Dallas Slip And Fall Accident Lawyer
We can handle your injury claim or file a lawsuit for you
Slip and fall accidents can happen fast. In an instant, you or a loved one can sustain a serious injury, including a concussion or a traumatic brain injury (TBI). When this happens, it’s important that you get immediate medical attention right away. It’s also critical that you take steps to protect your legal rights.
Those who have been injured in a slip and fall accident can get professional advice and representation from a qualified Dallas slip and fall accidents attorney. These lawyers understand the criteria for slip and fall injury settlements and trial outcomes, as well as what to seek for a slip and fall injury and how to proceed through local courts.
For more than two decades, the attorneys at The Marye Law Firm have been helping slip and fall injury victims demand the compensation they deserve. We have the knowledge, the skills, and the drive you need to succeed. We’re serious about winning your slip and fall case.
What is a slip and fall accident?
A slip and fall injury typically involves a situation where someone loses their footing or their balance because of some condition or obstacle and gets injured as a result.
A core concept that applies to slip and fall cases is the issue of premises liability. That involves a professional slip and fall attorney looking at whether a given party has responsibility for a property on which a slip and fall accident occurred.
It’s important to note that parties that do have liability, often businesses, carry specific insurance to cover slip and fall accidents and other kinds of personal injury accidents that might happen on their premises.
Beyond that, a slip and fall case should have a hazardous condition that caused an injury. If the plaintiff (the injured party) in a slip and fall accident case can prove a certain standard of negligence, that makes the slip and fall case more credible to the courts.
The law also uses the concept of different classifications of people who may be on a given property. For example, the law treats visitors differently than trespassers when it comes to a slip and fall injury happening on a property. If there are complex situations where someone is leasing a building, that can change the context of the slip and fall accident case as well.
Common slip and fall injuries
Certain kinds of minor injuries can happen from a slip and fall accident, but other more major or serious injuries can occur as well.
Some of these involve broken bones, or sprained joints and ligaments. Other more serious injuries include spinal cord injuries from body torsion, or even traumatic brain injuries if the head ends up hitting a hard surface, for example, a floor or a wall.
In other cases, where a joint is the part of the body that someone falls on, a slip and fall accident can result in a broken bone, for example, a broken hip, or damage to the knee joint. In these types of cases, for example, the costs of a hip replacement and all associated medical bills may apply.
How much money is my case worth?
Costs can add up fast in many slip and fall cases. This is especially true when it comes to the cost of medical care. There’s the cost of initial medical consultation and examination, the cost of diagnosis, and the cost of treatment.
Beyond someone’s medical costs, there’s also the loss of income if someone cannot work due to their injury. Depending on the severity of your injury, you might not be able to work for several weeks, months, or perhaps ever again.
In addition, you may be eligible for:
- Non-economic damages (the legal term for compensation) for pain and suffering and other indirect costs.
- Punitive damages, which is compensation meant to send a strong message after particularly egregious conduct.
All of these costs should be factored into your settlement for your slip and fall accident case. As a result, your injury claim might be worth thousands of dollars or significantly more. The best way to know how much your case might be worth is to talk to a lawyer as soon as possible.
Should I call a lawyer for a slip and fall accident?
You might think you don’t need a lawyer if someone’s actions or inaction clearly caused your injury. But it’s important to understand that such cases can often be very difficult for many different reasons.
The owner of the property where your accident took place may deny doing anything wrong. They might also dispute whether a hazardous condition even existed. And if they know you’re seeking a sizable amount of money, they’ll often do everything they can to discredit you.
If your slip and fall accident cases go to trial, winning such cases can be difficult and complex,. In general, trying a case involves quite a bit of legal work and court time. There’s also somewhat of a high bar in some senses for slip and fall accident injury standards, as the court wants to prevent frivolous lawsuits and protect property owners to a reasonable standard. If, on the other hand, the hazardous condition is clearly documented and the negligence can be proven, a slip and fall accident injury case can be much easier to win.
Should I accept a settlement offer?
Injury victims can choose to settle their slip and fall accident injury claims and accept a financial settlement offer. However, this choice is very dependent on the context and the facts around the case.
First, if the injury victim has sought out impartial and qualified medical advice and shown they have an actual injury, they are moving forward on more solid ground.
Also, as mentioned above, if they can point to a clearly hazardous condition and some type of negligence, they have a case that is much more substantial and would either generate a larger settlement or proceed to trial.
One situation where clients may want to file a lawsuit and proceed to trial is if the defendant makes a lowball settlement offer. It’s not unusual for insurance companies and other parties to offer insultingly low amounts of money for a personal injury case, including a slip and fall accident situation.
In this case, it may be in your best interest to go to trial. In other types of situations, slip and fall accident injury victims may want to settle and take a lump sum offered by the defendant according to their consultation with counsel.
How can a slip and fall lawyer help me?
A Dallas slip and fall accident attorney can help accident injury victims in some very important ways.
First of all, an attorney can listen to your story and help you figure out what kind of case you might have. Your slip and fall accident lawyer can also work with you to calculate how much your case is worth — in terms of medical bills, transportation costs, and lost income due to time off from work.
As they look at medical records and other types of documentation, slip and fall accident injury attorneys will be involved in general fact-finding work. That might even involve depositions or other means, to try to help put a case together and document the negligence that may have led to the client’s injury. Throughout all of that, they will be assessing criteria that local courts use to determine what kind of responsibility a defendant has with premises liability.
Find out if you have a case. Contact us
If any of the above situations describe what you’re facing after a slip and fall injury, contact the attorneys at The Marye Law Firm. We can advise you on all the different aspects of your case. We will listen to your story and help you understand your rights under the law. We’re serious about winning your case.
FAQ About Slip And Falls
What are some causes and examples of slip and fall accidents?
Some of the most common types of slip and fall accidents include:
- Wet floors without proper warning signage
- Uneven or slick areas with insufficient lighting
- Ice or sleet buildup that has not been dealt with by a property owner
- Oil or grease, or other slippery substances, that are not dealt with in an industrial setting
- Broken stairs or other infrastructure that a property owner or business has failed to fix
How much do you get for a slip and fall settlement?
The amount that you may get awarded for a slip and fall accident injury is based on many complicated factors.
There is not one common settlement amount that lawyers can identify for any slip and fall case. Amounts are determined by things like out-of-pocket expenses, and amounts awarded for pain and suffering.
How long after a slip and fall accident can you sue?
Courts in Texas have a general statute of limitations for some slip and fall accident cases that range up to two years. That’s not to say that you should wait close to two years before filing a claim. The quicker you file a slip and fall accident case, the better, as long as you have the right documentation in hand. Getting impartial and qualified medical consultation early is important.
What needs to be proved in a slip and fall case?
Generally speaking, the plaintiff (meaning you, the injured party) has to prove that there was a hazardous condition, that it led to an injury, that there was negligence or responsibility on the part of some third party and that the injury caused damages, a legal term for financial losses for which you are entitled to receive compensation.
Can I include supplementary amounts for pain and suffering?
It may be possible in a wide variety of slip and fall accident cases to add in amounts for pain and suffering in calculating a final settlement. Some may also be able to apply loss of consortium for a spouse. Talk to a professional slip and fall accident injury attorney about the facts in your own case to determine whether these apply.
Why is it important to get an impartial medical evaluation?
In some cases, defendant parties or related parties, including insurance companies, will suggest that you use a particular doctor. Later, a slip and fall accident injury victim may find out that that medical office has a relationship with the insurance company or other party in question.
