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When property owners invite visitors and customers onto their premises, they must take precautions to ensure the safety of their guests. Failure to do so can result in slip-and-fall accidents that leave victims with serious and catastrophic injuries. In the worst cases, these injuries can even result in wrongful death.

At Holman Schiavone, LLC, we represent people who have been injured in slip-and-fall accidents throughout Missouri and Kansas. We understand the hardships this injury has forced you to contend with, and we are prepared to help you get through it while we work to maximize the value of your recovery, looking out for your long-term best interests.

If you fell on someone else’s property and you sustained an injury, you may be eligible to seek compensation for your injuries. Because slip and fall accidents can cause serious injuries, fall claims can result in compensation for your medical bills and lost wages. To file a successful claim for your slip and fall injuries, you will need to hire an experienced slip and fall lawyer.

What Can Cause a Slip and Fall Accident?

Slip and fall accidents can be caused by many circumstances, such as slippery walkways, cracks and potholes, and poor construction on stairs and stair rails. During the winter months, ice and snow can also cause serious falls. On a commercial property, spills and slick floors can create dangerous conditions for falls, as well.

What About Workplace Injuries?

A slip and fall accident can occur in any place, including at work. For workers in industries such as construction, a slip and fall accident can result in serious injuries that can prevent you from working in the future. However, workplace injury falls are handled differently than a premises liability claim, so you will need a lawyer to evaluate your personal injury case to determine the best legal pathway for you.

What Are Common Fall Injuries?

Slip and fall accidents can cause minor injuries, such as broken bones, cuts, scrapes, muscle strains, and more. Major injuries can include neck injuries, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and other head injuries. Injuries can cause long-term discomforts, such as tailbone injuries or back injuries that will require physical therapy, surgery, and even medical aids like wheelchairs or walkers.

Since slip and fall injuries can be severe, it is important to seek medical attention as soon as possible after your accident. With quick medical attention, you may be able to receive early treatment that will prevent complications during your recovery later on. Getting fast medical care is also important, so you can document the date and time when an accident occurred, as well as the precise injuries you sustained in the accident.

Does Your Injury Severity Impact Your Case?

If the injuries sustained in your slip and fall accident are particularly severe, this will usually have a direct impact on the amount of compensation you can claim from your lawsuit. Long-term injuries such as traumatic brain injuries and especially broken hips can cause debilitating disabilities. Soft tissue injuries, on the other hand, may not result in very much compensation.

How Common Are Slip and Fall Accidents?

Fall cases are very common, as each year an estimated one million people visit the emergency room after a slip and fall accident. However, slip and fall incidents are much more common as people get older or for people who work in certain fields. People are more likely to fall when they are over the age of 45, and this rate can increase by 40% when someone is over the age of 80.

For elderly people, the risk of serious injury is very high. However, a fall injury for an older individual can also result in death, especially if the elderly person does not receive help promptly. Workplace injury-related deaths from slip and fall accidents are also common, with almost 15% of workplace deaths caused by fall accidents.

Who Is Liable for Your Injuries?

In Kansas City, the responsible party is generally the person who is in charge of the land where you sustained your injuries. Sometimes, this can mean a private citizen is considered the liable party for your fall injury, while other times, the municipality taking care of public land can be considered liable. For the most part, however, property owners and property managers are usually held liable.

Property Owner

A property owner is someone who owns a piece of land or property, such as grocery stores, commercial buildings, apartment complexes, and other businesses. In Kansas City, the property owner is responsible for your slip and fall case because the property owner or business owner owes you a duty of care while you are on their land.

Property Managers

In some cases, property managers can also be held liable for a fall injury claim. A property manager is someone who manages the property on behalf of the landowner, such as someone renting a commercial space for business or the leasing office manager for an apartment complex. Because property managers look after the land day-to-day, they are responsible for ensuring the land is safe for visitors and guests.

Do Trespassers Have Rights in Premises Liability Cases?

While property owners and property managers are generally responsible for keeping all visitors safe on the property, there is a major exception to this rule. In Kansas City, trespassers are not owed a duty of care because they are on the property illegally. If a trespasser sustains fall injuries, the trespasser is not eligible to file a slip and fall claim.

How Can Kansas City Slip and Fall Attorneys Help You?

During a free case evaluation, a Kansas City slip and fall lawyer can give you advice about your legal rights as a victim of a fall accident. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you identify the liable parties in your case, offer valuable guidance on your case, and much more.

Your law firm will also be able to handle all of the legal administrative tasks on your behalf, such as meeting filing deadlines, communicating with the liable party’s legal team, and organizing your case. It is best to hire a premises liability lawyer to handle your claim, so you can receive the fair compensation you deserve for your injuries.

Investigate the Claim

A major part of your Kansas City slip and fall lawsuit will be investigating your personal injury claim. Investigating your slip and fall case can help identify who is responsible for your accident, such as a negligent property owner. This is essential because premises liability cases can be very complex, particularly because liable parties may try to deny that you were injured on their property.

Find Relevant Evidence

An experienced personal injury lawyer can also help you find relevant evidence that will help you prove your fall case. A fall injury lawyer may gather evidence such as security camera footage, witness testimony, independent medical evaluations, and other experts who can provide testimony on your behalf. If you were injured at work, an expert who can attest to your maximum medical recovery may also be necessary, so you can receive worker’s compensation.

To prove fall cases, a fall attorney must build an airtight case that proves negligence, causation, and the extent of your damages. If there are multiple liable parties in your case, your Kansas City slip and fall lawyer will need to gather evidence for each negligent individual who caused your accident.

