Premises Liability Lawyers Serving the Injured in the San Francisco Bay Area All property owners, residential and commercial, have a duty to take care of their property and take reasonable measures to not subject visitors to unreasonable risks of harm. If you or a loved one have been injured by a hazardous condition while at someone else's property, whether a personal residence, grocery store, hotel, apartment building, or office building, you may be eligible to file a premises liability claim and receive compensation for your injury. You should not hesitate to pursue a legal consultation even if the accident happened at a friend or neighbor's residence because these claims are handled by homeowners insurance and this is why such insurance is purchased. These “Slip and Fall” or "Trip and Fall" injuries commonly occur from slippery or uneven surfaces. But such accidents can also be caused by:
- deteriorated wood
- wet floors
- debris
- obstructed pathways
- defective flooring
- poorly lit walkways
Premises liability based on negligence exists to protect people who enter a property and are injured even though they are not doing anything unexpected or dangerous. Proving that a property owner was negligent is not always easy. For a claim to be successful, the evidence must establish that the property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition, or created it, and failed to correct it in a timely manner thereby causing the accident. It is important to document the scene immediately so the hazardous condition can be evaluated and the cause determined. Taking pictures as soon as possible, even if the next day, is critical. Usually, the shoes you were wearing should be kept as evidence in a sealed plastic bag. Contact information for witnesses should be gathered immediately if possible. Our experienced Burlingame slip & fall lawyer, Mr. Shapiro, can assess your evidence and assist you in determining whether the property owner failed to maintain his or her property or properly warn of hazardous conditions.
In most premises liability cases, the actions of the injured person will be highly scrutinized. The property owner will argue that the person should have "watched where they were going." The strength of this defense depends greatly on the hazard at issue and the circumstances involved. This is why a consultation with our Burlingame slip & fall attorney is so important to assess whether you have a viable case worth pursuing. For an injury attorney to evaluate such a case, an examination of the dangerous condition at issue is usually paramount. Therefore photographs are often the most important piece of evidence needed to obtain a legal assessment. In some cases a human factors expert is required to reconstruct the accident and perform tests to demonstrate how dangerous the property was and show that the victim did not do anything unsafe. Slip and Fall injuries can be very serious. The most frightening are when the person's head strikes a hard surface. This can result in brain damage or even death. Most of the time the impact is to the low back in the area of the lumbar, sacrum, or coccyx. This happens when a person slips and their feet go out from under them. Also, twisting can cause damage to the knee ligaments. When people trip, they can injure their hands when they try to break their fall or their face if they fail to do so. Some cases require biomechanical engineers to show how the trip or slip caused the mechanism of injury.
If you have suffered from a slip and fall or a trip and fall injury, contact Mr. Shapiro today. You should get the compensation you deserve. Call our San Francisco slip, trip & fall lawyer today at 650-274-0180 or fill out the online form for a free consultation.
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