How Can an Indianapolis Slip and Fall Attorney Help You Recover After Your Accident?

Slip and fall incidents are part of everyday life and can take you off guard. When you are on another person’s property, you trust them to ensure your safety. You could hold a property owner or manager liable for your injuries resulting from a slip and fall on their property. Under well-established Indiana law, a landowner or business owner is responsible for maintaining safe and unhazardous conditions on its premises. If you are the victim of such an accident, learn here how an Indianapolis slip and fall attorney could help.

Let Our Slip and Fall Attorneys in Indianapolis Fight for You: Schedule a Free Case Evaluation

When pursuing a personal injury claim against a property owner or property manager, you should contact an Indianapolis slip and fall lawyer immediately following the incident. A seasoned personal injury attorney could help you build a successful case against the defendant and fight to obtain fair and adequate compensation on your behalf. The person responsible for your injuries should be held accountable, and an experienced slip and fall accident lawyer in Indiana can help hold a wrongdoer accountable.

Types of Slip and Fall Injuries for Which You Might Have a Claim

Some slip and fall accidents result in serious injuries in Indiana, while others are relatively minor. In a best-case scenario, a person that suffers a fall could face little more than minor bruising. In more serious accidents, these injuries could be life-threatening. Some common injuries in these cases include:

• Fractured skulls
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Cracked ribs
• Cuts and bruises
• Back injuries
• Spinal cord damage
• Paralysis

The severity of a fall injury will largely depend on which part of the body absorbs the brunt of the fall. For example, a person that lands on their arm or leg could be at risk of sprains or fractures, but these injuries pale in comparison to head or neck trauma. An injury to the head or neck could lead to paralysis or even be fatal in some cases.

Types of Slip and Fall Incidents That Might Cause Your Injuries

Many different factors could go into a slip and fall accident. Some of these factors relate to the person involved in the accident, while others are exclusively tied to the property itself. Most successful injury claims resulting from a slip and fall accident involve avoidable hazards on the property that were left unresolved. Some of these factors could include:

• Broken steps or handrails
• Spilled liquid
• Uneven flooring
• Bunched rugs or carpet
• Poor lighting
• Accumulated ice
• Stray extension cord

No matter what causes a slip and fall, an injury victim could benefit from seeking out the opinion of a seasoned slip and fall accident attorney in Indianapolis. With the right approach, an injury attorney could hold a negligent property owner accountable for the dangerous conditions on their property.

Discuss the incident with your lawyer during your first case evaluation. Depending on the circumstances, the evidence you provide, and the type/severity of your injuries, your Indianapolis slip and fall attorney will establish liability, calculate damages, and file a claim or lawsuit against the negligent party.

Recover Damages with the Help of an Indianapolis Slip and Fall Lawyer

There are a few potential defendants in a slip and fall injury lawsuit. Ultimately, a person injured in a fall could be entitled to seek compensation from the owner of any property where a fall occurred. Depending on the circumstances, these lawsuits could target either the business owner or private property. It is also possible to file suit against the government when a fall occurs on public property.

In addition to suing an owner, an injured party could also have the ability to file suit against the operator of the premises as well. In cases where a business leases a building from an owner, the operator of that business could be on the hook for any damages from a fall. For example, a grocery store operating out of a rented space could face liability should someone slip on spilled milk within their store.

An Indianapolis slip and fall injury attorney can help you build a case against the at-fault party or parties and recover compensation.

We Will Establish Liability in Your Slip and Fall Accident

The plaintiff must prove the property owner or manager acted negligently to recover for a negligently induced slip and fall. The owner or managers owe their guests a duty to keep the premises safe, so no harm comes to visitors. A breach of this duty amounts to negligence committed by the premises or property owner.

The breach of duty must cause the plaintiff’s injuries to recover damages. A plaintiff with a pre-existing condition may have difficulty establishing a direct connection. An experienced Indianapolis slip and fall attorney could help the plaintiff establish their right to damages in their slip and fall case.

Notice of a Dangerous Condition

Notice is the key element for establishing the owner or manager breached their duty to keep the premises safe. In addition, the manager must have known of the condition and had time to remedy it before the incident occurred. There are two types of notice, actual and constructive.

• Actual Notice: it arises when the owner or manager had direct knowledge of the dangerous condition. When an owner or manager has direct notice of a condition, they must remedy the dangerous condition to ensure their premise is safe.
• Constructive Notice: it is more difficult to establish as the plaintiff must establish the owner or manager should have known about the dangerous condition. Generally, this is dictated by the time a condition existed before the slip and fall. The longer the condition existed, the easier it was to prove the owner should have discovered and remedied the condition. Constructive notice exists when the condition is discoverable through a proper search.

Given the difficulty of establishing constructive notice in a slip and fall accident, the plaintiff could hire an Indianapolis attorney specializing in slip and fall injuries to help.

