Some of the most common types of personal injury cases involve slip and falls. You can slip and fall anywhere – at work, the grocery store or on someone’s pavement. Depending on the conditions, you can fall just about anywhere. If you fall and get hurt, you may be entitled to compensation. This will depend on whether or not the property owner was negligent at the time of the fall.
Not all falls will result in a lawsuit. Also if you’re drunk and stumble on your way home, it would not be reasonable to sue (unless you fell on an icy sidewalk or broken pavement.) Similarly, if you are horsing and trip on your own, you’d be hard-pressed to blame someone else.
However, there are times when a third party’s negligence directly causes your fall. If this happens and you are injured, you really need to contact a personal injury lawyer.
Personal Injury Lawyers in Las Vegas Will Get You the Compensation You Deserve
If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall, you may be entitled to compensation. There are a couple of things you need to do if you want to seek damages for your slip and fall. The first thing you need to do is retain an experienced personal injury lawyer in Las Vegas. Your attorney will work to prove all the elements that are needed in a slip and fall case.
In order to recover for a slip and fall accident, you need to prove the following:
- That the defendant was responsible for maintaining safe conditions in the area in which you fell
- That the property owner or third-party failed to keep the premises safe
- This failure caused you to slip and fall
- You were injured
Your lawyer will need to prove all four of these elements. If you aren’t able to do this, the defendant may be able to prove that they are not liable for your injuries. For example:
Let’s presume that you go shopping at a department store. It’s snowing out and the floor near the entrance is wet. There is no sign stating to be cautious of wet floors. As soon as you enter the store, you slip on the wet floor and fall. When you fall, you suffer a concussion and a broken leg. You are rushed to the hospital and require surgery.
In this case, the department store is responsible for maintaining safe, dry floors. They should have put up a caution sign when they realized their floors were wet due to the snow. They failed to do so. Because of this, you fell and got hurt. Your injuries are directly caused by their failure to maintain a safe floor or warn of its unsafe conditions.
In the case described here, your lawyer shouldn’t have a difficult time getting you a fair settlement against the department store. It is a clear-cut negligence case.
Comparative Negligence in Las Vegas, Nevada
Even if you slip and fall because of the defendant’s negligence, you may be held partly responsible for your injuries. In Nevada, they follow what’s called the comparative negligence rules. Therefore, in a nutshell, that if you are partly at fault for your accident, your settlement will be reduced. The court will determine what percentage of fault is yours. Your settlement award (or judgment) will be reduced by this percentage.
In the above example, let’s pretend that at the time of the accident, you were wearing stiletto heels. Now, any jury or judge is going to wonder who would think it was safe to wear stiletto heels out in a snow storm. The defendant will argue that had you been wearing sneakers or boots, you would never have fallen.
In a case such as this, your lawyer will warn you that your settlement will probably be reduced because of the stiletto heels. He will work hard to settle the case early so that it never gets to this point.
Contact a Personal Injury Attorney in Las Vegas, Nevada
If you’ve been hurt in a slip and fall, you need to contact a personal injury attorney in Las Vegas. An experienced attorney will work hard to get you the settlement you deserve. They will negotiate with the insurance company and attorneys to resolve your matter quickly. Contact an attorney today and schedule your initial consultation. It is absolutely free and you pay nothing until you settle your case.
