You were shopping in a local big box store and a poorly constructed display fell on top of you. You walked into a restaurant and slipped on an unmarked wet floor. You were invited to a neighbor’s home and injured yourself on stairs that the homeowner knew were broken.
No matter the circumstances, an injury on someone else’s property can leave you with serious financial burdens. What are your options moving forward and how can you seek financial justice?
Your best option is to hire an experienced premises liability attorney. Read on to discover eight ways a premises liability attorney can help you win your case.
1. Gathering Evidence to Establish Negligence
Falls are a common cause of premises injuries and the leading cause of hospital visits. However, not all falls warrant a personal injury claim. Before you can file a claim, it’s important that you can establish beyond a preponderance of a doubt that your injury resulted from the property owner’s negligence.
In legal terms, negligence is a failure to take reasonable steps to prevent an accident, like fixing property damage or putting out wet floor signs. An experienced property accident attorney can help you gather evidence, such as videos, photos, and witness testimony, to prove that your accident would not have occurred if it weren’t for the property owner’s negligence.
2. Understanding Legal Nuance
As an average citizen, you may not realize that a property owner’s responsibility for your safety depends on your relationship. As a starting place, you can’t file a premises liability claim if you were injured while trespassing. Likewise, a property owner’s responsibility for your safety changes quite a bit if you are an employee versus a visitor.
An experienced premises injury lawyer will build your case around your legal category. They’ll also use knowledge of the law and precedent to establish what the property owner should have done differently, as this can vary based on the cause and type of accident in question.
3. Dealing With Insurance Companies
So far, we’ve talked about the property owner’s responsibility in a premises liability case. This can lead victims to believe that they’re filing a claim against the property owner directly. The reality is that you’re filing a claim against the property owner’s insurance company, whose only aim is to pay you as little as possible.
Insurance companies have attorneys for cases like these. These attorneys will try to use things like your medical history to prove that your injuries resulted from anything but their policyholder’s negligence. Having your own slip and fall lawyer can level the playing field and ensure that you have a fair shot at winning.
4. Calculating Damages
As we mentioned earlier, a premises liability claim can secure financial justice for accident victims. First, you’ll need to calculate the damages, which involves quantifying your injuries financially. Damages include things like:
- Medical bills (current and future)
- Loss of income
- Loss of benefits (e.g., retirement fund contributions)
- Pain and suffering
Damages like medical bills and lost income can seem straightforward, as they’re already represented in dollars. Intangible damages like pain and suffering are much harder to calculate. An experienced lawyer can once again use legal expertise and precedent to give a dollar value to the intangible factors that impact quality of life.
5. Providing Expert Witnesses
During the discovery process, you’ll need to present as much evidence as possible to support your claim. This will include related medical records, bills and paystubs, photos, witness testimony, and so on. It’s also useful to have an expert witness to testify on your behalf.
Experienced attorneys have expert witnesses on hand to support their client’s evidence and give credence to their claims. For example, a building inspector can testify about the poor conditions of the property where your injury occurred.
6. Negotiating Your Settlement
Once the discovery process is complete, during which both sides will present supporting evidence, it’s time to enter negotiations. As the victim, you will start out by asking for a certain amount of compensation. The defense will counter with a lower offer, and you will go from there.
Insurance company lawyers know that accident victims are facing financial pressure and may use that pressure to push a low settlement in exchange for a quick payout. An experienced attorney will advise you on when to take the offer and when to keep pushing for more.
7. Providing Court Representation
Only an estimated 3% of personal injury claims require a trial verdict. As a result, some victims assume they can navigate their claim settlement without legal representation for accidents.
Yes, 3% is a low number of cases, but it also indicates that your case could go to court. At this point, it’s no longer about both parties agreeing to appropriate compensation and instead involves a judge and jury weighing in on the evidence. Having a lawyer with court experience is a must in these situations, and few lawyers will want to come into your case late in the game.
8. Allowing You Time to Recover
Depending on the extent and nature of your premises liability injuries, you may need ample time to rest and recover. Unfortunately, Virginia state law doesn’t give victims unlimited time to recover before they file a premises liability claim. In fact, you’ll only have two years (typically from the moment the accident occurred) to get your claim underway.
Working with an experienced lawyer allows you to prioritize your rest without losing precious time on your case. While your attorney will need your cooperation at times, they can take care of much of the heavy lifting.
Looking for a Fairfax Premises Liability Attorney?
Far too often, we hear of premises liability victims who don’t get the financial compensation they deserve because they didn’t know their rights. Hiring a premises liability attorney is the best way to navigate the claims process and maximize your compensation.
Are you looking for an accident lawyer in Fairfax, VA? Kearney, Freeman, Fogarty & Joshi, PLLC is one of Fairfax’s most trusted law offices for personal injury claims thanks to our client-focused process. Contact us for compassionate and rigorous legal representation.
