You may feel embarrassed at first when you slip and fall in public, but your fall could also cause serious physical injuries. In addition, having to pay for your injuries and hold the liable parties accountable can be stressful to do alone.
Our Kingstree, SC, slip and fall lawyers at Miller, Dawson, Sigal & Ward can help you figure out the legal path you need to take to recover compensation. The Thumbs Up Guys are dedicated to helping you recover from your fall by collecting the financial compensation the liable parties owe you.
How Do Slip and Fall Injuries Happen?
When you suffer a slip and fall due to someone else’s negligence, you have the right to hold the liable party accountable. A Kingstree personal injury lawyer could help you build a solid slip and fall case if your fall occured for any of the following reasons:
- Wet floors
- Broken steps
- Cracked sidewalks
- Potholes
- Bunched-up rugs or carpet
- Cluttered floors
- Icy steps or sidewalks
- Unsafe working conditions
One of our attorneys can review your injury in a free case evaluation and tell you whether you qualify for a slip and fall case. If you have a valid case, we’ll start working with you to identify the liable parties and damages in your case.
What Are the Long-Term Effects of a Slip and Fall Injury?
Even though a slip and fall seems like a temporary injury, if your fall was hard or severe enough, you could feel long-term effects after your initial injury heals. Common long-term effects of a slip and fall include:
- Traumatic brain injury
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Chronic pain
- Paralysis
- Reduced ability to move
We understand that dealing with your injury’s long-term effects can be frustrating and expensive. However, if you get the medical attention you need and a copy of your medical records for the long-term effects you feel, our Kingstree slip and fall attorney can fight for you to recover damages to cover any future treatment you need.
What Damages Can The Thumbs Up Guys Help You Recover?
Our team is ready to help you collect the damages you qualify for after someone fails to follow the duty of care. Our Kingstree, SC, slip, and fall lawyer can help you recover damages such as:
- Current and future medical expenses
- Loss of income
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of earning capacity
- Mental anguish
- Loss of companionship
Depending on the severity of your injury and the number of liable parties, you could be eligible for additional damages of varying amounts. Our lawyers can tell you what damages you can recover when you meet with us.
Who Can You Hold Accountable for Your Kingstree Slip and Fall Accident?
Due to the several causes of slip and fall incidents, the parties responsible for your injuries could vary. However, the most common responsible parties in slip-and-fall cases include:
Property Owner or Company
The property owner or property management company is responsible for keeping their property’s premises free of any hazards. If they fail to do so and you suffer injuries from a slip and fall; as a result, you could hold them liable for various damages.
Several actions or inactions on the property owner’s behalf could cause them to be liable for your pain. These could include:
- Failing to put out a wet floor sign
- Failing to shovel or deice their premises
- Failing to contact the maintenance company to fix broken sidewalks or steps
- Allowing premises to pile up with clutter
Maintenance Company
Another party that a Kingstree slip and fall attorney from Miller, Dawson, Sigal & Ward can help you hold accountable is the company responsible for the maintenance of the property. Even though a maintenance company did its job, it may have contributed to your injury in ways such as:
- Hiring unqualified workers
- Workers didn’t fix the property issue
- Workers caused other property dangers after fixing
Government Agencies
Municipal or federal government agencies are the final party you could hold accountable for your slip and fall injury. For example, if your fall didn’t occur on a private business’s property and it was public property, like a park or government building, you could file a claim against the government agency responsible for maintaining the property.
When a property is public, it’s up to the city, state, or federal government to maintain and keep it free of hazards. Common negligent actions a government could perform include:
- Failing to fix potholes in parks or near government buildings
- Failing to properly maintain the landscape in a national park
- Failing to completely fix the hazards
Keep in mind that more than one party could be responsible for your slip and fall injury. Our team will look for evidence of multiple parties contributing to your injuries.
How Long Do You Have To File a Personal Injury Claim in South Carolina?
After your slip and fall, you need to take legal action as soon as possible. The first step is to file a personal injury claim. According to S.C. Code § 15-3-530, you must file a personal injury claim within three years of your slip and fall injury.
Even though you have three years to file a lawsuit, our slip and fall attorneys in Kingstree, SC, encourage you to file soon after you receive medical help. Filing your claim early gives you a higher chance of a successful claim and decreases the chance that the insurance company will deny your claim. In addition, an advantage of filing your claim early is that the insurance claim adjuster will easily be able to connect your injury to your claim.
However, despite the statute of limitations of three years, you could have a longer or shorter time to file. Therefore, to protect your claim and right to compensation, you should meet with a lawyer after your fall to get the exact amount of time you have to file.
Contact Us for a Free Case Evaluation for Your Slip and Fall Injury
At Miller, Dawson, Sigal & Ward, we’re dedicated to your success in your case after you’re injured from a slip and fall. Our team is here for you at every stage of your slip and fall case, and we keep you informed of developments in your case so you’re never out of the loop.
Call us or fill out the contact form on our website for a free case evaluation with one of our Kingstree, SC, slip and fall lawyers today.