Trip and Fall Attorney Near Me

Do you ever feel like you have two left feet? Everyone does once in a while. You miss a step or trip over the edge of a couch and barely save yourself from a painful fall. This is the type of accident that virtually everyone suffers at some point.

Unfortunately, not all trip and fall accidents are that trivial. When luck isn’t on your side, a slick floor can end in a broken bone, a concussion, or worse. And if that happens, you will need money to pay for your medical bills.

You’ll probably find yourself asking questions like “Where can I get that money?” or “Who is responsible for my injury?” The most important question you should ask yourself, though, is “Who is the best trip and fall attorney near me?”

If you live in the United States, the answer to that last question is Morgan & Morgan. Our trip and fall lawyers have decades of experience and can easily answer all of your other questions. 

Contact us today to schedule a free case evaluation with a lawyer ready to answer your important questions.

You Might Not Be Responsible for Your Injury

If you trip and fall in your home or on your property, you are probably responsible for the injuries that you sustain. But that may not be true if you rent your home and someone else is responsible for ensuring that it is safe.

Determining who is responsible for a trip and fall injury depends on several factors. Even attorneys will often need to do some research to figure out who is liable. They need to know:

• Who owns the property
• Whether appropriate safety precautions were taken by the property owner
• Whether you were permitted to be on the property when you were injured
• If there are any other circumstances surrounding your accident

This information matters because of a legal concept known as premises liability. The short description of that concept is that the owner of a property is responsible for ensuring that it is safe for anyone who is permitted to be at the property.

In concrete terms, this means that if you trip and fall down stairs because the top stair was broken, the owner of that staircase is responsible. It was their duty to fix the staircase before you used it or warn you about the danger. In failing to do either, they are liable for any injuries you suffer from the broken stair.

An unrepaired broken stair is far from the only example of premises liability. Other common examples of dangers that could result in liability are:

• Wet floors
• Broken railings
• Construction sites
• Areas with poor lighting
• Leaf- or snow-covered sidewalks

If the property owner is aware that a danger exists, or should be aware that it exists, they are responsible for correcting the danger or warning others about it.

Corrective Actions

The best way a property owner can avoid liability is by taking corrective action. The owner doesn’t have to personally perform these actions — they can hire someone to do it for them. If the property is a business, that’s usually how corrective actions are taken.

Some of the most common corrective actions are:

• Regularly cleaning floors after spills
• Replacing light bulbs that have gone out
• Putting up warning signs around dangerous areas
• Cleaning entryways when mud, snow, or rain is tracked in
• Repairing areas of a building as soon as damage is reported

Your trip and fall attorney will investigate to see if a property owner has taken any of these types of corrective actions. If your attorney can prove that no action was taken, it will strengthen your case.

Insurance Companies

In almost every trip and fall injury case, the victim eventually receives money from an insurance company. Depending on the circumstances, a trip and fall accident could potentially be covered by liability insurance, homeowner’s insurance, medical insurance, or renter’s insurance.

While that may sound complicated, you won’t have to determine which insurance policy or company is responsible for your injuries. Your attorney will determine that based on the circumstances and act appropriately to get you money.

The main reason to care that your money is coming from an insurance company is how this process affects the timeline of your case. Insurance companies, like most other bureaucracies, act methodically. This means that you likely won’t get paid before other bills start arriving.

The attorneys at Morgan and Morgan have spent years building familiarity with the insurance claims process. Our lawyers will guide you through the system as efficiently as possible. We can’t get you money in days, but we can usually turn months of waiting into weeks.

Dealing With an Insurance Company

The biggest challenge to getting you the money you deserve is the insurance company. It makes money by denying you money. It can do this by denying or undervaluing your claim.

Attorneys from Morgan & Morgan will fight the insurance company at every step. We will produce evidence proving that you have a legitimate claim that shouldn’t be denied. Then we will use medical records and additional evidence to accurately estimate the true value of your claim. We won’t let the insurance company make an unfair offer.

What to Do After a Trip and Fall Accident

There are two calls you need to make immediately after a trip and fall accident: 911 and Morgan & Morgan.

Your first concern has to be your health. Many falls result in more serious injuries than the victims realize at first. If you fall down stairs, for example, you may think that you just bruised yourself badly. But the reality could be that you cracked ribs or ruptured your spleen.

Even if you only fell a distance equal to the height of your body, it’s safer to get evaluated by medical professionals than to wait and see if it feels like it’s more serious later. Many serious injuries need to be treated right away. And if they aren’t, you could suffer lifelong repercussions.

The reason you want to call an attorney right away is similar to the reason you want to get immediate medical care. The sooner an attorney takes control of your case, the less likely that you will suffer long-term repercussions.

Even a small delay in contacting the insurance company can result in you getting significantly less compensation. This is especially true if another party is responsible for your fall. Often, they will take measures to hide their liability. And if your attorney can’t start investigating immediately, those measures might be successful.

Furthermore, after an accident, you are probably in no condition to deal with the insurance claims process. You may be in pain and potentially disabled. Your attorney does all the legwork for you, which means that somebody is working to get you money while you’re focused on recovery.

What Not to Do

The most important thing not to do is sign anything or accept any money. If you were injured at a business, there is a high likelihood that it will try to end your claim almost before it has started.

The most likely scenario is that a lawyer for the business will approach you and offer you money if you sign a nondisclosure agreement. Typically, the offer will be a few thousand dollars. It may even look like a pretty good deal if you haven’t yet received your first hospital bill.

The best response is to refer any offer to your lawyer. You aren’t denying the offer, you’re simply letting someone with more experience evaluate it based on the injury you suffered.

Similarly, whether money is involved or not, never sign anything. Sometimes people will try to tell you that you have to sign something. That’s a case where you should refuse outright. No party can force you to sign something against your will.

The other thing that you should avoid is talking about your injury on social media. Social media is a great way to share information with all of your friends and family at the same time, but it is just too public. You can’t always control what gets shared where.

If you say something harmful to your claim, it will become part of the public record. That is one of the worst things that you can do. Instead, avoid social media until the case is complete and only speak to a few important friends and family in private. And be very clear that anything you tell them should not be shared with others.