Slip and fall accidents can be serious

Posted in Slip and Fall Accidents,Trip and Fall Accidents on December 30, 2011

Litigation For Slip and Fall Injuries

The occurrence of a slip and fall accident is not limited to commercial or business settings. Slip and fall incidents are categorized under a series of personal injury lawsuits, also known as torts, which includes car accidents or dog-related injuries. Slip and fall cases are subject to the same litigation process as other cases and take just as much time to filter through the court system. It is not uncommon to wait years for your case to receive its proper attention in the courts.

Some of the largest companies in the world, such as Wal-Mart, experience a remarkable amount of customer injuries due to slip and fall accidents each day. In an article published by the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University, it is reported that Wal-Mart undergoes about 1,000 customer injuries per day due to people slipping on water or other products scattered accidentally around their shopping centers. Of all the accidents that occur, only a small percentage of these people ever file a lawsuit. Click HERE to read more…

Slip and Fall Lawsuits

As time goes on, victims types of these cases have filed lawsuits more than before, but not nearly as many cases have been taken to court as deserve to be. Filing a lawsuit does not guarantee that a plaintiff will win a judgment. The state reserves the right to give all residents an allotted amount of time, or a statute of limitations, in which they must file a lawsuit. If you miss the deadline established by the state, there is no opportunity for filing a personal injury lawsuit.

Each state has its own time limit, which varies from 90-days to 5 years to file a claim. To be qualified as a lawsuit worthy trip and fall case, it is critical that you have a legally “cognizable” injury. A slip and fall or trip and fall accident that resulted in temporary pain, inconvenience, or an injury that healed quite fast and medical aide was not necessary, will more than likely, NOT be recognized as a “cognizable” injury in a slip-and-fall lawsuit. Also, in order to file a lawsuit, the victim must have some sort of legal relationship with the person in charge of the property.

This legal relationship entails that the person in charge must have a legal obligation to protect or warn the person of any hazards on the premises. This type of relationship is found in a store or a shopping mall that is open to all members of the public. This may also pertain to public sidewalks or public schools in which the city would be liable for a slip and fall accident. A large percentage of slip and fall injuries also take place at construction sites, work environments, airports, and private residences where the person has been given permission to proceed onto the property.

Lastly, the “danger” of the slip and fall accident must be completely unplanned and unsuspected. The “danger” causing the trip-and-fall must be considered extreme enough that a reasonable person who heard about the incident would claim that it was unsafe. If you have a slip and fall accident in New York City, our NYC slip and fall lawyers can help.

What Do To After A Slip and Fall Accident:

Take photographs of the area and items that caused the slip and fall

Photograph your personal injury

Write down the names and phone numbers of any eye witnesses

Report the accident to the property owner or manager

Write down how, when and what happened

Keep a journal of the pain you are experiencing and other effects the accident has had on your life.

Call 911 if you are in serious pain or get a medical evaluation

Consider contacting a slip and fall attorney if your accident is “cognizable“

Contact Our Personal Injury Law Firm in New York, NY

If you need legal assistance, contact the NYC personal injury lawyers at Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers at your nearest location to schedule a free consultation.

We have two convenient locations in New York:

Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers – New York City Office
450 7th Ave #409
New York, NY 10123
(212) 564-2800

Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers – Brooklyn Office
26 Court St Suite 2511
Brooklyn, NY 11242
(718) 802-1600