If you were injured after falling on another’s property, a Stamford slip and fall lawyer could help you to prove that the proprietor’s negligence was the cause of your losses. A well-versed injury attorney can work to establish your rights as a visitor, evaluate the actions that led to your injuries, and refute any allegations accusing you of causing your fall.
Skiber Law has offered legal representation to clients in need of support since 2008. The efforts of our Stamford personal injury lawyers have seen us help clients cover the cost of their lost wages, medical bills, property damage, and non-economic losses.
If you’re ready to benefit from our 50-plus years of combined legal experience, you can book your slip and fall case consultation today for free.
When Should You Contact a Stamford Slip and Fall Lawyer?
Why is it so important to contact a slip and fall attorney in Stamford sooner rather than later? First and foremost, early contact with an attorney allows you to preserve the evidence most relevant to your case faster and more effectively than you might otherwise. While you get the medical treatment you need to address your injuries, we can:
- Access relevant electronic data, including security camera footage, before it cycles out or an insurer denies you access to it.
- Speak with bystanders and record witness statements before bystanders’ memories of the incident begin to fade.
Additionally, we can stand between you and insurance adjusters who want to pressure you into accepting an early, and often insufficient, settlement offer. By keeping insurance adjusters at bay, we make it easier for you to preserve your right to a comprehensive accident settlement as well as your right to sue at a later date.
Last but not least, contacting a personal injury lawyer will not lock you into any kind of legal action. Getting to know our team gives you the chance to outline your right to financially recover from a fall in and out of civil court. We can also break down the premises liability lawyers relevant to your case and answer any legal questions you may have.
We Work on Contingency for Your Benefit
You don’t have to let legal fees prevent you from holding a responsible party accountable for a wrongful slip and fall. Skiber Law and its team of attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. In other words:
- You can book a free case consultation with our team members without paying a dime or committing to legal action.
- You can request our representation without paying a deposit or putting down a retainer.
- You can benefit from our legal representation in and out of civil court without receiving any bills from our office.
Our team offers compassionate representation without adding financial stress to your recovery. In fact, we only get paid once we win your case, at which point our payment comes out of your final settlement.
You can discuss the logistics of this process before committing to our representation and trust us to transparently explain how it works.
How Can You Financially Recover From a Slip and Fall Accident?
You can use different tools to recover financially from a slip and fall accident. Both insurance claims and personal injury lawsuits will allow you to name a certain party responsible for your losses before demanding financial support based on the cost of your recovery.
If a property owner has insurance, as they should, you have the right to file for support under their policy. However, securing the support you need can be tricky, especially if a property owner tries to contest their liability or blames you for a percentage of your accident.
If an insurer makes it deliberately difficult for you to move your claim forward, you can pursue a personal injury claim against the party liable for your losses. So long as you have enough evidence to exceed Connecticut’s burden of proof, you can use your claim to negotiate for support or ask a judge to weigh in on your request for damages.
Should You Speak to an Insurance Company After a Slip and Fall?
Our Fairfield County slip and fall lawyers do not recommend that you speak with an insurance adjuster about your right to damages following an accident without a legal representative present. Unfortunately, insurance adjusters are not on your side.
Most insurance adjusters want to twist the statements you make following a slip and fall to limit their responsibility for your medical costs, lost wages, and other expenses. If you rely on an attorney to manage your conversations with an insurer, you can preserve your right to maximum support as well as your right to sue, should the need to do so arise.
If an insurer approaches you after a slip and fall and offers you a settlement, we encourage you to wait to accept it. These initial settlement offers can seem generous, but they often undervalue your losses and tie up your right to future action. You can inform an offerer that you intend to seek legal advice before accepting and direct them to your attorney.
Determining Negligence
A landowner must take reasonable steps to avoid hazards that may result in a visitor slipping and falling. For instance, it is reasonable for business owners to identify standing water and then take steps to remedy the unsafe condition by setting up warning signs or cleaning up the spill. Failure to take any of these steps may lead to liability for any injuries that result.
A plaintiff may also need to prove that they did not contribute to their own injuries. According to Conn. Gen. Stat. §52-572h, if plaintiffs are more than 51% at fault, that plaintiff may not collect any compensation. A Stamford, CT, slip and fall attorney could help an injured party prove the landowner’s negligence and fight back against allegations of contributory negligence.
How Can You Fight for Full Compensation After a Slip and Fall?
