Top Fairbanks Slip and Fall Accident Attorney
Slip and fall accidents are much more common than you might think. According to the National Floor Safety Institute, while more than eight million ER visits each year are the result of some type of a fall, slip and fall injuries account for at least 12 percent of those visits. Any time you are in a public place, you are entitled to receive warning of any existing hazards which could potentially cause a fall with injuries. If you fall and strike the fleshy part of your body, your injuries are likely to be less severe than if your head or bones hit a hard surface. Traumatic brain injury can result when your head hits concrete or another type of hard surface, leaving you severely injured for a significant length of time. It’s important to contact a Fairbanks slip and fall accident attorney immediately following a slip and fall accident.
If you suffer a slip and fall, it is extremely important that you seek immediate medical attention—even if you do not believe you are hurt that badly. Quite often, injuries from a slip and fall can manifest later on, when the adrenaline rush you receive from the fall has worn off. If you have a friend or a family member with you when you fall, have them take photographs of the hazard which caused you to fall, as well as to gather witness contact information.
While it may not seem all that important at the time, having these photographs and witness contact information can be invaluable for your attorney later on when you are filing a slip and fall claim for damages.
Having an experienced slip and fall attorney from Ringstad Law Office, P.C. can help you recover an equitable settlement from the negligent party. We will assess the facts surrounding your slip and fall with you, then will clearly lay out your options. If you choose to file a slip and fall claim, we will gather the necessary evidence to prove the owner of the property was negligent, and that this negligence was directly responsible for your accident and injuries.
Where Do Most Slip and Fall Accidents Occur?
While a slip and fall accident can happen anywhere, the most common public areas where slip and falls occur include:
- Grocery stores;
- Malls;
- Nightclubs;
- Public restrooms;
- Restaurants;
- Bars;
- Slippery areas around swimming pools;
- Construction areas;
- Sidewalks and stairs;
- Moving sidewalks or escalators;
- Parking lots, and
- Curbs.
A shopping cart in a grocery store can often prevent an individual from seeing an upcoming spill or another hazard, making it even more important that store owners be vigilant and responsible.
What Are the Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents?
There are many different causes of slip and fall accidents—perhaps the most common is spilled liquids which should have been cleaned up but were not. Other causes of slip and fall accidents include:
- Items in a store which are stacked to dangerous heights and can fall on you or in front of you, causing you to fall;
- Obstacles in the walkway which should have been removed from the normal path where people walk;
- Slippery entrances due to snow or rain, without a hazard sign or a warning sign to let people know the area is slick;
- Slippery areas in a store, resulting from a spilled drink or other liquid;
- Freshly mopped floors with no warning or hazard signs;
- Any area which is poorly lit, making it difficult to see floor height changes or other trip hazards;
- Changes in floor height with no warning sign;
- Torn carpeting which can cause a slip and fall;
- Potholes in parking lots;
- Large cracks in sidewalks;
- Elevators with significant step-ups or step-downs;
- Escalators;
- Poorly lit stairwells, and
- Extremely steep stairs with no handrail.
Who is Liable for Your Slip and Fall Accident?
Your slip and fall attorney will need to show your accident, and resulting injuries were the result of a hazardous condition which existed on the property—and that the owner or manager of the property was aware of the hazardous condition and did nothing to alleviate the condition.
The presence of a hazardous condition which should have reasonably been taken care of means there was an unreasonable risk of harm to you the moment you stepped on the property. The hazardous condition must have been one you could not have anticipated—you are responsible for being alert to any obvious hazards and for noticing a sign which warns of an existing hazard. Your Fairbanks slip and fall accident attorney will show the following:
- The owner of the property was aware a dangerous condition existed—or should have reasonably been aware of the hazard—yet failed to take action to correct the hazardous condition.
- The dangerous condition existed for a sufficient length of time that the property owner should have noticed the condition and either corrected the dangerous condition or placed a warning sign to the public.
You also have a degree of responsibility in a slip and fall accident, particularly if a hazard sign existed and you either ignored it or failed to notice the sign. Negligence on the part of the owner of the property may also be shown if the owner failed to install normal safety features as dictated by local building codes—like handrails in a stairwell, or proper lighting. Questions will be asked regarding whether there are normal procedures for looking for hazards on the property, whether a legitimate reason existed for the dangerous condition, and whether warning signs were present.
Contact a Fairbanks Slip and Fall Accident Attorney Near You
When you contact Ringstad Law Office, P.C. following your slip and fall accident, we will work hard to build a solid case on your behalf. We will visit the scene of your accident, photograph the dangerous condition which caused your fall, and, when available, we will review video surveillance to determine how long the dangerous condition existed. We will obtain a copy of your accident report, question witnesses and employees, and review the operational records of the business. When possible, we will negotiate an equitable settlement on your behalf, however, if we are unable to secure a fair amount, we will aggressively litigate your claim. At the Ringstad Law Office, P.C. we are here to help our clients in every way possible. Contact Ringstad Law Office, P.C. today.
