We slip and fall all the time. Normally we are not injured, apart from our pride. However, sometimes injuries from a slip and fall accident can be catastrophic, causing injury or death. Sometimes these accidents are someone else’s fault.
If you or a loved one are injured in a slip and fall accident, you might be entitled to financial compensation. You need the assistance of a highly-skilled, driven, and compassionate personal injury lawyer in Greenville. Contact Shelly Leeke Law Firm for a free consultation.
Compensation Available for Slip and Fall Accidents
Injuries from a slip and fall accident can be destructive, especially for older people. Damages for the most serious injuries can be hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. However, every case is different, and your damages will depend on the merits of your individual case.
If you or a loved one are injured in a slip and fall accident, several different types of compensation are available to you. Your attorney will help you put together a list of your damages. These damages are divided into economic (easy-to-calculate damages, like medical bills ) and non-economic (subjective damages left at the jury’s discretion, like pain and suffering).
The damages that are normally sought in slip and fall accident cases are:
Economic:
- Loss of income
- Loss of inheritance potential for your family if you die
- Hospital bills such as for surgery, ICU, or ER
- Travel for medical care
- Home nursing care
- Rehabilitation costs and physical therapy
- Prescription medications
- Medical devices
- Repair or replacement costs for your car
- Coverage for household services (cleaning, cooking, home maintenance) if you are disabled or die
Non-economic:
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Pain and suffering
- Scarring
- Disfigurement
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Sometimes it is possible to obtain punitive damages (extra damages meant to punish the defendant) if gross negligence, which is conduct that is so egregious that it is worse than normal negligence, is involved.
How You Know if You Are Entitled to Compensation
There is a good chance that something caused, or at least contributed to your fall. Sometimes you just fall. But other times, it might have been some kind of hazard, such as a slippery floor, or a hidden hazard that there was no way for you to know about to avoid.
When these other factors are involved, the fall might have been someone else’s fault. Some of the more common slip and fall accidents can include when a person falls:
- After slipping on water
- After tripping on uneven, damaged, or otherwise poorly maintained floors
- Due to misstepping on an unmarked step
- On badly maintained or poorly marked stairways
- Because of poorly lit areas
- Over a railing, through a window, or off a ledge
If the owner of a business or other property does not take the proper amount of care to protect the people who come onto their property, they might be at fault. Your Greenville slip and fall accident attorney can help you build a case against the party who is at fault.
Statute of Limitations for Slip and Fall Cases in Greenville
A statute of limitations is a time limit on the amount of time that you have to bring a lawsuit. The time limit begins to run at the moment that you discover your injuries. For slip and fall cases, this usually means that the time limit begins to run at the moment of the injury.
In the State of South Carolina, the statute of limitations for a case stemming from a personal injury is 3 years. This means that, in the majority of cases, your lawsuit must be filed within 3 years of your injury, because you will normally know of all of your injuries immediately. For injuries you discover later, the statute of limitations will begin to run from then.
Your slip and fall accident lawyer in Greenville will help you put together a case and ensure that your lawsuit meets the legal requirements and that you can get the compensation you deserve.
What to Do After a Slip and Fall Accident
You can take certain steps to help your case and make your slip-and-fall accident lawyer in Greenville’s job a little bit easier. If you take certain steps, you can preserve evidence and make your case far easier to prove. These steps are:
- Tell the owner or manager of the store before you leave that you fell
- If you are injured, go to the hospital to create medical records
- Make sure that you receive copies of any records that are made regarding your accident
- If you are able
- Try your best to take pictures of the area where you fell
- Try to take notes of what happened on your phone, or try your best to remember the location of security cameras
- Try to remember all of the people that witnessed the accident and try to get their names and contact information so that you are able to call on them later
Make sure to contact an attorney as soon as you are able. The sooner that you get in touch with an attorney, the better your memory and your witnesses’ memories will be. It will be much easier to make your case, and you will receive the compensation that you are entitled to earlier.
Contact a Slip and Fall Accident Lawyer in Greenville
Slip and fall injuries might seem mundane, but they can cause awful injuries. You might be entitled to money damages if you or a loved one have been hurt in a slip and fall accident. Find out sooner rather than later, and contact Shelly Leeke Law Firm for a free consultation.
