We cannot, of course, claim that all slips or falls are someone else’s fault. For one reason or another, we may have had a careless lapse of concentration. However, there are a good many cases where it was someone else’s fault, and this article will look more into that.
As far as claiming for your injuries goes, you can look to hire a local slip and fall lawyer. This will ensure that lost income and distress are compensated for. Injuries can be short or long-term and so it is well worth considering a claim. A personal injury lawyer can help you to know if you have a case and then guide you through the whole legal process that will see justice done in terms of the damages you are then likely to receive.
What Can Result in a Slip or Fall?
So, let us then consider the different scenarios that might lead us to want to claim for a slip or fall.
For instance, we might slip in a public area because someone has failed to tell us that the floor is still wet after being cleaned. At work, we might trip up over a box that someone has left in the way. Outside, there may be an uneven paving slab that should have been dealt with that we have caught our toe on and fallen flat on our face. This can not only cause injuries to our face, but it might also break bones and our expensive pair of designer spectacles. The broken bones might mean work time lost. We can claim for lost income, the spectacles, and the distress caused.
How Can a Lawyer Help?
A lawyer that dedicates themselves to personal injury cases will know the kinds of situations you can claim for. It will be dependent on proving blame. It is worth noting that if there are liability, damages, or insurance problems, it is possible that a lawyer won’t take your case. Evidence will need to be gathered, ideally at the time or sooner after, to prove that you could not have easily avoided the accident that occurred. Some cases of negligence are more obvious than others. A lawyer will help present your case in court so that empathy falls on your side and helps you to achieve the maximum possible payout for your injuries and other things that are claimable concerning the whole unfortunate incident.
Apart from evidence gathering, a lawyer will also help with the legal paperwork involved. As you can imagine it will be wordy and include terms that will be unfamiliar to many. You can, of course, look them up on the internet but there is nothing like a lawyer explaining them to you in simpler terms. They have experience of dealing with clients from all walks of life and so can relate to anyone that comes through their doors, telephones them, or communicates with them online.
All the Reasons for Claiming
Claiming personal injury may not be just for financial reasons. It is also about receiving justice for someone else’s carelessness. It is about educating them so that the same thing does not happen to someone else. In some cases, it might only be financial penalties that another will understand when it comes to deciding whether to put right something that has the potential to continue to cause injury to others.
Health and Safety policies should protect employees but they will not necessarily do so where a member of staff is negligent or care-free in their attitude. It is the responsibility of the employer, however, to keep all staff safe, and so to keep an eye on staff that may be a danger to others. This is why many employers now drug and alcohol test their employees before and during employment, to maintain the safety of everyone. This is particularly important when potentially dangerous machinery is being used. Each person has a responsibility to those around them.
In terms of the size of claims for damages, it will generally mean a potentially large claim being made against a company rather than an individual, as they will have the greater funds to settle it. Although, there is nothing to stop you from suing an individual. A lawyer can advise you on who it is best to sue and will have their work cut out when going up against a company lawyer. However, anybody who has caused the accident is liable to pay compensation. It is about who is responsible or liable overall when it comes to working this out.
In conclusion, many slips and falls can be claimed for and it is a local slip and fall lawyer that can help you receive financial compensation for your injuries, lost income, and distress.