People in Louisiana going about their daily activities too often face costly injuries when others fail to maintain their properties or warn of potential hazards. Business owners, property managers, and others have a duty to keep you safe from hazards that cause injuries while on their premises. When they fail to uphold that duty, a Lake Charles slip and fall lawyer from Shamieh Law can help you fight for damages.
Our experienced team of slip and fall lawyers is ready to help you and your family if you’re hurt on someone else’s property due to their negligence. Our case results speak for themselves. Our team’s skills and dedication to Winning With Awareness have helped us secure high-value settlements and verdicts for slip and fall victims throughout Louisiana and beyond:
- $900,000 – Slip and fall at a beauty store requiring lumbar fusion and spinal cord stimulator.
- $550,000 – Caterers spilled water at a work event where the plaintiff slipped and fell, suffering a TBI.
- $525,000 – Slip and fall on improper flooring material at a hotel required cervical fusion.
- $350,000 – Slip and fall at a fast food restaurant where the floor was mopped, but wet floor signs were not put out, causing a TBI.
- $310,000 – Slip and fall at a restaurant that failed to properly clean up a food spill, requiring a cervical discectomy and dental repair.
- $250,000 – Slip and fall at a shopping center, resulting in a foot fracture.
- $245,000 – Slip and fall resulting in a broken jaw.
- $225,000 – Slip and fall at gas station requiring a lumbar discectomy.
- $200,000 – Slip and fall case resulting in lumbar and left shoulder injuries.
If you or a loved one got hurt because someone else failed to maintain their property, our Lake Charles slip and fall accident attorneys can help. Call (337) 477-7222 or fill out our online contact form to schedule your free consultation.
You Don't Pay Unless We Win Your Slip and Fall Case
We believe accident victims deserve solid legal representation without worrying about an additional financial burden. That’s why we take our personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning we pay the costs of investigating and litigating your case with no out-of-pocket expenses for you. At the end of your case, our fee is calculated as a pre-negotiated percentage of the compensation we secure for you. You focus on healing while we focus on fighting for you.
Common Causes & Injuries in Slip and Fall Accidents in Lake Charles
Property owners can be negligent in maintaining their properties in numerous ways. In some cases, they don’t bother with routine maintenance, which leads to dangerous conditions. In others, they fail to respond quickly to address new hazards. Common causes of slip and fall accidents include:
- Uneven or slippery sidewalks and walkways
- Wet floors
- Loose carpeting, floorboards, or mats
- Hazards such as extension cords
- Poorly maintained elevators and escalators
- Uneven stairs or poorly maintained handrails
- Potholes or other hazards in parking lots
- Poor lighting
Slip-and-fall injuries range from minor to fatal. Common injuries from slip and fall accidents include:
- Bruises and contusions
- Sprains and strains
- Fractured bones
- Cuts and lacerations
- Head injuries, including concussions
- Back and spinal injuries
- Dislocations
- Knee injuries
- Shoulder injuries
- Hip fractures
In all cases, you will need to prove how the plaintiff’s failure to use reasonable care led to your injuries in order to secure compensation. Our slip and fall attorneys can review all of the evidence available to build the strongest claim possible on your behalf.
Immediate Steps To Take After a Slip and Fall Accident
There are critical steps to take if you have been injured on someone else property. Taking these steps helps protect your health and preserve potential evidence for a slip and fall claim. These steps include:
- Call 911 if you need emergency care. Your health comes first.
- Take pictures and videos of the area where your fall occurred.
- Ask someone in charge if there is an incident report to complete. If so, ask for a copy or take a picture with your phone.
- Collect contact information from witnesses and ask if they can provide an account of what they saw.
- Visit your doctor to secure medical treatment and document your injuries.
- Make sure to attend all follow-up appointments and follow your doctor’s treatment plan to make it more difficult for the defense to downplay your injuries.
- Contact an attorney experienced in handling slip and fall claims.
When you take pictures or videos of the area where you fell, note the presence of any surveillance cameras in the area. Your photos can help document the hazard in case the property owner fixes it after. Security footage can help bolster your claim and show how long the hazard was present before you approached it.