We Will Identify How Comparative Negligence Could Impact Your Case

Once the defendants’ liability is established, the plaintiff could have their recovery reduced for their fault in the incident. Under Indiana Code § 34-51-2-6, if the plaintiff’s negligence is greater than the defendant’s, they are barred from recovery. A defendant could establish the plaintiff’s negligence by demonstrating they failed to act responsibly. Actions that are potentially irresponsible include:

• Not paying attention
• Failed to abide by warning signs
• Wearing inappropriate footwear
• The dangerous condition was visible

An experienced slip and fall accident attorney in Indianapolis could help you avoid comparative negligence in your slip and fall lawsuit.

We Will Claim Compensation for All Your Injuries and Losses

After a slip or fall incident, there could be substantial physical, financial, and emotional costs that the injured person must endure. A personal injury lawsuit could help that person recover compensation for those costs.

Medical Expenses

Medical bills are often a primary part of a slip and fall injury claim. Even when these injuries are relatively minor, the cost of medical care could be extensive. For serious injuries, a course of treatment could result in extensive debt that only grows over time. A civil lawsuit could help recover the cost of these medical expenses.

Pain and Suffering

Compensation could also be available for a person’s physical pain and suffering from a fall. While this type of compensation is subjective, these claims are typically larger in cases where the injuries are severe. Therefore, many judges award pain and suffering compensation as a multiplier of the total amount of medical bills.

Lost Wages

Many people that suffer injuries in a fall are physically unable to return to work right away. For some, it could be weeks or even months before they can draw a paycheck again. This can lead to unexpected financial hardship. Filing a slip and fall injury lawsuit could make it possible to recover compensation for those lost wages.

If your accident led to serious health complications, temporary or permanent disability, or impairments requiring lifestyle changes, your Indianapolis slip and fall attorneys could seek damages for loss of consortium, loss of future earnings, loss of enjoyment of daily activities, and more.

We Will Respect Indiana’s Statute of Limitations for Slip and Fall Accident Cases

State law limits a plaintiff’s ability to file a slip and fall injury lawsuit. This time limit – commonly known as the statute of limitations – is a hard deadline. In most cases, failing to comply with the deadline will permanently end an injury victim’s chances of recovering compensation on their claim.

In Indianapolis, the statute of limitations for a slip and fall injury lawsuit expires two years from the slip/fall date. Moreover, the same two-year window applies to slip and fall claims involving property damage. For example, if the plaintiff’s watch or laptop computer were damaged in the fall, they could pursue compensation for the cost of repairing those items. These claims must also comply with the statute of limitations.

Contact an Attorney in Indianapolis for Your Slip and Fall Lawsuit

If an owner’s lack of care caused your injury, do not wait to hold them responsible. Instead, you should meet with an Indianapolis slip and fall lawyer to begin your lawsuit shortly after the incident. Our attorneys have decades of experience handling slip and fall cases. We have successfully handled hundreds of unfortunate slip and fall incidents.

Our legal team understands the dynamics of a lawsuit and can help your case in the best way possible. However, do not relinquish your right to potential recovery for your injuries caused by a slip and fall.

Call us today to schedule a consultation!

Indianapolis Slip and Fall Accidents and Injuries: FAQs

What should I do if I slipped or fell in a store or on private property?

Just as you do in any type of personal injury, immediate medical care should first be on your mind in a slip and fall case. But let’s see other things you should consider during and after the incident.

• Document everything related to your case. If possible, at the accident scene, try taking photos of the exact location where you slipped or fell (ice patches, broken stairs, potholes, broken rails, etc.). Note everything regarding the way you fell/slipped, the date and time of the incident, who was around, etc. If any, talk to witnesses and collect their names, contact details, and accounts of what they saw.
• Keep the shoes and clothes you were wearing at the accident time separately in a sealed bag (without washing them), as your lawyer’s accident reconstruction expert or investigation team might use them for collecting evidence.
• Report the accident to the property owner, manager, landlord, etc. Ensure you write all the details and have the other party acknowledge or sign the report. Each of you should have a copy of it.
• At the time of the incident, refuse to give any statements, assume any fault for the incident, talk to the property’s owner/manager, etc. Do not place blame, don’t assume any, and firmly decline to talk to any insurance company before you discuss your situation with an attorney. Given Indiana’s share fault rules, refusing any comment on the matter is better.
• Hire an Indianapolis slip and fall lawyer to manage your case while you focus on recovering.

What happens if you exceed Indiana’s statute of limitations in slip and fall cases?

If a slip-and-fall victim files a lawsuit after the deadline has passed, the defendant will likely seek an immediate dismissal of the case with prejudice. Dismissing the case with prejudice ends the lawsuit and prevents the injured party from ever filing it again. Outside of some rare exceptions, the court will typically grant motions to dismiss an injury lawsuit based on a statute of limitations defense.

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