To fight for your maximum compensation after a slip and fall, you need to gather evidence proving that:
- A liable party owed you a duty of care at the time of your accident.
- That party’s negligence saw them violate the duty of care that they owed you.
- That negligence directly resulted in your injury and caused you to suffer economic losses.
The evidence you use to make these points can take on a variety of forms and may include witness statements, physical debris from the accident scene, photos, video footage, and expert witness testimony.
Calculating the Value of Your Slip and Fall Losses
Once you have that evidence, an experienced Stamford, CT, slip and fall attorney can conduct the calculations necessary to determine the total value of your economic and non-economic losses. The losses you include in your request for compensation may subsequently include the following:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Reduced quality of life
- Lost enjoyment
- Emergency medical care and additional medical services
- Property damage and replacement services
- Lost wages and/or lost benefits
- Wrongful death losses, including a loved one’s funeral expenses
Our team treats each slip and fall case with the individual attention it deserves. We will not refer to an overarching “average” settlement amount when assigning a value to your case. Rather, our team will take each of your unique losses into account.
Classifications of Visitors in Stamford
Slip and fall accidents are a common example of property liability incidents. Proprietor liability laws state that landowners have a duty to protect guests on their premises. However, the extent of this duty varies depending on the visitor’s status while on the property.
State laws establish three classifications for guests, each with its own levels of legal obligations. A Stamford slip and fall attorney could help an injured party evaluate their rights under the law and determine whether a landowner had a duty to provide protection at the time of the accident.
Trespassers
Trespassers are people who enter or remain on a property without the permission of the owner. Proprietors must only refrain from intentionally harming these visitors once the owner learns of their presence.
Licensees
Licensees are people who enter someone’s property with the owner’s permission. This classification may include houseguests at a party. Landowners have a duty to warn licensees about any known hazards on their property. This duty may not extend to open and obvious hazards.
Invitees
Property owners owe the greatest level of protection to invitees. Invitees are people who enter land for a business purpose. Landowners must take steps to inspect their land and build safeguards to warn invitees of any hazards.
What Are Common Slip and Fall Injuries?
You can fall victim to a slip and fall accident in several situations, such as:
- On uneven surfaces
- Due to spills or unmarked wet floors in grocery stores
- As a result of untreated black ice in local parking lots
- Due to loose carpeting.
All of these conditions tend to result from someone else’s unchecked negligence and can prove physically devastating. When you suffer these kinds of slip and fall accidents, some of the most common injuries you may experience include:
- Broken bones
- Fractured bones
- Spinal cord injuries
- Joint damage
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Road rage
When we offer representation to clients injured in slip and fall accidents, we work with medical professionals to assess the severity of their injuries and how specific instances of negligence led to those injuries. Our investigative efforts make it easier to press for maximum compensation in negotiations and in court.
How to Streamline Your Recovery After a Slip and Fall
Filing a personal injury claim against the property owner or affiliated party responsible for your slip and fall accident doesn’t have to be intimidating. Working with an attorney makes it easier to name the right people accountable for your recovery.
If you want to streamline this process, our team recommends that you:
- Work with medical professionals to address your pressing injuries as soon as possible.
- Keep comprehensive records of your injuries and recommended treatments.
- Make notes about the condition of the scene of your accident, so long as it is safe for you to do so.
- Speak with witnesses and collect their contact information for later use.
- Contact an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as you can after an accident, even if you’re not sure whether you want to pursue legal action against a liable party.
What to Expect After Contacting a Stamford Slip and Fall Lawyer
Once you’ve contacted an attorney, you can discuss how you want to recover from your losses and what your long-term goals for your recovery look like. We can then help you obtain those goals by:
- Preparing your insurance claim to fit an insurer’s formatting standards
- Negotiating with an insurer on your behalf
- Preparing a personal injury claim in your name
- Filing your personal injury claim before the state’s statute of limitations (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584) expires
- Representing you in conversations about your right to compensation in and out of civil court
- Preparing you for litigation, as necessary
Consult with a Stamford Slip and Fall Attorney
Slip and fall incidents can result in severe injuries, such as broken bones, separated joints, or traumatic brain injuries. As a result, accident victims may miss significant time at work or endure debilitating mental trauma. If a property owner’s negligence caused your injuries, you may have the right to demand compensation.
A slip and fall attorney in Stamford, CT, could guide you through the claim process and work to get you the compensatory award you deserve. Contact an attorney today to get started on your case.