Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys represent injured trip-and-fall victims in Santa Barbara, California. A trip-and-fall hazard on someone’s property that results in you suffering an injury or property damage is considered a premises liability. Our law firm will hold the property owner responsible for creating a premises liability and ensure you recover financial compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and emotional damage.
Don’t let a premises liability define the rest of your life. Understand what legal options are available for your situation today by contacting Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys for a no-cost, no-obligation consultation.
Do I Need a Lawyer for a Trip-And-Fall Accident Injury?
Whether you were injured on a public sidewalk, department store, or a private home in Santa Barbara, filing a lawsuit can get complicated quickly. But if you work with one of our Trip-And-Fall Attorneys at Quirk, we can help make the process quick and easy.
While you focus on recovering from your injury, our law firm will hold the insurance company liable for the full extent of the following damages:
- Present and future medical expenses
- Loss of income, as well as the reduction in your earning capacity, you’ve suffered from your injuries
- Cost of living with your injury, such as making your home disability accessible, purchasing a wheelchair or crutches, hiring a nurse or housekeeper
- Damage done to your property during the accident
- Pain and suffering caused by your injuries
- Stress and anxiety due to the nature of your accident
- Your mental state after a life-changing accident
How to Strengthen Your Trip-and-Fall Case
If you suffer an injury from a trip-and-fall accident, seek medical attention immediately. Nothing is more important than your health. Also, failing to seek medical attention after you’ve been injured can be harmful to your claim if you decide to file a lawsuit. After you get medical care, we recommend the following to strengthen your case:
- Report the injury to management or police (if applicable). trip-and-fall accidents require a prompt investigation, especially at corporate stores like Walmart, Target, or Whole Foods. Reporting the injury will also help your case if you decide to file a premises liability claim against the property owner.
- Take your own photos of the scene and get witness statements. Hazardous conditions in public or private locations can be removed or remedied very quickly to prevent more accidents, so it is important for you to capture the dangerous environment while it is still there.
- Follow up on your injuries with a doctor. Any injuries you’ve sustained from your accident will become a part of your case, and you will need a doctor to corroborate your injuries.
- Contact Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys to protect your rights to compensation. Most accident victims find themselves overwhelmed by the incident and fail to realize the enormous impact a serious injury can have on their lives. Our Premises Liability Attorneys can help you understand your legal options and get you the compensation you need to make a full recovery.
How Quirk Helps Trip-and-Fall Accident Victims
While it is not necessary to have a lawyer to file a trip-and-fall claim, partnering with one of our attorneys can have many benefits, such as:
- Increasing your odds of reaching a fair settlement
- Reducing stress of filing/managing a claim yourself
- Protecting you from liability in the event you may be partially at fault
- Helping you understand what you may be entitled to receive
- Helping you make informed decisions to reach a successful resolution
The claims process for a trip-and-fall injury claim can be long but at Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys, we create a custom plan-of-action for your case. Our firm will:
- Let the insurance company know you are invoking your right to fair compensation, which can increase your initial settlement offer
- Work with experts and medical professionals to detail the extent of your injuries and the amount of compensation required to make a full recovery
- Help you understand what a good settlement offer should look like
- Reinforce your claim with evidence:
- Signs that show the at-fault party’s actions were the cause of your injury
- Statements, pictures, and video footage showing you were not partially to blame
- Verified documents showing the extent of your legal damages
- Represent you in trial if necessary
Proving Fault In a Trip-and-Fall Accident
The majority of trip-and-fall accidents occur at grocery stores, usually due to unsafe floor conditions. In fact, according to the National Floor Safety Institute, trip-and-falls due to harmful conditions account for over 1 million hospital visits every year.
We love shopping at Trader Joe’s, but for the sake of understanding fault, we’re going to use them as an example in this hypothetical situation. So, let’s say you tripped on a wet floor while shopping at their grocery store. Injuries caused by hazardous conditions, like a wet floor, are classified as a premises liability. So, to file a successful trip-and-fall premises liability claim against Trader Joe’s, you will need to prove:
- Trader Joe’s owned, leased, or controlled the property
- A Trader Joe’s owner or employee was careless and did not maintain the property in a safe manner
- You were harmed by tripping or falling on the property
- Trader Joe’s careless action or hazardous conditions caused you harm
In a premises liability case, a property owner is considered careless when they:
- Allow a hazardous condition to exist on their property
- Knew, through the exercise of reasonable care, that this condition existed
- Fail to repair the hazard, or warn others about the condition
Steps Quirk Will Take With Your Trip-and-Fall Case
At Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys, when we take on a client who has been injured in a trip-and-fall accident, we provide them with the following services to ensure they receive a successful outcome:
- Accurate damage calculation: we calculate damages based on expert testimony, medical evaluations, and economic analyses to cover every aspect of your current and long-term medical needs.
- Clear reports and expert witness testimony: our firm compiles detailed reports that outline the extent of your injuries and the impact they will have on the rest of your life. We organize expert witness testimony to reinforce the credibility of your claim and the incident.
- Minimizing liability: if you file a claim or lawsuit against an at-fault party, they will most likely attempt to put some or all of the blame onto you. Our firm will analyze your case and work to minimize or eliminate liability in your personal injury accident.
- Negotiating with insurers: our team of lawyers are expert negotiators and understand the tactics insurance companies will take to attempt to minimize your damages and compensation. We ensure our clients receive a fair settlement that fully covers their current and future needs.
- Court Representation: our trial lawyers will represent you in court and build a strong case, highlighting the depth of your injuries and the necessity for recovering damages.
What is a Trip-and-Fall Case Worth?
When a lawsuit is filed by an attorney on behalf of the plaintiff in a trip-and-fall case, a settlement may be offered at any time. In fact, nearly 95% of civil cases are resolved through settlement deals, rather than with a jury verdict in a trial. So, a settlement is the likely outcome.
Before you decide whether or not to settle, you need to understand how much your lawsuit is worth. The Trip-and-Fall Lawyers at Quirk can assess your damages and give you a good idea about the value of your case. The value of your case will largely be determined by the following damages:
- Medical bills
- Property damage
- Pharmaceuticals, wheelchairs, crutches, or whatever else is needed to help you live with your injury
- Lost wages
The cost of these damages will go toward your settlement amount, as well as non-economic damages, which include:
- Pain and suffering caused by your injuries
- Stress and anxiety due to the nature of your accident
- Your mental state after a life-changing accident
- Loss of consortium (to be filed by your spouse or immediate family member due to loss of love or companionship)
Victims are eligible to request more money for their non-economic damages if they:
- Had a long recovery period
- Required invasive medical treatment, or medical treatments that were ongoing
- Were particularly painful injuries
- Had obvious physical signs of the injury like scars, or loss of a limb
- Contained severe injuries that resulted in permanent physical alterations or disability
Contact a Trip-And-Fall Lawyer in Santa Barbara
If you or a loved one has been injured due to the carelessness of a person or a hazardous condition in Santa Barbara, the Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys can help. We offer a free, no-risk case consultation to all slip-and-fall victims and their families. No upfront money is needed, and we don’t get paid unless we win your case. Contact Quirk today to get your free case evaluation and see what options are available to you.