Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and fall accidents are among the most common types of personal injury cases. These accidents usually involve a slip, trip, or other type of fall which occurs due to a hazardous or dangerous condition. Common hazards include: poor lighting, spilled liquid, uneven floors, or other hidden hazards.

However, Texas laws unfairly favor businesses, and make it difficult to make a successful slip & fall injury claim in San Antonio.  While many San Antonio slip and fall lawyers don’t accept these types of cases in Texas anymore, the legal team at our San Antonio personal injury law firm continue to have success helping our clients get compensated for their injuries.

What to Do Immediately after a Slip and Fall Accident

You could jeopardize your slip and fall lawsuit if you make some key mistakes following your accident. To prevent that from happening, allow us to detail the actions you should take in that scenario.

Check if You Have Any Injuries

Examine yourself carefully after your fall. Check if you are bleeding somewhere or if some parts of your body are feeling sore.

Seek Treatment for Your Injuries

The CDC notes that over 800,000 people yearly are hospitalized due to fall-related injuries. You should see a doctor immediately if you feel woozy following your fall. Do the same thing if you experience hip pain or any other significant discomfort. You should still consult with a doctor even if you do not believe you have developed any injuries. Consult with one before you head home.

Gather Evidence at the Spot Where You Fell

If you do not need medical attention immediately, you can scan the spot where you fell for evidence. Then, pull out your phone and take pictures of the accident site to highlight the hazards. You can also speak to witnesses who saw your accident and ask for their statements.

Create an Accident Report

The owner of the establishment where your accident occurred may ask you to create an accident report. Take them up on their offer because that report will be useful later. Mention only the facts in the report so it can become a more credible piece of evidence.

Partner with a Slip and Fall Law Firm

Working with a slip and fall attorney will be crucial if you intend to take legal action against the negligent property owner. Look for an experienced slip and fall accident lawyer in San Antonio who can properly represent you.

Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents

More often than not, slip and fall accidents are byproducts of negligence on the part of the property owner. This section of the article will highlight some examples of negligence that can cause these accidents.

• Poorly Maintained Establishments: If a business owner is inviting you into their establishment, they should ensure that their operations base can accommodate customers safely. Proper maintenance is crucial to that goal. Business owners who fail to clean up wet spots, clear debris, or put away equipment can be negligent. You may successfully sue them if your accident was because of their poor maintenance efforts.
• Inadequate Warnings: Slip and fall accidents may also occur because an establishment failed to warn its customers properly. If a portion of the floor is wet or recently waxed, the establishment should set up warnings indicating as much. Without that warning, you may step on that floor, not knowing that doing so can lead to an accidental fall. Hold the property owner accountable for not providing any warning signs by suing them.
• Broken Stairs or Steps: Property owners should closely monitor their establishments. They must be ready to make repairs as soon as they are required. Otherwise, they could be responsible if someone suffers an accident due to those broken fixtures of their establishment.

How Much Is My Texas Slip and Fall Accident Worth?

Many plaintiffs in personal injury cases end up facing a dilemma. To be more specific, they find themselves wondering if pursuing a lawsuit is worth it.
They may think that the compensation they could receive is not worth getting involved in legal proceedings. It is not an unreasonable assumption. However, you should understand what you might be giving up if you decide against taking legal action in your slip and fall case.

Economic Damages: Economic damages play a significant role in determining the worth of your slip and fall lawsuit. Medical expenses usually make up the bulk of the economic damages. If you had to undergo surgery or rehab to recover from your injuries, the economic damages should reflect that. The economic damages should also compensate you for your lost wages and any property damage incurred.

Non-Economic Damages: Aside from the economic damages, you may also receive non-economic damages as part of your compensation.
The non-economic damages included in personal injury cases are to compensate plaintiffs for their unquantifiable losses. Additional compensation may not alleviate the mental anguish you have endured due to the accident, but it can help. Your slip and fall lawyer can calculate the non-economic damages in your case.

Texas Slip and Fall Laws

When you enter an establishment in Bexar County or another place of business based in Texas, you are governed by the state’s slip and fall laws. You must be aware of those laws so you can have a better idea of what to do in your case.

Premises Liability

Premises liability law places a duty of care on the shoulders of establishment owners. If they wish to open their establishment to members of the public, they must be certain that it is safe and properly maintained. A business owner who fails to uphold their duty of care could be subject to litigation if an accident occurs on their property.

