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Newark Slip-And-Fall Attorneys Serving East Essex County

Accidental injuries commonly happen in any environment, but you may not be responsible for your wounds. You may experience broken bones, back pain, traumatic brain injuries and sprains after your accident, all of which can set you back financially while you recover. When this happens, you should speak with an experienced slip-and-fall attorney who can provide you with factual guidance on what you can expect.

What Slip-And-Fall Attorneys Helping East Orange And Newark, New Jersey, Residents Can Do For You

You may be due a settlement after a dreadful slip-and-fall accident, as these incidents often happen because of the premises owner. If the owner is negligent in some way, they are liable for your damages.

Causes Of A Slip-And-Fall Accident

Slip-and-fall accidents can happen for many reasons, but it is mainly blamed on the lack of proper maintenance provided by the premises owner. These are some of the examples:

  • Slippery and wet surfaces
  • Potholes
  • Broken flooring
  • Ripped carpets
  • Rundown walkways
  • Uneven pavement
  • Exposed electrical wiring
  • Broken property
  • Exposed hardware or nails

There are many other ways you may have been injured. If you believe that you are not at fault for your wounds, you can work with personal injury attorneys to prove your case.

What Are Common Injuries You Might Receive In A Slip-And-Fall Accident?

Slip-and-fall accidents can cause numerous injuries that can result in recovery that can take weeks and months.

slip & fall

Traumatic Brain Injury

Slip-and-fall accidents often cause the victims to hit their heads on the ground or another hard surface. Traumatic brain injuries are serious injuries that can lead to long-term disability. They result in concussions, hemorrhages, hematomas, edema, skull fractures and torn brain tissue. These injuries can cause motor problems and neurological issues that can impact all areas of your life.

Scrapes

You may receive cuts and scrapes on your skin after you’ve had a bad fall. Sometimes the scrapes can be more than surface level and cause terrible injuries to the muscle tissue below.

Back Pain

When you slip, you may end up injuring your back due to the harsh impact of the floor against you. This may not seem very major, even if you don’t have to get surgery, but back pain can result in long-term pain. You may be experiencing severe soreness and fatigue from dealing with a miserable injury that lingers for months.

Broken Bones

After you fall onto a hard surface, you may have fractured a wrist or broken some bones along the way. This can make it difficult for you to attend to your normal tasks or perform job functions at work, forcing you to be temporarily disabled for several weeks.

What Can You Claim As Damages In A Slip-And-Fall Accident?

Your damages can be both economic and noneconomic in nature. This means that, while you may have bills and receipts piled up due to your injuries, your personal injury claim can include damages for the emotional turmoil you experienced.

Economic Damages

These are damages that can be calculated from bills and receipts.

Lost Wages

When you are injured, you likely have to take time off from work and miss out on income. You can include your lost wages in your damages, as well as any future income that you are unable to receive because of your injuries. Our attorneys can help you estimate how much you may lose over time while you are unable to return to work.

Medical Bills

You may have to get surgery because of your injuries, take pain medication and receive several lab tests. When this is the case, your medical bills can pile up month by month, making it difficult for you to live a normal life. The cost of ongoing medical treatment can be expensive but also will be included in your settlement. You can include physical therapy, prescription medicine, clinic visits and any other health care remedies.

Noneconomic Damages

These are more abstract damages and require an attorney to calculate with the help of a multiplier.

Pain And Suffering

This is when you are experiencing severe anxiety, depression, misery, shame, guilt and other debilitating emotions that prevent you from enjoying your average day. You may also have pain from your injuries that reduces your quality of life. It is not your fault that you were injured, and you can be compensated for the trouble of having to suffer due to your wounds. Because you alone can define pain and suffering, you can request help from a personal injury lawyer to help you identify what you can factually claim in your damages.

How Long Do You Have To File A Slip-And-Fall Lawsuit In New Jersey?

