Charlottesville Slip and Fall AttorneySkilled Slip and Fall Lawyers Serving Charlottesville, VA

Slip and fall accidents could lead to long-term or even permanent injuries. These injuries are often responsible for broken bones, neck injuries, or even paralysis in some cases. If you were injured in a serious accident, a dedicated personal injury attorney could help you make a recovery. Let a Charlottesville slip and fall attorney at The Warren Firm help you today.

In the vast majority of slip and fall personal injury claims, the responsible parties all share one thing in common: not properly maintaining their property and keeping them free of hazards.

 

How Slip and Fall Accidents Occur

Every slip and fall accident is unique in some way. Accidents can occur at the top of a flight of stairs or on flat ground. They can involve human-made hazards like spilled drinks or natural causes like accumulated snow. Understanding how a slip and fall accident occurred could be valuable to guide a Charlottesville slip and fall attorney in developing a theory of negligence. Some common causes include:

  • Bunched carpeting
  • Loose stairs
  • Dim lighting
  • Potholes
  • Accumulated ice
  • Wet floors
  • Spilled food or drink

Anyone sustaining an injury from these types of conditions could have a claim for compensation. Ultimately, a person’s ability to recover damages will depend in part on the efforts the property owner took, if any, to address the hazard.

Liability in a Slip and Fall Claim

Not every fall occurs because of an act of negligence. To bring a claim, a victim and an attorney must demonstrate that the owner was in some way responsible for the injuries that the victim suffered. A Charlottesville slip and fall attorney could hold a property owner responsible for a slip and fall claim if they knew or should have known of a dangerous condition and failed to take reasonable steps to address the hazard that caused the injuries.

An important part of determining what is reasonable is the amount of time the property owner had to respond. For example, if a property owner negligently ignores a hazard such as a spill, a victim then may be able to recover damages for any resulting injuries. The failure to clean up a spill in such a case could constitute negligence on the owner’s part. To prevail at trial, the plaintiff in a slip and fall case must show that the defendant either failed to timely address a hazard or negligently caused it in the first place. Contact us so we can further discuss the laws around slip fall injuries.

Open and Obvious Conditions

Some property owners in Virginia may contest that the hazard in question was both open and obvious. Under this doctrine, plaintiffs may not recover compensation if they are injured by a hazard that was clearly present, dangerous, and that a reasonable person would have avoided. If a court finds a plaintiff should have been aware of the hazard, it may not hold the property owner accountable for a slip and fall accident.

Let a Charlottesville Slip and Fall Attorney Help

No two slip and fall accidents are alike. Given the varying factors that come with these claims, it is vital to seek guidance from experienced legal counsel. A Charlottesville slip and fall lawyer could carefully review the circumstances of your case and assist you with bringing a claim. Call The Warren Firm right away to schedule your case evaluation.