Can you imagine going to a retail store in Fairfield, Midfield, Homewood, or elsewhere in Birmingham, only to slip and fall on a puddle on the tile floor?
Suddenly, your shopping trip has turned into a personal injury nightmare. You can barely move, and any time you try to stand up, your lower back seizes up with pain. How will you pay for all your medical expenses from the injury? How can you keep your head above water when you can’t work?
Unfortunately, this nightmare scenario plays out all too often in Birmingham and elsewhere in the state. Sometimes, businesses and homeowners disregard their duty of care and fail to fix a property, which can leave someone with serious injuries.
When this happens, our experienced Birmingham slip and fall attorneys at Cory Watson Attorneys are ready to step up and fight for your rights. Our lawyers know how to hold negligent property owners liable for their misdeeds. They are legally required to ensure their property is safe for guests and visitors. When they don’t, they may owe you compensation.
Birmingham Slip and Fall Accident Guide
- Why Choose Our Birmingham Slip and Fall Accident Lawyers?
- Slip and Fall Accident Compensation
- Where Do Slip And Fall Accidents Happen In Birmingham?
- Slip and Fall Claim Overview
- Our Slip and Fall Attorneys Will Fight the Insurance Company
- What to Do After a Slip and Fall Accident
- Contact Our Birmingham Slip and Fall Lawyers Today
Why Choose Our Birmingham Slip and Fall Accident Lawyers?
Our Birmingham office is conveniently located across the street from Magnolia Park and Brother Bryan Park. We also are only located a couple blocks from Five Points South.
Our attorneys have a long, impressive record in obtaining compensation for thousands of injury clients over four decades. Our lawyers are ready to go to battle against stingy insurance companies that don’t want to pay what they owe.
We have obtained billions in damages for our personal injury clients and are standing ready to fight for your rights. Learn more about Birmingham slip and fall cases on this page, then speak to a Cory Watson Attorney for a free case review.
Slip and Fall Accident Compensation
A common question after suffering an injury in a slip and fall incident is, what is my case worth? The average slip and fall case value varies tremendously based on the injuries suffered.
Some estimates in Alabama state that the typical slip and fall claim settles for tens of thousands of dollars for lost earnings, pain and suffering, and medical bills.
However, the range can be between a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Several major factors will influence the amount of compensation for your slip and fall injury:
- The severity of your injuries: Imagine you fell down the steps in a department store and suffered a brain injury. You need surgery, a month in the hospital, and months of follow-up care. Your settlement will be considerably more than if you simply have whiplash from falling on the floor. Severe injuries require more medical care, so you will have larger economic damages.
- Your degree of fault for the accident: You cannot recover damages if you were even partially at fault for the slip and fall. The other party must be 100 percent at fault.
- How much lost work time you have: If you’re out of work for two months because you broke your back, you should get more compensation than if you only lost a week because of an ankle sprain.
- Your pain and suffering: The more physical discomfort you have from your injuries, the more money you may receive. Your personal injury attorney will work with your doctor and your medical reports to emphasize your degree of physical pain and suffering, as well as mental and emotional anguish.
- The amount of insurance coverage available: Many personal injury claims are paid for by insurance companies. A major factor in the financial recovery is how much insurance coverage is available. If the insurance policy only covers $100,000 in damages, you will unlikely get more than that.
Where Do Slip And Fall Accidents Happen In Birmingham?
A slip and fall accident can happen in almost any type of private home or business in Birmingham. They are most common in restaurants, grocery stores, malls, and other public spaces.
Slip and Fall Claim Overview
In law, a slip and fall case is a personal injury claim in which someone suffers injuries on another person’s property because of a slip, trip, or fall. These cases are a type of premises liability claim. If the owner knew or should have known about a dangerous condition on the property and you suffered an injury, you should receive compensation.
Some of the most common types of slip and falls involve the following areas:
- Steps
- Sidewalks
- Restaurants
- Retail stores
- Private homes
- Parking lots
- Poolsides
Slip and fall accidents usually involve a lack of traction, momentum, and gravity.
There are many factors that can make slip and falls more common:
- Rain, snow, or ice
- Spilled liquids
- Changes in elevation
- Loose carpets and mats
- Improper lighting
- Holes and cracks
- General clutter
Slip and fall accidents can cause many serious injuries, such as concussions, brain injuries, neck and back injuries, broken bones, internal injuries, and spinal injuries.
Proving liability in Alabama means you must show these three aspects of negligence:
- The owner had a duty of care to protect you from injury.
- The owner breached the duty when, for instance, you slipped and fell in a store in a puddle of water.
- You suffered an injury because of the breach of duty.
