Call Now For A Personalized Case Evaluation
(248) 266-7600
Call Now For A Personalized Case Evaluation
(248) 266-7600
If you have fallen and hurt yourself in a store or on someone’s property, you may be eligible for compensation. Macomb County personal injury lawyer Matthew Bedikian explains how to claim it.
Tripping hazards are not something we tend to worry about after our kids grow out of toddlerhood, and before we retire. And yet, all it takes is a misplaced tile, a slippery surface, or, as we get too often here in Michigan in winter, the right kind of ice in the wrong place, to send us tumbling into a severe injury.
Such hazards, when not adequately dealt with by those responsible for the space, are a form of negligence, as someone has put you in a lesser or greater amount of danger depending on the hazard. Too few folks in Macomb County realize that if you are hurt as a result of this negligence, it should be those responsible, not you, who pays for the harm endured.
In Michigan, this can be done with a personal injury claim, more specifically, a premises liability injury claim. With the help of an experienced and skilled attorney, you will be able to get the full extent of your slip and fall injury and loss covered by the negligent premises owner/operator, or more likely, from their insurance policy.
If you trip over a toy left by your kid in the hallway of your home, you won't have much luck with a claim, as it was arguably your own negligence that led to the injury. To bring a premises liability claim, you must have been injured on someone else’s property, such as a store, sidewalk, theater, or other environment where someone other than you was responsible for managing hazards.
If you trip on your untied shoelace, again, you won’t have much of a claim, because that was a danger of your own making. To be eligible to claim compensation, the hazard must have been the responsibility of the building owner or operator, and they must have been aware of it (or should have been aware of it) yet done nothing to clear it up or post adequate warning and signage.
Finally, the injuries you want to get compensation for have to have been caused by your fall. This might seem obvious, but proving it is not always as straightforward as it should be. Insurance companies, for example, love to try to find previous injuries (did you play football in high school?) to blame your symptoms on to avoid having to pay out the financial compensation you need and deserve.
There are several key steps you should take after a fall in Macomb County to claim compensation and increase your chances of getting it, many of which a lawyer can help you with, especially if your injury is severe or debilitating.
Often, after a bad fall, you will awaken to discover someone has already called for an ambulance. This is a good thing. You might feel you cannot afford it, but the ambulance EMTs will take note of your injuries, ensure your condition is stable or gets the treatment it needs, and their report will help prove that causal link between the fall and your injuries.
If you manage to maintain consciousness, you should strongly consider calling for such medical aid yourself. Do not worry about the cost; that is one of many things you can also get compensation for with the help of a premises liability claim and a slip-and-fall lawyer.
If you are able to do so, it can be very helpful to take pictures of the hazard that caused your fall, the area around it, and even your injury if that is possible. Such evidence can be useful when, with just a few minutes of cleaning up, the hazard that caused you to trip or slip and fall can be removed and all evidence of it erased.
If you are not in a fit state to take pictures or video of the scene, try to ask nearby witnesses or anyone accompanying you to do so. Witnesses can also be a crucial source of evidence when it comes to proving that there was a hazard, and that it did cause your fall. So, as long as it is reasonable, try to get their contact information for possible testimony later.
Both of these steps will make it much harder for insurers to deny your claim and compensation.
It is important that, after any kind of slip or trip and fall injury, you let the people responsible for the space you were injured in know that you were hurt. This step is vital, and you might even want to do it in writing, with proof.
While this step is often necessary, it can lead to their insurance company trying to contact you and offering an immediate financial settlement. Do not accept this without discussing it with an attorney. In general, if they are offering anything at all, it is because they know you deserve a lot more and want you to sign away your right to demand more once the full extent of your injury and harm becomes clear.
Michigan Advocacy Center, PLLC | Fighting for justice after accidents in Detroit and throughout Michigan
Once you have notified the premises owner and received medical attention after a slip-and-fall accident, it is time to call an experienced attorney. A skilled lawyer will help you preserve evidence and build a strong claim for compensation, not just for your injury and medical bills, but for your lost income, pain, and any harm to your quality of life.
In Macomb County and throughout the greater Detroit area, the lawyers of the Michigan Advocacy Center, PLLC can help you claim justice and obtain the financial compensation you deserve after a trip or slip-and-fall injury.
To secure a free consultation, even from your hospital bed, just call (248) 266-7600 or reach out to our team online. While injuries happen in accidents, justice does not happen by accident.
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