Proportionate Responsibility

The principle of proportionate responsibility can play a key role in the outcome of slip and fall cases. This law specifically affects the amount of compensation you may receive. If the court finds you 20 percent responsible for your slip and fall accident, they will reduce your compensation by that percentage. If the percentage of blame you bear for the accident is greater than 50%, then you will not receive any compensation.

Statute of Limitations

Lastly, you need to be aware of the statute of limitations for Texas slip and fall accident cases. A plaintiff has two years to file a lawsuit if they believe that a property owner’s negligence caused their accident. The countdown for the statute of limitations starts from the day your accident occurred.

Feel free to get in touch with us at Barrus Injury Lawyers if you were recently involved in a slip and fall accident case. We will investigate your case thoroughly and prove negligence on the part of the property owner so you can walk away with fair compensation in the aftermath of such an unfortunate ordeal.

How a Slip and Fall Attorney Can Help You

Pursuing a slip and fall injury lawsuit can be challenging in several ways. To make the ordeal more manageable, you should consider hiring a slip and fall accident attorney. Below are some key reasons why that move is worth making.

Prove Negligence on the Part of the Property Owner

To succeed with your slip and fall lawsuit, you must prove that negligence on the part of the property owner caused your accident. Your lawyer can help you prove that claim. In addition, they can gather evidence showing that the property owner did not do enough to secure their establishment.

Negotiate a Settlement for Your Slip and Fall Lawsuit

The property owner or their insurer may approach you with an offer to settle your lawsuit so the court does not get involved. Negotiating a settlement is an acceptable way to resolve this matter, but you should not handle those talks solo. Instead, hire a slip and fall accident attorney and task them with securing the best settlement package possible.

Provide Legal Representation

After settlement talks reach an impasse, the property owner may decide that they would rather take the case to court. However, even if things go down that path, you can feel confident that your lawsuit will succeed if you have an experienced lawyer representing you.

Give You Time to Recover

Slip and fall accidents can cause debilitating injuries. Prioritize your recovery, and do not worry about anything else until you feel better. In the meantime, you can entrust your case to your attorney.

Answer Important Questions

After you have suffered a slip and fall injury in San Antonio, TX, you most likely are searching for answers to important questions, including medical and legal questions. You need answers quickly, which is one of the ways a San Antonio trip and fall lawyer can help. Some questions you might have include:

• How am I going to pay for my medical bills?
• How am I going to be compensated for time I have lost from work?
• How will I be compensated for my injuries?
• Will the insurance company treat me fairly?
• Do I need an attorney to represent me?

Slip & Fall Cases In Texas Are Difficult to Win – Don’t Go It Alone.

If you have been injured because you slipped, or tripped, and fell on someone else’s property in Bexar County, you may be entitled to monetary compensation for your injuries and medical expenses. Under Texas law, if the property owner was negligent in allowing the dangerous condition to exist, he or she might liable for your injuries.

However, Texas courts have given a lot of leeway to property owners, and made these types of cases very difficult to win.  This is why hiring an experienced slip and fall injury attorney soon after your accident is almost always the smartest thing you can do to protect your rights.

To hold a property owner responsible, you must be able to show that the property owner, or one of their employees, knew about the dangerous condition, and failed to remove it or warn you about it. And, even after you prove that the property owner knew about the dangerous condition, you must also prove that they had a reasonable amount of time to fix or warn of the dangerous condition.  Sadly, the Texas Supreme Court gives businesses the benefit of the doubt when it comes to what is considered a “reasonable amount of time.”

Knowing what evidence is needed, and how to collect this evidence before it disappears is vital to proving a slip and fall case in Texas.  Many times people make simple mistakes, like waiting too long to get an experienced injury attorney, which can ruin an otherwise valid slip and fall claim.

Contact Barrus Injury Law Today

Our San Antonio injury attorneys have helped injury victims, including slip and fall accident victims, just like you. We understand the challenges and difficulties your injuries present for you. Our goal, and number one priority, is to see you get back on your feet after a serious slip and fall injury. That is why we work hard to get the justice and compensation that you deserve. You shouldn’t have to fight the insurance company all by yourself – contact the San Antonio personal injury lawyers at Barrus Law today and find out how it feels to come FIRST for a change.

Some of the cities in Bexar County which our slip and fall accident lawyers serve include: San Antonio, Kirby, Leon Valley, Converse, Live Oak, Universal City, Schertz, New Braunfels, Pleasanton, Seguin, Canyon Lake, Hondo, San Marcos, Kyle, Kerryville and Lockhart.