Personal injury cases are more common than many people think. They don't only include car accidents or wrongful death cases but also slip and fall accidents.
The problem with being the victim of a slip and fall accident is how confusing it can be to determine the liability in the cases. Many people think no one is liable for it unless someone makes the victim fall directly, but most of the time, it's not like that.
Tennessee laws protect victims of slip and fall accidents and ensure they can get compensation for their medical bills and lost wages. This page has all the information people in a slip and fall case would need to file a lawsuit against liable parties for the accident.
Schuerger Shunnarah Trial Attorneys works with top-notch lawyers that know all the secrets and tricks insurance companies use to win cases. Hiring that law firm helps clients go past those tricks and receive the compensation they deserve.
The only thing they need to do to hire this law firm is contact it to schedule a free consultation for their case.
What Is a Slip and Fall Accident?
Slip and fall accidents are a form of personal injury accident that consists of the victim getting injured due to falling or tripping on private or public property.
If lawyers want to deem an accident a slip-and-fall case, the accident must check a few boxes. The main one is that the landlord of the place knew it was in an unsafe condition that could cause people to fall.
An example of this is when someone gets a slip and fall injury because the entrance of a place was full of water or snow.
Unforeseeable situations for landlords don't fall under the definition of a slip-and-fall accident. The same happens if the victim could have kept the problem from happening or if it happened because of something they did.
What Is the Slip and Fall Law in Tennessee?
When someone gets into a slip-and-fall accident, they have the right to sue the property owner if they hold liability for what happened.
If the property owner knew how unsafe their property was and could have prevented such accidents from happening, they will have to pay the victim financial compensation.
People often call slip and fall cases premises liability accidents. The reason for that is they happen on the private premises of another person.
Victims looking forward to filing a slip and fall lawsuit against the property owner of the place where they fell have one year from the date of the accident to do it. They won't be able to get any compensation if they don't meet that deadline.
Proving the liability of property owners in a slip-and-fall accident is tricky, as they didn't cause the accident directly.
Personal injury lawyers need to prove the property was unsafe and that its owner knew or should have known of that situation. They also need to prove their clients couldn't have known the place was dangerous.
Hence, if the place a slippery floor sign and the victim fall there, property owners are not liable for the accident.
That applies to any other sign or warning, as long as the victim had the possibility or was supposed to perceive it with one of their five senses.
Most Common Injuries in Slip and Fall Accidents
Although many people think slip and fall accidents are not as severe as other personal injury cases, they can cause severe injuries to their victims.
Naturally, falling on the floor won't always cause as many injuries as being the victim of a car accident. Some slip-and-fall accidents have deadly consequences, though.
These are some of the worst injuries people can get in a premises liability accident:
Broken bones
Spinal cord injuries
Brain trauma
Besides how hard the fall is, the position in which the victim falls determines how injured they'll get.
While most victims know they got a serious injury as soon as they feel the pain, all victims of a slip and fall accident should schedule a doctor's appointment to see if there's any injury they should take care of.
How to Get Compensation from a Property Owner in a Slip and Fall Case
Filing a slip and fall claim can help victims of premises liability accidents get financial compensation for the accident.
However, they need to hire a Tennessee slip-and-fall lawyer who can take the case and tell them all the things they need to do to win it.
The case starts even before hiring a lawyer, as there are many things people should do the moment the accident happens.
These are the main things victims of a slip and fall accident should do if they want to get financial compensation:
Get the Property Owner's Personal Information
The first thing victims should do right after they fall on another person's premises is to look for the property owner and ask for their personal information.
That includes their full name, house address, and phone number. Getting that information will help the Tennessee slip-and-fall lawyer the victim hires to contact the property owner to ask for more information about the conditions of the accident scene.
The court will also need that information when the victim files the personal injury lawsuit.
If they refuse to disclose that information, the address of the place where everything happened and their full name should be enough.
Schedule a Doctor's Appointment
Scheduling a doctor's appointment is essential to know all the injuries the victim got due to the accident.
If the victim doesn't see a doctor as soon as the accident happens, they could let a major health issue worsen and become an ordeal in the future.
Besides that, the results of that doctor's appointment can be evidence for the premises liability lawsuit. It will show the injuries the victim suffered due to the accident and the future medical expenses they may have to cover.
The more severe the injuries are, the more money Tennessee slip and fall lawyers can ask for in a personal injury lawsuit.
Collect Evidence
Collecting evidence is the most important of the suing process if the victims want the property owner of the place where they fell to be held liable for what happened.
However, determining liability in these cases is a bit different from other cases.
Since victims need to prove the property owner knew or should have known their property was unsafe, security footage of the accident, pictures of the area days before, and testimonials of the people who often go to that place will be of great value in future trials.
Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer
Contacting a decent Tennessee slip-and-fall lawyer is the next step to getting the compensation the victim deserves. They shouldn't go for the first firm they see online if they want to get great results.
It's ideal to hire a law firm that specializes in personal injury cases, such as Schuerger Shunnarah Trial Attorneys. They can answer questions such as, "What is the average payout for a trip and fall?"
This law firm is the best option for victims of slip and fall accidents in Tennessee due to the quality of the attorneys the firm works with. When victims call this law firm, they have to schedule a case consultation with them to talk about the details of the case.
During that consultation, the lawyer on the case will tell their client the evidence they need to win the case and the best way to do it. Victims should do everything their lawyer tells them to do if they want to get compensation for the accident.
File a Personal Injury Claim Against the Property Owner
The last step to get a premises liability claim ongoing is to file it to the court.
Personal injury lawyers can take care of all the paperwork needed for the case, so victims don't have to worry about that.
When they do that, the defendant will get notified that they are being sued and will have the right to answer to the lawsuit. Two things can happen after that:
The first one is that the insurance company and defendant are willing to negotiate with the victim to get to a fair settlement for both parties. People often do this to avoid going through trials they know they can lose.
Victims can choose to take the case to trial if the property owner fails to offer them a fair amount of money.
Why Should Clients Hire Schuerger Shunnarah Trial Attorneys?
Schuerger Shunnarah Trial Attorney's main advantage over other law firms is that many of its lawyers are former insurance company attorneys.
Why is that an advantage? Because it means they can use the tricks they used to use when working for insurance companies against their former employers.
People lose many cases just because the other parties have a better legal strategy. That won't happen to clients who hire this law firm.
Conclusion
The National Floor Safety Institute stated that slip and fall accidents are one of the main causes of emergency room visits, so everyone should take them seriously.
It's expensive to cover the medical expenses that come after getting suddenly injured. The issue worsens if victims take lost wages into account.
Working with a professional lawyer is the best way to cover all the victim's medical treatment and additional expenses. Schuerger Shunnarah Trial Attorneys is ready to help victims in need of legal representation. They can also answer questions like, "What is the open and obvious doctrine in Tennessee?"
This law firm will go to war for its clients, so clients don't need to worry about losing their cases.
Any slip-and-fall accident victim should schedule a free consultation with this law firm if they're interested in getting maximum compensation.