everything in our power to secure full and fair compensation in your slip and fall case. We are in this together with you at all times.
A Chicago slip and fall accident attorney can do the following:
Gather Evidence that Can Prove Liability in Your Case
In a slip and fall lawsuit, you have the burden of proof to show that the property owner (or the individual or company in control of the property) was negligent.
To prove negligence, you must demonstrate one of the following:
- The property owner created the dangerous condition themselves (property owners would generally be liable if they were the ones directly responsible for the danger)
- Someone else created the dangerous condition, and the property owner failed to remedy it, or warn you, within a reasonable amount of time after they knew or should have known about the accident
You are the one who needs to come to the table with your own evidence, or else the insurance company is going to deny the claim. They know that they can sit back and make you prove your own case.
There is really only so much that you can do at the scene of your accident. You are dealing with a potentially serious injury that requires you to get medical attention. Your lawyer would need to begin work after the accident occurred to obtain proof that could qualify you for financial compensation.
Estimate the Value of Your Slip and Fall Claim
In a slip and fall case, the insurance company is going to underestimate your damages, so they have to pay you less. This is the same thing that they do in all personal injury claims, but their practices are even worse after a slip and fall accident.
The insurance company is almost always going to say that “it was just a fall,” knowing full well that you could have suffered serious injuries in a fall accident.
Before you can even approach the insurance company in a claim, you need to know how much to seek in damages. This way, your slip and fall attorney would be able to push back when the insurance company is trying to underpay you in your slip and fall claim.
Deal with the Insurance Company on Your Behalf
Insurance companies are notoriously hard on plaintiffs after a slip and fall accident. Between denying claims and then trying to underpay the ones that it does settle, you have your hands full.
The insurance company is never going to respect you if you tried to approach them. They would make it virtually impossible for you to get all the money you should. In the meantime, the insurance company is also going to try to do everything possible to trip you up and make your claim much harder.
The insurance company is going to stand up and take notice when you approach them with an attorney. Our law firm has a track record of success, so they stand up and take notice when they see us at the other end of the table.
Negotiate with the Insurance Company
The insurance company is devoted to paying you as little as possible for your injuries. They want to make as much money as possible, and they do not make it by paying you.
Every claims settlement process is a negotiation. The insurance company will begin by offering you some money, but very little. You would reject their settlement offer and counter with a figure of your own.
It may take many months, but you may eventually close in on a settlement agreement. You would need a slip and fall lawyer who knows how to say no to the insurance company and stand up for the money to which you are entitled.
Litigate Your Slip and Fall Injury Case in Court
If the insurance company has denied your claim, or they will not pay you what you deserve, you may have no choice but to file a lawsuit against the defendant in court. The insurance company would be the ones who must defend the claim because they have a contractual duty to do so.
Many slip and fall claims will settle before they go to court. If you do file a lawsuit, your case may settle before it even reaches a jury. Nonetheless, you need an attorney who will fight to develop your case in court, especially since much of your evidence comes from the discovery process in the trial.
Provide You with Practical Legal Advice
Slip and fall claims are about much more than fighting all the time. Of course, slip and fall lawyers will stand up for you when necessary and push back against the insurance company. One of the key functions that your lawyer would perform is giving you sensible legal advice about strategy in your case.
The end goal is to get a fair and adequate settlement, and it takes some sound legal strategy to get to that point because insurance companies make things tough for you.
How to Determine the Responsible Party for Your Slip and Fall Accident?
There may be a number of parties who could be liable for your slip and fall accident. Personal injury law states that the party who breached their obligations to you would be the one who has the obligation to pay for your injuries.
Usually, you would sue the property owner for your accident injuries. However, the property owner may not have been legally responsible for the property. They may have leased it to a tenant who was in control of the premises at the time you were injured. Then, the tenant would be responsible.
The property could be held in a network of LLCs or other business structures. Your attorney would need to determine where and how to file the lawsuit.
Collect Evidence to Prove Your Slip and Fall Accident Claim
Since slip and fall incidents are very common, insurance companies often deny these claims and will force you to prove your case. It is on you to gather the evidence that you need to prove that someone else was to blame for your accident. Your claim or lawsuit should have enough evidence that could prove that someone else has the obligation to pay you.
Some sources that can be used to prove slip and fall accident liability include:
- Pictures from the scene of the fall accident
- Testimony from people who saw your fall or the conditions in the area proceeding the time that you fell
- Maintenance logs that show when the area was inspected and what work may have been done
- Video camera footage that could show the conditions in the area or your fall itself
- Testimony from an accident reconstruction expert who would give their opinion about what happened
Not all of these sources of evidence are in your hands at the time that you file a lawsuit. The defendant may have control over some of the evidence. Your fall injury lawyer would direct them to preserve the evidence in preparation for a potential slip and fall case.
Then, you would need to obtain the evidence in the lawsuit discovery process. You have the right to request information from the other party in the court case, and they would need to provide it to you. A slip and fall attorney knows what evidence they need to request and the form in which to ask the questions.
Slip and Fall Accident Statistics
Falls are one of the most common cause of personal injuries in the country. According to the Centers for Disease Control [1], over 800,000 Americans are hospitalized each year for injuries that they suffered in fall accidents. Millions more will seek treatment in an emergency room [2] for injuries that they suffered in a fall.
According to the CDC, one in every five falls will cause a serious injury. The most common slip and fall accident injury are to the head and hip. In 2015, the total medical bills associated with slip and fall injuries exceeded $50 billion. With recent health care cost inflation, it is likely that the effect to the economy today is even much greater.
Frequently Asked Questions About Slip and Fall Accidents
Clients have many questions when they come to us with their slip and fall cases. Our attorneys are here to give you the answers that you need. Here are some frequently asked questions about slip and fall accidents.
Personal Injury Fall Settlements Obtained By Our Law Firm and Affiliates
Below are some examples our slip and fall accident attorneys have won for people hurt in premises liability cases.
- $166,200: Woman who fractured her arm while exiting her favorite restaurant when she tripped over a tangled doormat hazard.
- $300,000: A slip and fall accident settled case involved a carpenter who injured his back and hip falling at a construction site over scattered debris.
- $500,000: Recovery for an older man who suffered hip fractures after slipping on liquids on the floor of his nursing home. The facility was held responsible for damages.
- $610,000: An accident report showed that a property owner was responsible for slip/fall damages after a tenant fell on broken stairs, requiring immediate medical attention.
- $2,100,000: The slip/fall suit was settled during a mediation session for a woman harmed in an auto accident in a Chicago parking lot. She suffered a fractured leg and hip, requiring extensive rehabilitation after the accident.
Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers believe that you are worth fighting for. We know what insurance companies can do to claimants, especially when they do not have a slip-and-fall lawyer on their side. We will work for you to get full and fair compensation after your Chicago slip and fall accident.
Our lawyers take the time to learn your case and to understand how you have been affected by your injuries. Your case may be worth far more than you think, and definitely more than the insurance company leads you to believe that it is worth.
Contact a Chicago Slip and Fall Lawyer Today
The slip and fall attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers are your protectors and advocates when you need to file a personal injury lawsuit. We would work for you to get a fair settlement for fall accident claims.
To speak with one of our fall injury lawyers, you can reach out to us online, or you can call us today at (888) 424-5757. We offer free consultations to prospective clients. It is vital that you not wait too long to speak with one of our lawyers. You do not need to pay us anything from your pocket to get the legal help that you need as a fall victim.