If you slipped and fell on someone else’s property due to unsafe conditions in Tampa, FL, you might have a claim for compensation for your injuries. Our experienced lawyers help victims of slip and fall accidents go after damages for losses so they can devote their attention and energy to getting healthy again.
Our firm’s Tampa personal injury lawyer can help you pursue your injury claim. We’re ready to hold the negligent property owner accountable for their actions.
When To File a Personal Injury Claim After a Fall
According to Florida Statutes § 95.11, you must file a premises liability claim four years from the accident date. Our personal injury attorneys recommend you file your claim immediately after receiving medical care. Doing so will make you eligible for maximum compensation, and you can use your medical records as evidence.
If you’re eligible for a deadline extension for your claim for damages, our slip and fall injury lawyers will let you know. We’ll review your injuries in a free consultation and tell you whether you qualify for compensation.
You won’t be eligible for compensation if you don’t file your claim within four years of your injury. That’s why it’s essential to get in touch with a Tampa attorney from our law firm as soon as possible.
What We Have To Prove To Win a Slip and Fall Injury Case
The landowner must have been careless in some way, harming you. Merely falling on someone else’s property is not enough to make them pay compensation. Florida law requires us to prove all of these elements of negligence to hold the property owner liable:
- There was a hazardous condition on the premises.
- The owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition.
- The owner did not repair the hazard or post adequate warnings about it.
Property owners have a duty of care to keep their buildings in safe conditions to protect visitors. If the actions of the person responsible for your slip and fall fit the description above, you could be eligible for economic and non-economic damages.
Five Things You Should Do Following a Slip and Fall Accident in Tampa, FL
The exact steps you should take will depend on your case’s facts, but in general, it is a good idea to protect the value of your claim and your physical well-being. By doing these five things after a slip and fall accident, you can protect your rights to compensation:
- Get medical attention: Your health comes first, so safeguard it by going to the doctor, urgent care center, or emergency room, whichever is appropriate, right away. You might have hidden injuries even if you do not notice any physical damage. Neck and back injuries, brain injuries, and internal bleeding do not always have immediate symptoms.
- Make an evidence file: After you’ve taken photos, collected eyewitness statements, and the business owner’s contact information, you should keep all the information in an accessible place. You could make a digital folder or a physical folder, so you have all the evidence available for your lawyer.
- Notify the property owner: Report the accident to the store as soon as possible. If your injuries make you unable to report the fall immediately, have someone give the store written notification on your behalf.
- Contact a Tampa slip and fall lawyer: Once you notify the property owner of your injury, their insurance company will begin defending against your claim.
- Complete all the medical treatment your doctor ordered: Unless something changes in your condition or you have an adverse reaction to the prescribed treatment plan, you should follow through on your doctor’s orders. If you do not complete the treatment, the insurance company will claim you would have had a better physical recovery.
Damages for a Slip and Fall Accident in Tampa, Florida
Every case is different, and the amount you can recover as compensation for your injuries will depend on the facts of your case. Here are some of the common types of damages people can recover for slip and fall accident claims:
- Medical costs: These expenses include the ambulance, urgent care or emergency room, doctor, hospital, surgery, lab work, X-rays, prescription drugs, and medical devices.
- Lost wages: You are entitled to compensation for the wages you could not earn due to your accident and recovery period. The lost wages, salary, self-employment, and other revenue are all examples of these damages.
- Loss of future earnings: If you cannot work because of your injuries and cannot make the same amount of money as before the slip and fall, we can compensate you for this.
- Disability: If your injuries leave you unable to maintain employment to support yourself or perform daily tasks due to paralysis, we can request this damage for you.
- Rehabilitation costs: If you suffered significant injuries requiring a stay of weeks, months, or longer in a specialized treatment facility, we’d fight for this damage.
- Mental anguish: If you develop mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), we can include this damage to get you the counseling services you need.
- Pain and suffering: We can request the negligent party compensate you for the physical discomfort and emotional distress you endured.
You can also recover other intangible losses like disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, and a spouse’s claim to loss of consortium due to the injuries. In your premises liability claim, we’ll ensure we include every damage that applies to your injuries. We’ll review your injuries and evidence to determine what damages you qualify for.
Our Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help You Navigate the Negotiation Process
Facing the insurance company adjuster when you’re injured isn’t what you want to do after a fall, but it’s a necessary step in the legal process. Our team of attorneys can perform the following tasks:
Explaining the Impact of the Fall
Insurance companies know the facts of your accident, so relaying those back won’t do much. However, explaining the fall’s emotional impact on you could lead to a sufficient settlement.
We can back you up with evidence and use our expertise to show how your injuries have affected you emotionally and the toll it’s taken on your life. Pain and suffering don’t have a tangible value, but based on the impact of your injuries, we can negotiate a fair amount for the damage.
Defending Against Tactics
When you’re holding a negligent property owner accountable for their actions, their insurance adjuster will pull out all their tricks to preserve the company’s reputation. They’ll likely try to dismiss your case, but we won’t let them.
When the claims adjuster questions the negligent party’s duty of care or tries to say your pain isn’t severe, we’ll come back with evidence to prove your claim. The most common tactic insurance representatives use is denying your claim at the last second. We’ll make sure we file your claim early and keep in touch with the insurance company, so it doesn’t have the chance to deny it.
Filing a Lawsuit
If the adjuster refuses to give you fair compensation, we’ll be ready to file a lawsuit and take your case to court. Then, we’ll present your case to a judge or jury and fight for the settlement you need.
You should never speak to, give a statement, or meet with an insurance company adjuster without one of our Tampa slip-and-fall accident lawyers present. Our lawyers are here to help you prove the property owner ignored a dangerous condition and didn’t exercise reasonable care.
How We Determine a Slip and Fall Injury Settlement
One of the first things our clients ask us after a slip and fall accident is how much they could receive in a settlement. Unfortunately, there’s not an average amount we can tell you because each case is different, with varying injuries. The factors that determine your settlement amount include:
Number of At-Fault Parties
If multiple people are at fault for your slip and fall injury, and we can prove it, you can hold them all accountable and recover damages from each liable party. Since you’ll be recovering damages from multiple people, your settlement amount will increase.
The amount you recover from a party could be more if a certain party’s actions qualify as gross negligence. You could recover punitive damages if our legal team can prove they intentionally hurt you.
Severity of Injuries
If you sustained severe injuries that require extensive and costly treatment, you could get a higher settlement award. For example, a spinal cord injury or a traumatic brain injury is worth more because the medical care each requires can last years and be intense.
But if you only have minor injuries, they may not significantly impact your recovery amount. We’ll look over your injuries and tell you an estimate of what your settlement may be based on your injuries. Our team can identify other factors that may affect how much you recover when we meet.
Contact Us After a Slip and Fall in Tampa, Florida, for a Free Consultation
A Tampa slip and fall lawyer can help if you got hurt from a fall on someone else’s property in Tampa, FL. Call the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine to get a free consultation.
We do not charge upfront legal fees to handle these cases. Our fees come out of the settlement or award. Call us or fill out the contact form to get a free consultation and find out if you have a case.
We Can Help.
