Slip and Fall Accidents

A slip and fall claim is one of the most common types of personal injury claims. A slip and fall incident commonly occurs when a business owner or property owner fails to keep their premises properly maintained. There are many unsafe conditions that can cause hazardous walkways, including objects, weather, or substances, all of which a property owner is responsible for removing. The property owner or management company may be held accountable if a visitor, renter, or another person suffers injuries as a result of a fall.

However, the injured individual and their attorneys must establish that the property owner’s negligence or recklessness resulted in serious injury that required medical care, hospitalization, or long-term medical treatment.

Mueller, Schmidt, Mulholland & Cooling’s Des Moines slip and fall lawyers will be able to investigate the circumstances underlying your slip and fall claim. They will be able to sort through the complicated issue of liability and help you to make a successful claim against the accountable party. Our Iowa personal injury lawyers are well-versed in personal injury law and will be able to provide each client with individualized legal advice to get you the fair compensation you deserve.

Why You Need a Slip and Fall Accident Attorney?

It can be tough to win a slip and fall lawsuit. It is challenging to prove negligence, and defining an owner’s duty of care is even more difficult. A skilled personal injury lawyer will provide you with the best chance to have a successful claim.

Slip and fall lawsuits are difficult to litigate. A property owner may contest liability and oppose your claim, arguing that your carelessness or clumsiness caused your fall. This is why choosing an experienced attorney is critical; they understand how to work around the case’s complexities.

A skilled personal injury attorney will be able to fight for your rights and navigate through the grey areas of a premises liability case. They will ensure that the utmost care and safety was provided to their clients and that the property owner had a duty of care to the injured party.

What is a Slip and Fall Accident?

A personal injury case in which a person slips or falls and is harmed on someone else’s property is referred to as a “slip and fall accident.” The vast majority of these lawsuits fall under the umbrella of “premises liability” claims. Slip and fall accidents almost always happen on someone else’s property (or “premises”), and the property owner may be held legally liable.

Many risk factors can lead someone to slip and fall, causing serious injuries, such as:

• Ripped carpeting
• Changes in flooring height
• Poor illumination
• Narrow stairs
• Wet floor

The same is true if someone trips on a public walkway that is broken or cracked or if they fall down a flight of stairs. A slip and fall case may also occur when someone slips or falls outside due to rain, ice, snow, or a hidden hazard, such as a pothole in the ground. In these cases, the property owner can be held liable but so can a government entity that is responsible for maintaining the roads and walkways.

Premises Liability in a Slip and Fall Accident

Premises liability is a legal concept that is commonly invoked in personal injury cases where an injury was caused by a dangerous or defective condition on someone else’s property. A premises liability claim can be brought against a commercial property owner, personal property owner, or a government entity. Recovery is different in each case.

• Commercial Property: In order to recover from a commercial property owner, you must establish that they caused the hazard, knew about the hazard, or should have known about the hazard.
• Government Property: Liability regulations and procedural limitations for premises liability suits against government organizations are quite strict. The Federal Tort Claims Acts (FTCA) is the only avenue for citizens to sue the federal government for personal injury, wrongful death, and property damage caused by a federal employee or agency’s negligence.
• Residential Property: The most important thing you will have to prove is that your accident was caused by the property owner’s negligence. You must show that the liable party failed to perform their duty of care to keep the premises free of hazards that could cause a slip or trip.

Additionally, recovery will be affected based on your status of invitee, licensee, or trespasser. In most circumstances, if you are a trespasser, you are not owed a duty of care. A licensee is someone that is typically invited to a property as a guest for a social purpose, or enters the property for a specific reason. On the other hand, an invitee is someone who is on the property for a business purpose. Each of these is owed a different duty of care.

Proving Liability in a Slip and Fall Claim

It’s vital to figure out whether the harmful situation was permanent or merely temporary. In circumstances where the dangerous condition was just temporary, proving your case may be challenging due to the length of time it lasted.

If the person who fell is unable to determine what caused them to fall, proving fault will be challenging. After you have insured your safety, and if you are physically able to, take pictures of the scene before seeking medical attention. A photo of the incident that caused your fall injuries could aid you in proving what caused your injuries.

Slip and fall lawsuits are governed by negligence law. If the property owner was not negligent, there would be no culpability, and you would be unable to bring a slip and fall claim. Slip and fall accident victims must demonstrate that one of the following is true:

• The property owners failed to maintain the property in fair and reasonable condition.
• The property owners created the hazardous conditions or were aware of the dangerous conditions, which resulted in the fall injuries.
• The property owners were aware of the hazardous condition but failed to tell visitors or renters.

After establishing liability and determining that the property owner had a duty of care to you, the plaintiff must then establish that they sustained some type of injury and that no other factor was responsible for their injuries.

Contact Our Slip and Fall Accident Attorneys at Mueller, Schmidt, Mulholland & Cooling, PLLC

If you or a loved one sustained serious injuries after slipping and falling on a property such as a head injury, brain injury, neck and back injury, broken bones, dislocation, disfigurement, or any other injuries, you are owed fair compensation for all medical bills and medical expenses related to the injuries.

Our Des Moines personal injury lawyer at Mueller, Schmidt, Mulholland & Cooling, PLLC can apply the premises liability laws and personal injury laws most applicable to your case. When you establish an attorney-client relationship with our Iowa premises liability attorneys, you will be given the best legal advice to have a successful outcome.

Contact our law offices in Des Moines, Iowa, today to schedule a free consultation to get started on your personal injury claim with one of our experienced slip and fall attorneys. Our contact information can be found online, or you can call us at (515) 444-4000.