Proving Liability in a Slip and Fall Lawsuit in Lake Charles
In Farrell v. Circle K Stores, Inc., the Louisiana Supreme Court reiterated the legal standards governing premises liability cases: “The general rule is that the owner or custodian of property has a duty to keep the premises in a reasonably safe condition. The owner or custodian must discover any unreasonably dangerous condition on the premises, and either correct the condition or warn potential victims of its existence.’”
The Court also recognized a risk-utility balancing test to determine if the presence of a hazard represents a breach of the owner’s duty of care. The test involves four factors:
- The utility of the complained condition.
- The likelihood and magnitude of harm.
- The cost of preventing the harm.
- The nature of the plaintiff’s activities, such as whether they were dangerous by nature.
This analysis can be complex depending on the facts of your case and requires the attention of a skilled premises liability lawyer. Further, there are also a number of other Louisiana laws that may apply to specific circumstances involving slip and falls. We explore these below.
Proving Liability Against Merchants
Louisiana’s law describing the burden of proof in claims against merchants dictates that lawful visitors to a commercial property can bring negligence claims for dangerous conditions that led to injuries if the following are true:
- The condition presented an unreasonable foreseeable risk.
- The merchant created the hazard or knew of its existence before the accident.
- The merchant failed to exercise reasonable care to prevent others from being harmed due to the hazardous condition.
For example, it is reasonably foreseeable that a leaky roof on a rainy day may cause a slip and fall accident in a mall. By contrast, a slip and fall accident that happens immediately after another customer spills a drink is likely not foreseeable.
Premises Liability on Recreational Properties
Louisiana law limits liability for landowners whose properties are used for recreational purposes, property owned by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and public parks. If you were hurt in a slip and fall on one of these properties, your attorney can help you determine if you have a claim or if there are other avenues through which you can pursue compensation.
Premises Liability Against Government Entities
Public entities may be held liable for slip and falls that occur in buildings within their care. However, plaintiffs must show that the entity had notice of the hazard prior to the accident, had a reasonable opportunity to remedy the defect, and failed to do so.
You need strong evidence and a skilled legal advocate to prove your claim. Our accomplished slip and fall accident attorneys can help gather the evidence you need and build a strong case on your behalf.
Who Can Be Held Liable in a Slip and Fall Accident Lawsuit?
You can name multiple defendants in your slip and fall claim, including:
- Property owners
- Business owners
- Management companies
- Maintenance companies
- Security companies
- Homeowners
- Government agencies
Identifying who has a legal responsibility in a slip and fall claim is not always easy. It depends on which party controlled the area in which you were harmed and thus should have fixed or warned you about any hazards. Our Lake Charles personal injury lawyers can help determine who to file your damages claim against and how much you can seek from each party.
How Long Do You Have To File a Slip and Fall Accident Lawsuit in Lake Charles?
The Louisiana statute of limitations gives you one year from the accident date to file most personal injury lawsuits, including those involving slip and falls. This is a relatively short deadline compared to other states, so it is critical to hire an experienced slip and fall attorney quickly. A judge will likely dismiss your claim if you are late, thereby eliminating your chance to secure legal compensation.
It is also essential to act quickly because it affects your negotiating position in settlement talks with insurance companies. If you haven’t filed your formal claim with the courts, they may try to delay negotiations, hoping you miss your deadline.
While Louisana does have some exceptions to the statutes of limitations, such as in cases involving minors, there is no guarantee a judge will grant you more time. It is best to consult an experienced attorney and not take chances. If an exception does not apply to your case, the regular deadline will be strictly enforced.
Contact the Lake Charles Slip and Fall Lawyers at Shamieh Law
Our passionate legal team has extensive experience helping injury victims secure full and fair compensation throughout Louisiana and beyond. Let us put that experience and our passion for helping others to work assisting you and your family. Call (337) 477-7222 or fill out our online contact form to schedule your free consultation with our Lake Charles premises liability lawyers.
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