You have the right to meet with a lawyer after an accident on someone else’s property to see if you may be eligible for compensation. The property owner may owe you money for your injuries if their negligence caused you harm.
Omega Law Group Accident & Injury Attorneys recognizes that the thought of legal action may be intimidating. That’s why our personal injury lawyers in San Jose strive to make you as comfortable as possible.
Since 2016, we’ve offered free case evaluations and contingency fee-based legal services. You can count on our team to prioritize your right to a stress-free recovery. Contact our San Jose slip-and-fall lawyers today to learn how we can help you win money after your accident.
Steps to Take After a Slip-and-Fall Accident
After a slip-and-fall, things can feel chaotic. While it’s natural to want to move on quickly, certain steps you take in the hours and days after the accident can make a big difference in your recovery, both physically and legally. Here’s what to do to protect your health and strengthen your case.
Report the Accident Right Away
Tell the property owner, store manager, or supervisor exactly what happened. Ask them to complete a written incident report and request a copy for your own records. This document proves that the fall happened and shows you took the situation seriously from the start.
If they refuse to provide a report, write down their name, title, and the date you reported the accident yourself.
Document the Scene
If it’s safe, take pictures or videos of where you fell. Focus on what caused it—a wet floor, a broken step, a torn carpet, or poor lighting. Try to do this as soon as possible before the property owner has a chance to clean it up or fix it. Photos and videos are among the most powerful tools for proving negligence later.
Keep all your evidence organized in one place. If you have security footage, text messages, or receipts showing you were on the property legally, save those, too.
Get Contact Information From Witnesses
If anyone saw your fall, ask for their full name and phone number. Witness statements can help confirm what happened and show that you weren’t at fault. Avoid pressuring them to give details right away. That’s something your lawyer will handle formally to ensure accuracy. Just getting their contact information is enough for now.
Preserve What You Were Wearing
Hold onto the clothing and shoes you had on during the fall, even if they’re torn, muddy, or stained. Believe it or not, these items can become vital pieces of evidence. Your shoes, for example, might show that they had proper tread, proving the hazard caused you to slip.
Place these items in a plastic bag and store them safely until your San Jose slip-and-fall attorney or investigator asks for them.
Get Medical Attention Immediately
Even if you think you’re “just sore,” get checked by a doctor as soon as you can. Some injuries, like traumatic brain injuries or ligament damage, become apparent over time. A prompt medical exam not only protects your health but also creates a clear record linking your injuries to the fall.
Follow your doctor’s instructions carefully. Attend follow-up appointments, take prescribed medications, and keep records of all visits. This demonstrates to insurance companies and courts that you’re serious about your recovery.
Speak With an Attorney
Once you’ve taken care of your health and gathered what you can, reach out to a San Jose slip-and-fall accident lawyer. Your attorney will review your documentation, talk to witnesses, access any surveillance footage, and determine whether you have a strong personal injury claim.
If you were rushed to the hospital or couldn’t collect evidence at the scene, don’t panic. Your lawyer can often gather much of this information later through investigation and legal requests.
Focus on Healing—Let Us Handle the Rest
These early steps can help strengthen your case, but your main job is to heal. Slip-and-fall injuries can affect your ability to work and enjoy daily life, so don’t try to do this alone. Our legal team has the experience and resources to handle the rest.
Property Owners Have an Obligation to Protect You From Hazardous Conditions
Property owners have a duty of care toward people allowed on their property. This includes keeping their properties safe from avoidable, reasonably anticipated slip-and-fall accidents. They must repair dangerous conditions on their property.
If a property owner violates this duty and you get hurt because of that violation, then you have a case. Some of the most common causes of slip-and-fall accidents include:
- Wet or slippery surfaces, including recently mopped floors without warning signs, spilled liquids in stores, or rain-slicked entrances without proper mats
- Poor maintenance of walkways, including cracked sidewalks, loose tiles, or uneven flooring
- Inadequate lighting in stairwells, parking lots, or hallways
- Cluttered walkways, loose cables, and other obstacles in high-traffic areas
- Building code violations, including missing handrails, improper stair heights, or inadequate non-slip surfaces
- Improper marking and maintenance of transition areas between different flooring materials or elevation changes
- Temporary hazards from construction or renovation work
How Can You Prove Your Right to File a Claim?
If you are wondering if you have a personal injury claim, you need to bring forward enough evidence to meet California’s burden of proof that someone else’s negligence caused your injury.
Our team can help you gather this evidence. It may include physical debris, witness statements, videos of your slip, and photos of the scene. Our firm can also provide expert witness testimony if your case requires it.
The best way to prove your right to file a personal injury claim is to talk with a slip–and–fall accident attorney in San Jose. They will know the local laws and can give you legal advice on how to proceed with your claim and protect yourself from insurers who want to pay you less.
Who is Liable After a Slip-and-Fall Accident?
Landowners are not the only parties that can assume responsibility for a slip-and-fall accident. The evidence you find at the scene of an accident may also suggest that parties like the following bear the blame for your losses:
- Construction crews
- Other pedestrians, motorists, and cyclists
- Shop employees, if applicable
- Independent contractors, if applicable
- Government representatives
If multiple parties are responsible for your accident, it will be easier to recover maximum compensation. Once your damages (what you’re owed) exceed the policy’s value, it becomes much harder to get more money. Multiple policies create a higher amount you can draw from before we must consider a trial.
