Slip and Fall Attorneys in Mobile

Holding Property Owners Responsible for Slips, Trips and Falls Due to Negligence

When you step onto someone else’s property, whether you are entering a grocery store or taking the stairs to a friend’s apartment, you expect your path to be clear of hazards. But if the property owner has not taken the care necessary to keep the property safe — or, worse, has created unsafe conditions — you may slip, trip or fall. If this happens to you, our attorneys at Hedge Copeland, PC, can help determine whether you may be able to file a premises liability lawsuit.

Some slip-and-fall accidents, of course, are outside of anyone’s control. But if nobody cleaned up that spill in the grocery store or if the landlord never replaced the missing step, someone may be held responsible for injuries that happened because a dangerous situation was not corrected. Premises liability cases can result from a variety of situations and can include nursing home injuries and construction site accidents, as well as accidents on commercial and residential property.

Dedicated to Advocating for Injured Clients

At Hedge Copeland, PC, our experienced trial attorneys have spent decades fighting for people who have been injured because of another person’s negligence. Our focus on personal injury and wrongful death cases ensures that each case is handled by a lawyer with deep knowledge in this area of law. Our clients are our top priority, and we have the knowledge, skills, resources, and dedication to provide the strong personalized representation they need and deserve.

Premises Liability Injuries Can be Very Serious

As we touched on earlier, injuries can happen anywhere, from private property to commercial/retail property to government property to work sites. These injuries can also happen in places like daycare centers, recreational facilities, resorts, and numerous other venues.

Among the most common types of accidents that occur on the property of other parties include:

• Slips, trips, and falls
• Getting struck by an object or struck against the surface
• Accidents from collapsing stairways
• Accidents caused by elevator and escalator malfunctions
• Swimming pool accidents
• Animal attacks
• Exposure to toxic substances
• Fires
• Negligent security

Many people think of slips and falls and other types of premises liability accidents as fairly minor events, but they can actually result in moderate to severe injuries that can significantly disrupt a person’s life. Some examples include:

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
• Neck and back injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Fractures/broken bones
• Internal injuries
• Severe burn injuries
• Serious illness from toxic exposure

Premises Liability Cases in Alabama

Not every premises liability accident will render the injured person eligible for compensable damages. In order to have a viable premises liability claim, you need to prove negligence on the part of the property owner or caretaker. This can be very difficult, because defendants often push back hard against these types of claims with the belief that they are frivolous.

One of the first things that needs to be determined before moving forward with a claim is what type of visitor you were when you got hurt on the property. There are three general categories of visitors:

• Invitees: This is a person who has explicit or implied permission to be on the property, normally for the owner or lessor’s financial benefit. Examples of invitees would include customers and patrons of commercial establishments (e.g., grocery stores, restaurants, hotels, etc.), tenants, and employees. A property owner owes the highest duty of care to visitors in this category.
• Licensees: Licensees also have explicit or implied permission to be on a property, but usually for their own benefit or a neutral purpose. Examples of individuals in this category may include unsolicited salespeople, mail carriers and other couriers, and social guests. Visitors in this category are owed the second highest duty of care.
• Trespassers: A trespasser is someone with no legal right to be on a property. As such, the lowest duty of care is owed to visitors in this category. With regards to trespassers, the only duty owed by owners/caretakers is to refrain from willful or malicious conduct or entrapment that may cause them harm.

When someone is hurt in a slip and fall accident or another type of premises liability accident that was caused by the owner or caretaker’s negligence, they have a right to compensatory damages. This may include damages not only for direct monetary losses such as medical costs and lost wages, but also for noneconomic losses such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, and in more severe cases, permanent injury.

One of the most difficult barriers to winning a premises liability claim in Alabama is the state’s “contributory negligence” laws. Under contributory negligence, if an injured person is found to have “contributed” in any way to the underlying accident or event (even 1%), they can be barred from recovering damages.

You can be absolutely certain that the other side will try to pin at least some of the blame on you in order to avoid paying damages for your injuries. For example, they might try to claim that the slip and fall accident was your fault because you were not watching where you were going, or they might say that the hazard that caused your injury was “open and obvious” and that a reasonable person would have been aware of it.

To help ensure that you will be able to overcome the defendant’s arguments, it is important to compile as much documentation and evidence as possible. Take multiple photographs of the area where you were injured showing the hazard that caused it. Hopefully, there will also be video evidence to help substantiate your claim. If there were any individuals nearby that witnessed the accident, obtain statements from them and retain their contact information.

As soon as possible after the accident, seek medical attention for your injuries. If you wait too long, the other side will most likely claim that your injuries are exaggerated and/or they were not caused by the accident that occurred on their property. Be sure to follow all of your doctor’s orders and follow through on treatment recommendations as you seek to recover from your injury.

Along these same lines, get in touch with an experienced premises liability attorney at your earliest convenience as well. By getting an attorney involved early on, you will have a better chance of putting together a strong case that will stand up against the arguments presented by the other side.

Call to Learn How We Can Help with your Premises Liability Claim

We offer free, confidential consultations to all prospective clients, so we can understand your situation and you can learn how we can help. And if we do end up taking your case, we will not charge you any attorney fees unless we recover compensation on your behalf.

Call us today at 251-432-8844 or contact us via email. Located in Mobile, we represent Alabama clients throughout the surrounding area.