If you think you were partially at fault for the accident, it’s important to have your case reviewed immediately by a Cory Watson Attorney. Your attorney will need to carefully review the accident to determine who should be liable, and they will identify all sources of possible liability and financial recovery. They will fight to pin the fault on the responsible party so you can recover compensation.
Our Slip and Fall Attorneys Will Fight the Insurance Company
Standing in the way of you receiving fair compensation for your injuries is a stingy insurance company. They will do everything they can to minimize or deny your claim.
They may use several tricks to reduce your case value if you don’t hire us to represent you:
- Pushing you to accept an unfairly low offer: If you talk to the insurance company alone, expect them to act like your friend, but they aren’t. They may encourage you to take a fast settlement with a phrase such as “We’ll pay all your medical bills, don’t worry.” Yes, they should cover your medical expenses, but our attorneys will fight for much more than that. Let us talk to them if they offer a settlement.
- Telling you to sign a medical release form: You don’t have to sign any medical release form from the defendant’s insurance company. Adjusters who claim that providing full medical history is necessary are not being truthful. You also don’t need to provide a recorded statement about your medical history or the accident. The insurance company is fishing for previous injuries they can use to deny your claim. Let your attorney handle any requests for medical records.
- Using treatment delays to squeeze you: They might try to slow-walk your treatments, so you give in and take a small settlement. Don’t let them deny you the medical care you need. You should tell your doctor about all potential injuries and symptoms as soon as possible after the accident. Even if you think it’s a minor issue, always mention every ache and pain to your doctor. Then, the insurance company can’t claim weeks later that your injuries aren’t legitimate.
- Trying to blame you: The adjuster knows if they can get you on record that you were partially at fault for the accident, it wrecks your claim. Never admit fault to anyone, especially their insurance company.
- Lowballing your medical expenses: The insurance company can buy a lien for your medical expenses at a discounted price. This can lead them to pay you less than they should for your medical costs. It also can affect your pain and suffering compensation.
None of these things will happen if you hire our Cory Watson Attorneys to represent you. The best way to avoid insurance company games is to let us handle them from day one. We know every insurance company trick in the book, and we will fight for every dime of compensation for you.
We’ll threaten to sue them if they don’t offer a fair settlement. This often will make the cheapest insurance company see reason. But if not, our attorney will take the fight to court and do our best to get you fair compensation from the jury.
The insurance company knows that juries often take a dim view of stingy insurance companies ripping off injury victims. We will use that leverage to our advantage during settlement negotiations.
What to Do After a Slip and Fall Accident
If you are on this page, you probably already have suffered a slip and fall injury. What you do immediately after the accident can affect your health and future settlement.
To safeguard your health and preserve your legal options:
- Report the accident to the manager or property owner. We understand that falling and hurting yourself can be humiliating, but don’t be embarrassed. Do not leave the property until you report what happened and get a copy of the accident report.
- Don’t say you’re sorry. Some people feel a strong urge to apologize even when they didn’t do anything. Never apologize, as businesses and insurers will use this against you to avoid paying your compensation.
- Speak to witnesses. Did anyone see you fall? Get their contact information and statements. Eyewitness testimony can often make or break a slip and fall case.
- Gather evidence if you can. Most of us have cell phones with a camera. Take pictures or video of the accident scene. Show what you fell or tripped on. Also, take images of your accident injuries.
- Get immediate medical care. Do not try to tough out any pain you have. What you feel now can be much worse tomorrow. Go to the ER or your doctor and report your injuries. Your injuries must be closely documented as soon as possible to preserve your legal rights.
- Follow your doctor’s advice. Nothing hurts your case more than saying you’re hurt but not following your treatment plan. The insurance company wants to shortchange you. Don’t give them the chance. Do what your doctor says and go to every follow-up appointment.
- Don’t talk to the other party’s insurance company: They only want to use your statement against you. Have a Cory Watson Attorney talk to the insurance company.
Contact Our Birmingham Slip and Fall Lawyers Today
Cory Watson Attorneys has represented personal injury victims for more than four decades in Birmingham, Memphis, and Nashville.
Over this period, we have successfully litigated for thousands of injury clients against small and large defendants, including Fortune 500 companies. Our attorneys have recovered over $4 billion in settlements and jury verdicts, and we will fight to get the most compensation for you.
If you suffered an injury in a Birmingham slip and fall accident, our attorneys understand what you have gone through with injuries, pain, lost income, and more.
Our attorneys want to handle every part of your personal injury case, so call us at (205) 328-2200 today for your free consultation with personal injury lawyers in Birmingham or complete our online form.
For a free legal consultation with a slip and fall accidents lawyer serving Birmingham, call 877-562-0000
Birmingham Office Location
2131 Magnolia Ave s.Birmingham, AL 35205
Call or text 877-562-0000 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form