Decatur Slip and Fall Lawyer

Decatur Slip and Fall Attorney

When you visit another person’s property in Decatur, there is a reasonable expectation for the property to be safe during your visit and free from foreseeable safety issues.

All property owners are required to maintain their properties in good working order and to address foreseeable safety hazards as soon as they are identified. If you have been injured in a slip and fall, a Decatur slip and fall attorney can help you recover compensation for your losses.

Legal Representation for Slip and Fall Accident Claims in Decatur, GA

The attorneys at Merritt & Merritt Law Firm have years of professional legal experience helping clients in the greater Decatur area and throughout the state with all types of personal injury claims.

When you have been injured in a slip and fall accident on someone else’s property, this type of personal injury case falls within the extent of premises liability law, the statutes that pertain to property owners, and their responsibility to maintain reasonably safe properties.

Success with your recovery efforts following a slip and fall accident will require careful attention to detail when it comes to proving fault and establishing the full scope of your claimable damages. You must prove the property owner is directly responsible for your damages and then prove that your claimed damages directly resulted from their actions. Our goal is to help you accomplish this in the most efficient manner.

Building Your Slip and Fall Accident Claim in Decatur

The premises liability laws of Georgia apply to lawful visitors, including those a property owner has expressly invited onto their property for their own purposes, as well as those with implied permission to enter for business reasons, such as utility workers and mail carriers. If a property owner notices any hazard on their property that could foreseeably injure a lawful visitor, they are required to address it immediately or at least warn visitors of the hazard.

Your Decatur slip and fall attorneys can help gather proof that you were legally present on the property and that the property owner failed to correct the safety issue that caused your slip and fall accident. If you have any difficult legal questions about your case, the team at Merritt & Merritt can be available to provide guidance and support and help you construct the foundation of your personal injury claim.

For an Immediate Consultation call us at 404-975-1775

Common Hazards Leading to Slip and Fall Injuries

Slip and fall accidents can happen almost anywhere. In Decatur, they often take place in stores, restaurants, parking lots, apartment complexes, and even private homes. Wet floors, icy sidewalks, uneven pavement, loose rugs, broken stairs, and poor lighting are some of the most common hazards. These dangers can catch anyone off guard and lead to serious injuries like broken bones, sprains, or head trauma. Sometimes the hazard is obvious, but the property owner does nothing. At other times, the danger is hidden, making accidents difficult to prevent. Knowing what to watch for and understanding your rights is key if you get hurt on someone else’s property.

Legal Standards for Premises Liability

Property owners in Georgia have a responsibility to keep their property reasonably safe. This is called a “duty of care.” The extent of this duty of care depends on whether you are a customer, an invitee, or a visitor. In nearly all cases, however, property owners need to take care of hazards that they know about or reasonably should have known about.

If the owner fails to take reasonable steps to prevent accidents, they can be responsible for their negligence if an accident occurs. Our experienced attorney team looks at property records and your relationship with the property owner to see what the duty of care was and how they violated it. This helps you maximize your compensation, allowing you to focus on the road to recovery.

Documenting Injuries and Medical Treatment

Documentation can make or break a slip and fall case. It’s essential to seek medical attention immediately, even if the injuries seem minor. Medical records show exactly what happened and what treatment you received. Photos of the accident scene, the hazard, and your injuries help build a strong case. Witness statements are also valuable, especially if someone can describe the danger or how the accident occurred. Our team acts promptly to collect these materials, ensuring that nothing is lost or overlooked.

Without documentation, insurance companies may claim that the injuries are not as severe as you claim they are. For example, they may claim that if you were really injured, you would have sought medical attention and thus had the injury documented. The attorneys at Merritt & Merritt Law Firm can help you collect this documentation and present it persuasively in settlement negotiations and in court.

Filing a Claim Against Property Owners

Filing a claim against a property owner can be difficult. Even if you know who owns the property, you still have to demonstrate that they were responsible for upkeeping the property. Additionally, their insurers will pull various tactics to try to pressure you into accepting a low-ball settlement offer.

On the legal side, Georgia law allows comparative negligence, which means compensation can be reduced if they argue you share responsibility. Our job as your Decatur slip and fall accident lawyer is to handle these challenges for you. We investigate the accident, gather evidence, speak to witnesses, and, if necessary, bring in experts to recreate what happened. From there, we fight for full compensation for medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and long-term care. If a fair settlement isn’t possible, we are ready to take your case to court.

Claiming Compensation for a Slip and Fall Accident

A slip and fall might sound like a minor incident, but the reality is that any such incident can potentially result in devastating injuries. Slip and fall accidents commonly cause soft tissue injuries, broken bones, facial injuries, traumatic brain damage, and other harm. Some of these injuries could take months or even years of medical treatment for the victim to recover as fully as possible, and many victims experience a wide range of long-term or permanent issues.

Success with your premises liability claim in Decatur will require proof that the hazard that caused your slip and fall was a foreseeable issue the property owner should have resolved.

Property owners must either correct known issues immediately, post clearly visible warning signs of known hazards, or provide clear verbal warnings to their visitors about such hazards; otherwise, they risk incurring liability for any resulting damages.

Once your Decatur slip and fall attorneys have helped you prove fault, you can proceed with claiming compensation for your damages. Under Georgia’s personal injury laws, the plaintiff in a slip and fall accident claim has the right to seek compensation for:

• Medical treatment costs: When another party has harmed you with their negligence or intentional misconduct, they are liable for all the medical care you need to recover as fully as possible. If you suffered a serious injury from your slip and fall, the defendant could be liable for extensive ongoing medical treatments and rehabilitative care.
• Lost income: If a plaintiff is left unable to work and earn income due to their injury, they have the right to seek compensation for the wages they are unable to earn in this situation. Your attorney can help calculate the full extent of lost income resulting from your injury, including lost future earning potential if you were permanently disabled.
• Property losses: When a defendant’s actions have resulted in the loss of any personal property, the plaintiff can add these losses to their personal injury suit as economic damages.
• Pain and suffering: The defendant who caused your personal injury is liable for all related intangible damages, such as your physical pain and psychological distress resulting from the incident and the associated damages. The more serious your injuries, the more you can potentially recover in pain and suffering compensation, and state law does not limit this aspect of your case award in a slip and fall injury claim.

The plaintiff must not only prove the full extent of their damages but also establish causation. This means they need to prove that their damages were the result of the defendant’s misconduct or negligence and not some other cause.

Once you have an experienced Decatur slip and fall attorney working on your case, you may discover that you have grounds to seek far more compensation than you initially expected. The right attorney can help maximize your case award in the most efficient manner.

If you have concerns about courtroom proceedings as you navigate your case, it’s important to remember that most personal injury cases in Decatur end in a private settlement.

The team at Merritt & Merritt can work diligently to help settle your case swiftly if possible, but we are fully prepared to represent you in litigation if settlement is not a viable option for resolving your claim. You have a limited time in which to pursue your recovery, so it is vital that you connect with a Decatur slip and fall attorney you can trust as soon as possible after your accident.

Merritt & Merritt is ready to extend the full scope of our professional resources and experience to handle your case. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation with an experienced Decatur slip and fall attorney and learn how our firm can assist you with your recovery efforts.