Common Injuries From Slip-and-Fall Accidents
Slip-and-fall accidents can cause serious harm that affects your health, independence, and ability to work. Here are some of the most common injuries people experience after a fall.
Brain Injuries
Falls are a leading cause of traumatic brain injuries, including concussions and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Even a mild head impact can lead to headaches, memory problems, or dizziness. Severe TBIs may cause long-term cognitive or emotional changes.
Spinal Cord and Back Injuries
The force of a fall can lead to herniated discs, fractured vertebrae, or spinal cord injuries. These conditions often result in lasting pain and reduced mobility, sometimes requiring surgery or ongoing therapy.
Broken Bones
Broken bones in the wrists, hips, and ankles are common. Older adults face particular risk, as hip fractures often mean long recoveries and lasting complications.
Long-Term Effects
Many victims deal with chronic pain, reduced mobility, and emotional struggles long after treatment ends. That’s why early medical care and legal guidance from a slip-and-fall lawyer in San Jose are essential for full recovery and fair compensation.
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What Compensation Can I Receive?
You can demand financial compensation for the injuries you’ve suffered through an insurance claim or civil lawsuit. The losses your personal injury attorney includes in a claim may cover:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Emergency medical expenses
- Pain management and medical treatments
- In-home care
- Lost wages
- Property damage and restoration
Some of these losses are easily supported by financial evidence, such as a doctor’s bill or pay stubs. Others, like pain and suffering, are negotiated. One of the ways lawyers can get more money for claims is because they’re more skilled at negotiating non-economic damages.
During your free consultation, our San Jose slip-and-fall attorneys can answer any questions you may have about the value of your case and how we may calculate your damages.
Factors That Affect Personal Injury Settlements
Every case is different. The amount you may receive in a settlement depends on several key details that shape the outcome of your claim, including:
- The severity of your injuries: Serious injuries such as broken bones, back injuries, or head trauma usually lead to higher compensation than minor bruises or sprains.
- Lost income: If your injuries kept you from working or will prevent you from returning to your job, your lost wages and reduced earning potential should be included in the settlement.
- Long-term care or therapy needs: Ongoing physical therapy, rehabilitation, or permanent disability can greatly increase the value of your claim.
- Liability and available evidence: The stronger the proof that the property owner was negligent, the stronger your case will be.
- Insurance coverage: The property owner’s insurance policy and coverage limits will also affect the total settlement amount.
A slip-and-fall lawyer in San Jose can carefully evaluate these factors, calculate your full damages, and pursue fair compensation that reflects the physical, emotional, and financial toll of your injury.
Should You Work With Insurance Claims Adjusters?
Most landowners have some form of insurance to protect their investments from damage. However, the insurance company’s claims adjusters working for California landowners and business owners want to protect their finances, not yours.
As such, we encourage you to bring a San Jose slip-and-fall lawyer to any meetings with a relevant insurance claims adjuster. Our presence can prevent the adjuster from pressuring you into accepting an unfair settlement.
We can also mitigate bad-faith behaviors that might compromise your right to recover later, such as delaying your claim, requesting unreasonable documentation, and similar tactics. Never agree to sign paperwork from an insurer or give a recorded statement without a lawyer’s advice.
Will My Case Go to Trial?
The most common reason for going to trial is a significant disagreement over the value of your claim. When an insurer’s settlement offers fail to adequately cover your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering, proceeding to trial may be your best option for securing fair compensation.
Another frequent catalyst for trial is when the property owner or their insurance company denies responsibility for your accident. They might claim you were responsible for your own injuries through careless behavior or argue they had no reasonable way to prevent the accident.
Trials may also become necessary when multiple parties share potential liability for your injuries. For example, if your fall occurred at a commercial property, liability might be shared between the property owner, a maintenance company, and a tenant business. When parties cannot agree on their respective degrees of responsibility, a trial can divide the responsibility.
When Cases Go to Court
Most claims settle outside of court. Negotiations with insurance companies often lead to an agreement before a trial is necessary. But sometimes, insurers refuse to offer fair compensation, and that’s when taking the case to court may be the best option.
A skilled San Jose slip-and-fall attorney will prepare from day one as if the case could go to trial. That means gathering witness statements, medical reports, surveillance footage, and expert testimony to present a strong, fact-based case.
Court involvement doesn’t always mean years of litigation—sometimes, just showing you’re prepared to fight is enough to push the insurer to agree to a fair settlement.
Understanding California’s Statute of Limitations
The California statute of limitations sets strict deadlines for filing your personal injury claim with the civil courts. For most slip-and-fall accidents in California, you have two years from the date of your accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. However, if your accident occurred on government property, you must file an administrative claim within six months of the incident.
Missing these critical deadlines can result in losing your right to pursue compensation entirely. The court will likely dismiss your case if you attempt to file after the statute of limitations has expired, regardless of how strong your evidence may be.
If you delay contacting a lawyer, time-sensitive evidence may also become more difficult to obtain. Therefore, you should contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible after your accident. Our San Jose slip-and-fall lawyers can help you meet all required deadlines while building the strongest possible case.
Contact a Slip-and-Fall Law Firm in San Jose Today
Are you ready to learn more? Reach out to Omega Law Group for support. Our personal injury law firm can connect you to a team of tried and tested professionals ready to help you recover a fair settlement from the liable parties.
You can count on our team to fight for your right to maximize accident compensation after a slip-and-fall. We don’t balk at difficult cases—if you need to take a landowner, construction crew, or similar party to trial, we’ll stand by you. You can book a free initial consultation with our attorneys today.
