When you are invited on and enter someone else’s property, the owner or lessee of that property owes you certain duties to keep the property in a safe condition or at least warn about dangerous conditions that could foreseeably cause harm or injury. Serious injuries can result when dangerous conditions are left unguarded or no warning is given about their existence.
The examples of dangerous conditions on a property are endless, but some of the more common examples seen by the Tallahassee attorneys at Nonni Homola include: sudden change of elevation, trip hazards in a poorly lit room, leaking water causing a slick walking surface, and building code violations resulting in unreasonably dangerous areas.
Slip and fall accidents are prevalent. Unfortunately, they can be very dangerous, especially for older adults. These accidents can result in various injuries, ranging from cuts and bruises to paralysis and death. Did your fall occur on someone else’s property? If so, you could have a claim for compensation if the property owner had a hazardous condition that they should’ve corrected. To learn more about your legal rights, contact a slip and fall lawyer in Tallahassee.
The attorneys at Nonni Homola have over 40 years of experience assisting injured victims in Florida. We know how complicated slip and fall claims can be to pursue. Property owners will vigorously defend against any slip and fall claims. Many insurers are skeptical about slip and fall injuries because some unscrupulous people have faked their claims. Protect your rights and hire a skilled Tallahassee slip and fall lawyer or the insurance company will likely deny your claim outright.
Common Injuries in a Slip and Fall
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of every five falls results in a severe injury such as a head injury or broken bone. Over 800,000 people require hospitalization yearly because of a fall injury, usually a hip fracture or head injury.
Older people are more prone to severe injuries. Over 300,000 older people are hospitalized yearly for hip fractures related to slip and fall accidents. Here is a look at some of the other most common injuries.
Facial Injuries
If someone falls forward, they could hit their face on the ground or strike something while falling. Facial injuries include jaw fractures, nose fractures, broken teeth, and eye injuries.
Spinal Injuries
Spinal injuries can be devastating. They can range from slipped or herniated discs to a severed spinal cord that results in paralysis. Other painful spinal injuries include pinched nerves, fractured vertebrae, and a fractured tailbone.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Head injuries are widespread in slip and fall accidents. You can suffer a brain injury without your head physically hitting the ground too. If your brain sustains a jolt, it can result in serious harm. Brain injuries are hazardous as you may not initially realize how severe the injury is.
Proving Liability in a Slip and Fall Case
Before collecting compensation in a slip and fall accident, you must prove the defendants are liable.
A property owner or the party in charge could be liable if they saw or should’ve recognized a dangerous condition but failed to remove or fix the possible hazard. Courts look at what a reasonable person would’ve done in that situation and whether the property owner had time to repair the condition before the accident happened.
For example, someone spilled liquids in the grocery store. If someone else came along seconds later and fell, the store might not be liable. However, the store could be responsible if employees left the spilled liquid for hours, knowing it was there.
Another possible theory of liability is a hazardous condition that the property owner, agent, or employee caused. For example, an employee sets a large obstacle in the walking path of shoppers. If it is foreseeable that someone could trip and fall over it, then the defendants could be liable.
Every detail matters when determining liability in a slip and fall case. Hiring a slip and fall lawyer in Tallahassee is crucial. We can help you identify all potential defendants who could be responsible for your injuries.
When you choose Nonni Homola as your attorneys, we will conduct a thorough investigation and gather all pertinent evidence. In severe injury cases, it may be necessary to hire experts who can review your case and help determine future damages for lifelong medical care, pain and suffering, loss of earning capacity, and more.
Types of Compensation Available in a Slip and Fall Case
You can collect two main types of compensation in a Florida slip and fall case—economic and non-economic damages. Your economic damages include tangible losses, such as medical treatment, lost wages, physical therapy, diagnostic tests, etc.
The second type of compensation is for non-economic damages. Non-economic damages are more difficult to calculate because there are no associated financial losses. These damages are more subjective and include things like pain and suffering and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). You need an experienced Tallahassee slip and fall injury lawyer to assess your case and help you determine a possible settlement range.
Statute of Limitations for Slip and Fall Cases in Florida
Like other types of personal injury claims, you have only a certain amount of time to file a lawsuit in Florida. In most slip and fall accidents, the statute of limitations is four years from the date of injury. That means you can try to negotiate your case until the deadline nears. However, you better not miss it—doing so could end your case.
Failure to file your lawsuit within the timeline means the court will likely dismiss your suit, and the judge will bar you from compensation. Judges are not very forgiving when you miss a legal deadline, which is why you need an experienced Tallahassee slip and fall accident lawyer on your side.
How We Help Slip and Fall Victims
Slip/trip and fall injuries can be among some of the most difficult cases to prove because the laws regarding proving these cases are stacked in favor of property owners. However, the attorneys at Nonni Homola have extensive experience handling premises liability cases in both Florida and Georgia and know exactly what steps need to be followed to achieve favorable results for their clients in slip and fall and trip and fall cases.
Slip and Fall Legal Process
- Call us, email us or message us via our website
- Describe your slip and fall injury and the extenuating circumstances
- Visit our office for a free consultation
- Let us build the case: collect evidence, interview witnesses, review police reports
- Partner with us to bring justice to your situation
What to Do If You Are Injured on Someone’s Property in Florida
If you are injured on someone else’s property take pictures of the area where the injury occurred, if possible.
Many times, the dangerous condition will be remedied as soon as possible after the injury but getting photos of the dangerous condition and the area where it occurred can go a long way in proving your case against the property owner.
If the injury occurs on the property of a business, always seek out an employee, preferably a manager, to fill out an incident report and ask for a copy of the report after it is filled out. If there are any witnesses to the injury try to get their contact information, so they can be contacted if you need a statement from them in the future.
Lastly, seek out medical treatment as soon as possible after the injury, and make sure to explain how the incident occurred in detail and your injury symptoms as clearly as possible to your treating physician.
Contact a Slip and Fall Lawyer in Tallahassee, FL
If you need assistance pursuing a claim for injuries after a slip and fall accident, contact Nonni Homola. With over four decades of experience and a proven record of success, we stand ready to help. We will start by reviewing your case and outlining its strengths and weaknesses. Proving negligence in a slip and fall can be complex. Don’t attempt to resolve your matter independently without first speaking with a slip and fall lawyer in Tallahassee.
We understand the severe nature of slip and fall accidents and how plaintiffs risk losing out on valuable compensation by representing themselves. We offer free, no-obligation initial consultations, so you have nothing to lose by meeting with us.
Contact our office online or call (850) 601-1111 today to schedule a meeting. Let us review your case and tell you what we believe the best course of legal action is.