You have the right to meet with a San Jose, CA, slip-and-fall 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 recognizes that the thought of legal action may be intimidating, though. 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
Before you speak with a lawyer, there are some steps you can take to help your case:
- Tell the property owner or store manager about your accident and ask them to make a written incident report. Get a copy from them.
- Preserve any pictures you took of the accident scene and what caused you to fall. A photo of a wet floor or a broken step can prove its existence.
- If there were witnesses, get their names and phone numbers for later. Do not talk to them about what they saw; let your personal injury lawyer interview them formally instead.
- Keep the clothes and shoes you wore when you fell, even if they are damaged or bloody. Your clothing may contain clues that can help your case.
- See a doctor as soon as possible after your fall to document your injuries and get medical care. Follow all of your doctor’s instructions to the letter.
With these steps done, our slip-and-fall attorneys in San Jose can determine whether you have a personal injury case and your chances of winning. However, don’t worry if you can’t do all these because of a medical emergency.
Landowners Have an Obligation to Protect You From Slip and Fall Accidents
Landowners have a duty of care toward people allowed on their property. This includes keeping their properties safe from slip-and-fall accidents that are avoidable and can be reasonably anticipated. 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 the following:
- 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.
Who Do Landowners Have to Protect?
Landowners are specifically required to protect invitees and licensees on their property. A comprehensive duty of care benefits both parties.
- Invitees constitute parties that a landowner explicitly invites onto their land. These parties can include shoppers, friends, family members, and business partners.
- Licensees are parties who come onto a person’s property to provide a service. These parties can include electricians, handymen, and employees.
Slip-and-fall cases aren’t limited to businesses. You can also sue private property owners if you get hurt on their property because of their negligence. If the owner has homeowner’s insurance, you can make a claim to seek fair compensation through them. We can assist you with the claim.
What About Trespassers?
Your rights are much weaker if you trespassed onto someone’s property and got hurt by a hazard, but there are situations where you may have a case. This is a case where you must get a slip-and-fall lawyer’s advice on how to proceed.
California revoked its attractive nuisance law, meaning that trespassers of all ages do not benefit from a landowner’s duty of care. However, landowners may not use unreasonable force to remove trespassers from their properties, and those who do may face criminal consequences for escalating a tense situation.
How Can You Prove Your Right to File a Claim After a Slip and Fall Accident?
If you want to prove your right to file a slip-and-fall accident claim, you need to bring forward enough evidence to meet California’s burden of proof that someone else’s negligence caused your slip-and-fall accident.
A San Jose slip and fall lawyers 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 add expert witness testimony if your case needs one.
The best way to prove your right to file a personal injury claim is to talk with a slip-and-fall 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.
Are Landowners the Only Parties You Can Sue 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 result in serious injuries that impact your quality of life and ability to work. Here are some common injuries that can happen in these accidents.
Brain Injury
Falls are one of the leading causes of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Even what seems like a minor bump to the head can result in a concussion, while more severe impacts can cause bleeding, swelling, or permanent cognitive impairment.
Spinal Cord and Back Injuries
The sudden impact of a fall can cause herniated discs, spinal cord compression, or fractures in the vertebrae. These injuries often result in chronic pain, limited mobility, and, in severe cases, partial or complete paralysis. Back and spinal cord injuries may require ongoing physical therapy, surgery, or long-term pain management.
Broken Bones and Fractures
The force of a fall frequently results in broken bones, particularly in the hips, wrists, and ankles. Older adults are especially vulnerable to hip fractures, which can lead to long-term complications and reduced independence. Recovery often requires surgery, rehabilitation, and extended periods away from work.
Soft Tissue Injuries
Sprains, strains, and tears to muscles, ligaments, and tendons are common in slip-and-fall accidents. While these injuries might seem less severe, they can cause significant pain and limited mobility. Without proper treatment, soft tissue injuries can lead to chronic conditions and permanent damage.
Shoulder and Knee Injuries
The impact of a fall often causes shoulder dislocations or rotator cuff tears. Knee injuries, including torn ligaments and dislocated kneecaps, are also common when people try to catch themselves during a fall.
Long-Term Implications
Many slip and fall injuries have lasting consequences far beyond initial medical treatment. Victims often face:
- Chronic pain requiring ongoing medication and therapy
- Reduced mobility affecting daily activities and independence
- Mental health challenges, including anxiety about future falls
- Career limitations due to physical restrictions
- Need for home modifications or assistive devices
The severity of these injuries underscores why you need to seek both medical attention and legal representation promptly after a slip and fall accident. Our slip and fall attorneys in San Jose will help ensure that all current and potential future medical expenses related to your injury are considered when pursuing your claim.
How Can You Financially Recover From a Slip and Fall Accident?
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 the following:
- 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 backed up by financial evidence like 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.
Should You Work With Insurance Claims Adjusters After a Slip and Fall?
Most landowners have some kind of insurance company protecting 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, asking for unreasonable documentation, and similar tactics. Never agree to sign paperwork from an insurer or give a recorded statement without a lawyer’s advice.
Have you been involved
in an accident?
(310) 526-8383
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 slip and 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.
Understanding California’s Statute of Limitations for Slip and Fall Cases
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 slip and fall 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 must 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 Lawyer in San Jose Today
Are you ready to work with a slip-and-fall attorney in San Jose? Reach out to Omega Law Group for support. Our personal injury law firm can connect you to a team of tried and tested professional 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 lawyers today.