Negotiate With the Insurance Company

An experienced Kansas City slip and fall lawyer can also help you negotiate with the insurance company for a fair settlement. Sometimes, an insurance company will treat your serious injuries as inconsequential by offering you a low settlement that does not cover the full cost of your damages. An insurance company may be motivated to give you a lower settlement because of policy limitations or because the insurance company believes you are responsible for your own injuries.

Your Kansas City slip and fall lawyer will advocate for your rights as a slip and fall accident victim, so you can recover compensation for all of your damages, including lost wages, medical expenses, and reduced quality of life after a serious injury. Negotiating with the property owner’s insurance company may help you settle your case outside of court.

Is There a Statute of Limitations?

There is a statute of limitations for filing a claim for Kansas City slip and fall injuries. In Missouri, you will only have five years to file a lawsuit for a slip and fall case. If you do not hire an experienced Kansas City slip and fall lawyer within this timeframe, you will not be able to seek compensation from the property owner or the property owner’s insurance company.

Sometimes, the statute of limitations in Kansas City may be even shorter. If your slip and fall injury occurred on government property, you will usually have 90 days to file a Kansas City slip and fall claim. In addition to a shorter statute of limitations, fall attorneys will not be able to file your claim in civil court; instead, a special division of the state government will handle your claim.

How Can You Prove Your Premises Liability Lawsuit?

To win your case, your Kansas City slip and fall attorney will need to prove many details about your case. Just like any other personal injury claim, the most important step for proving your case is establishing negligence. The elements used to establish negligence include:

The Property Had Dangerous Conditions

First, your attorney must prove that the property had dangerous conditions and was not considered reasonably safe. Dangerous conditions can include icy or wet floors, uneven grounds, or loose stair rails. All visitors and guests on a property are owed a duty of care for reasonably safe conditions.

The Liable Party Knew About the Danger

Next, your lawyer will need to prove that the property owner knew about the danger. It is the responsibility of a property owner or property manager to know about all conditions on the property. If there were dangerous conditions on the property and the property owner was not aware of it, this can be used to prove negligence.

The Liable Party Did Not Warn of Danger

If a property owner or business owner knew about a dangerous condition but did not warn visitors on the property about the potential danger, then the landowner has breached his or her duty of care. This is considered a negligent action and will generally mean you are entitled to compensation.

For example, a grocery store owner can be held responsible for your injuries if you slipped in the store because there was no hazard sign for wet floors. Likewise, if the landowner of a park knew about a hazardous trail but did not post a warning, the landowner can be held liable for your slip and fall injuries.

The Accident Was Caused By the Dangerous Condition

Finally, your lawyer will prove that your accident and the resulting damages were caused by the property owner’s negligence. Property owners who were aware of dangerous conditions and did not warn of these dangers or make any effort to correct these dangers are directly responsible for your fall injuries and other damages.

What Is Your Slip and Fall Claim Worth?

While premises liability lawyers will not be able to give you the exact amount of your settlement, there are a few factors that can help your Kansas City slip and fall lawyer estimate the compensation you are owed. The most influential factors used to determine your settlement amount include:

  1. Ability to Work

A traumatic brain injury can prevent you from working if your verbal or motor skills were impaired by the fall accident. If you are no longer able to work at your previous capacity, or you will not be able to work in the future because of a new disability, your future earning capacity will be part of your settlement calculation.

  1. Insurance Coverage

The financial limitations of the property owner’s insurance policy can also affect your settlement amount. If there is a limit to how much an insurance company can offer as a settlement, then your settlement amount may be capped. You may be able to seek more compensation by suing the property owner directly or filing a lawsuit against other liable parties.

What Type of Compensation Can You Recover?

In general, you can recover both economic and non-economic damages after a slip and fall accident. Economic damages are calculated by tallying the cost of bills for medical treatment and the amount of your lost wages. Sometimes, slip and fall attorneys can help you recover compensation for future medical expenses.

Non-economic damages generally include compensation for factors such as the emotional distress and mental anguish you may have suffered after the slip and fall accident. The emotional damage you suffer after your accident may be compounded by factors such as scarring, permanent disability, disfigurement, loss of limb, loss of consortium, and reduced quality of life.

Can You Recover Compensation If You Are Partially Responsible?

If you are partially responsible for your fall accident case, this will impact the maximum compensation you can receive from your settlement. Missouri operates under pure comparative negligence, which means your settlement amount is directly proportional to the amount of responsibility you have for your slip and fall accident.

If a jury decides that you are 30% responsible for the accident, for example, then you will only be able to receive 70% of the total settlement amount. Most of the time, an insurance company will try to hold you as responsible for the accident as they possibly can.

Why Would You Be Blamed for an Accident?

Even though the property owner owed you a duty of care by providing a reasonably safe environment to all guests, a jury may still believe you are at least partially responsible for causing your accident. If there is evidence that you ignored warnings about dangerous conditions or that you were acting without the prudence an ordinary person would use in the situation, a jury may decide that you failed to exercise ordinary care and that your own negligence caused your accident.

Property owners and managers have a responsibility to keep the property safe, so if you were injured because of someone else’s negligence, you may be able to seek compensation from the responsible party.

It’s Important to Speak With an Experienced Attorney Immediately

If you have been injured in a slip-and-fall accident, you may face steep medical bills, lost wages and other significant expenses that could seriously impact your finances, draining your savings and putting you deep in debt. You may be wondering how you will be able to recover from your injuries and still continue to support yourself and your family.

Property owners and managers have a responsibility to keep the property safe, so if you were injured because of someone else’s negligence, you may be able to seek compensation from the responsible party.

Get a Free Consultation With a Lawyer

If you believe you are eligible to file a claim for a slip and fall accident, contact Holman Schiavone, LLC at 816-399-5149 for a free consultation today.