As soon as you experience a slip-and-fall injury, the timer begins. In New Jersey, filing a personal injury claim has a two-year statute of limitations. You only have two years from the date of your injury. You shouldn’t delay getting a settlement for your damages.

What Steps Should You Take Now?

After a slip-and-fall accident, you should immediately start compiling evidence to help your personal injury law firm prove your case.

Get Medical Attention

If you haven’t already, get immediate medical help. When you wait too long after an accident, this can reduce the validity of your settlement claim. Also, this helps the doctor provide information about your injuries so that you know how severe your slip-and-fall accident was.

Take Pictures Of Your Accident

You can also take pictures of where you were injured and your wounds to provide evidence for your claim. Try to take photos of the scene where the slip-and-fall injury occurred, showing how the area was unsafe. This can help provide an explanation for the reasons that the premises owner was negligent.

Document All Damages

It is important to keep track of your damages and keep an eye on the bills. You will have to keep the receipts of all your medical bills, write down how many days of work you missed and explain what pain and suffering you are experiencing. This will help your attorney accurately estimate the settlement you are owed.

Get The Help Of Witnesses

If there are any eyewitnesses, it is helpful to get their contact information. You can use their testimony to prove that the conditions of the premises were dangerous, resulting in your injuries. They were there to see how you were harmed, and this evidence can be used to make your case even more substantial.

Let The Premises Owner Know

After you’ve been in a slip-and-fall accident, the premises owner should be alerted. You will need to get their contact information and their insurer. Your attorney can later contact them to begin the process of negotiating a settlement amount.

Do You Need A Slip-And-Fall Lawyer?

Attorneys have to prove that the other party was indeed negligent in their actions. In addition, they understand that they have to prove that the premises owner has a duty to you, that they breached this duty, that their actions directly caused your injuries, and that you suffered damages because of their neglect. There has to be evidence for all of these steps for you to obtain a settlement.

The owner has to be neglectful in one of the following ways:

They Didn’t Put Up a Sign

The premises owner neglected to put up a sign and warn the guests that a potential hazard is dangerous for them. Without any signs, you may have walked into a hazard that puts your life at risk. If you were injured without warning, the owner could be liable for your slip-and-fall injuries.

They Didn’t Repair Run Down Areas

Sometimes, the owner simply neglected to update the worn-out areas of their property. You may have fallen through a broken floorboard or tripped on torn carpeting. When this happens, the owner can be held responsible for not repairing their property to help prevent slip-and-fall accidents.

They Didn’t Properly Maintain Their Property

The premises owner has to make sure that they remove obstacles that can put the lives of their guests at risk. Also, business owners are expected to remove debris from their property. An unclean property can be a sign of poor maintenance, where a pileup of leaves, garbage and brush can harm you and other guests.

What Happens If A Property Owner Claims You Are At Fault For Your Accident?

The property owner and their insurance provider will almost certainly try to pin the blame on you. Do not fall for it. They do not want to deal with an expensive lawsuit or pay out a settlement. As long as you were on the premises legally and the property owner knew about — or should have known about — a hazardous condition that they failed to fix, the fault is likely on them.

Should You Call A Newark Slip-And-Fall Attorney Even If You Don’t Know If You Have A Claim?

It is always worthwhile to consult a New Jersey personal injury lawyer. Many attorneys, including ours, provide free initial consultations. This means you can sit down without worrying about paying a hefty fee. One of our lawyers will listen attentively to your situation and determine whether you have an actionable claim. If so, we can explain your options, connect you to resources and guide you through the next steps of having a personal injury claim.

Get Started With A Great Team Of Slip-And-Fall Attorneys

You can consult with a slip-and-fall attorney who understands the information you need to prove your case. Our Essex County attorneys can help secure a settlement for you and improve your chances of receiving maximum compensation by showing that the other party is at fault for your damages. Goldstein & Goldstein, LLP provides a no-cost consultation and will review your case to see if you are eligible. Our team works hard to make sure you recover from your injuries so you can return to your normal life. You can contact us online or call 973-675-8277 for a free consultation today.