When you slip and fall on a wet floor, you may not think that you have a substantial amount of injury or that you may end up missing work for weeks. One fall can change your life forever, which is why you should speak with a Las Vegas personal injury lawyer at H&P Law. A Las Vegas slip-and-fall lawyer can help you get back on track.
A Slip and Fall Case Can Be Serious
The National Safety Council (NSC) compiled data suggesting that slips and falls are one of the leading causes of accidental death in the United States. Falls account for over 8 million emergency room visits per year, which is the leading cause of visits. It identified the five major causes of slip-and-fall accidents:
- Lack of slip resistance on walking surfaces
- Poor walking surface conditions
- Poor visibility
- Lack or poor condition of handrails and guardrails
- Poor accessibility
In Nevada, landowners owe a duty of care to their guests to act reasonably in preventing or warning of dangerous conditions. Dangerous conditions include spilled liquid on the floor, tripping hazards like uneven walking surfaces, and open trenches. Victims of a slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall accident may recover from a landowner if they can prove that the landowner or one of its employees caused, knew about, or should have known about a dangerous condition on its property but took insufficient steps to fix the problem or warn guests of the problem.
What Makes a Slip and Fall Case Challenging
In a slip-and-fall case, proving that the landowner had knowledge of the dangerous condition is often the most difficult part of the case, which is why it is crucial that an attorney is contacted as soon as possible after the accident. Commercial landowners, like hotels, grocery stores, and banks, usually have video surveillance, but unless they have a reason to preserve the video, there is usually a fairly short time before the video is recorded. This is why it is so important for you to act fast to get the support you need from our Las Vegas slip-and-fall lawyer.
As soon as you can, if you contact H&P Law, we can send a preservation-of-evidence letter, letting them know that there was an accident and asking that the video evidence be preserved. If they fail to do so, there can be negative consequences that a jury is entitled to hear that may weaken their defense. In addition to video, other records, like sweep sheets and cleaning and maintenance records, need to be preserved and can be addressed in a preservation-of-evidence letter.
Perhaps more than any other kind of case, it is critical with slip-and-fall cases to contact an attorney immediately after the accident. At H&P Law, we know which steps you need to take to protect the evidentiary value of your case. A slip and fall attorney in Las Vegas is committed to working closely with you to fight for the compensation you are owed.
Potential Recovery After a Slip and Fall Case
How much could your slip and fall case be worth? The answer to this is that it depends on how that accident hurt you and impacted your life and well-being at the time of the accident, now, and into the future. A Las Vegas slip and fall attorney will work closely with you to ensure your rights remain protected and your recovery of any losses remains a priority.
One of the first steps we take is to understand what occurred in your case so we can then understand who is at fault. We work to gather evidence in this area, but we also look at evidence based on the impact this accident has had on your life. For example, has it made it hard for you to go to work, or are you struggling with chronic pain as a result?
With this information, we can then work closely with you to fully examine the losses you have, and that often means gathering as much data as possible from medical witnesses, your doctor’s records, and even friends and family who can attest to the challenges you now have. We also will use other cases like your own to fight for compensation. Take a look at some of the types of compensation that our attorneys may be able to help you pursue.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are those that are easily possible to put a price on because you have documentation of the loss. Some examples of this may include medical bills, lost time at work, and even modifications you have to make to your home or car because of your new injuries. Economic damages should be easy to prove that someone else is responsible for your losses.
Non-Economic Damages
Noneconomic damages are those that are harder to put a value on because they can be less specific but are still very impactful. Some examples may include pain and suffering, emotional trauma, loss of quality of life, loss of ability to work at the same level, and loss of consortium. These losses can be dramatically impactful to your future and need to be a part of your accident claim.
Punitive Damages
There are some situations in which a judge will believe that a person acted in malicious or reckless behavior that warrants a higher level of punishment and consequence, and as such, they may award you punitive damages. These damages are funds you can use to meet your needs and tend to be significant. Our slip and fall lawyer in Las Vegas will work closely with you to understand what your losses are in this area and, when possible, prove those losses in a court of law.
Our Experienced Slip and Fall Lawyers in Las Vegas Can Provide a Free Consultation
A slip-and-fall lawyer in Las Vegas is here to discuss your case with you during a free, no-obligation consultation. Reach out to us today to learn more about the legal rights you have to the compensation you deserve after this accident left you with numerous injuries and other losses. Contact H & M Law now to talk to one of our team members about your accident and the legal options available to you.
