What damage can a slip and fall accident do to your life in the long term? More than you might think. These accidents can permanently transform your ability to move from Point A to Point B by forcing you to contend with hip injuries, broken bones, or permanently damaged muscles. Slips and falls can also result in cosmetic injuries, like broken teeth or facial bruising.
There are even instances where slip and fall accidents can prove fatal. It’s with that range of consequences in mind that Indiana allows slip and fall accident survivors like you to take legal action against the parties they believe to be liable for their losses. You can discuss your right to a personal injury case with a Vaughan & Vaughan personal injury lawyer in Frankfort.
What Causes a Slip and Fall Accident?
Don’t instinctively blame a slip and fall accident on your poor balance. More often than not, your surroundings play a significant role in these dangerous accidents. You may find yourself at an increased risk for a slip and fall if you find yourself around unmarked spills or unkempt terrain.
While you have a responsibility to maintain a general awareness of your surroundings when you’re out and about, you can’t control how other people behave. Store owners have an obligation to mark spills, and landowners are responsible for the overall state of their land.
Any party who neglects their responsibilities may cause slip and fall accidents and subsequently find themselves liable for your accident-related losses.
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What’s the Overlap Between Slip and Fall Accidents and Premises Liability Cases?
Slip and fall accidents share some legal space with premises liability cases. In both cases, accident victims have the right to bring landowners to civil court on charges of land-based negligence. Similarly, a victim’s role on the landowner’s land impacts their right to a civil lawsuit. Only invitees and licensees can sue for their losses.
Trespassers in both premises liability cases and slip and fall accidents only have the right to pursue legal action against the landowner when:
- The landowner uses excessive force to remove the trespasser from their land
- The trespasser was a minor at the time of an accident and thus protected by Indiana’s attractive nuisance doctrine
That said, slip and fall accidents constitute a subcategory of premises liability cases. Premises liability cases can additionally address theft, harassment, battery and assault, and other forms of harm done to a victim’s person. You must bring forward far more specific evidence detailing the nature of your accident to categorize your case as a slip and fall injury claim.
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Do You Have to Call an Attorney to File a Slip and Fall Accident Claim?
You have the right to represent your own case if you choose to file a personal injury claim. Doing so can prove challenging, though, particularly if you’re contending with severe injuries or have limited experience in a court of law. It’s all too easy for a defendant to twist your words to rob you of the compensation you deserve after an accident.
When you work with an attorney, you can rest easy knowing that someone with experience in Indiana’s civil courts is on your side. Our slip and fall accident attorneys in Frankfort specifically work to make your pursuit of accident compensation as straightforward as possible.
Our team can investigate your case, gather bystander statements, and analyze evidence relevant to your losses to better explain the nature of your losses to a judge. We can also communicate with insurance providers and the liable party on your behalf. You can discuss what services you need from our team during your initial slip and fall case consultation.
What Information do You Need to File a Slip and Fall Accident Claim?
If you look back at your slip and fall accident and choose to take action in the face of someone else’s negligence, you need to ensure that the personal injury claim you file with an Indiana judge is as thorough as it can be. As such, your claim needs to include:
- A claim regarding the identity of the party responsible for your accident
- An estimate of your case’s total value
- Evidence backing an assertion of fault and claims regarding your case’s economic value
In most cases, it’s important for you to look at the evidence available at the scene of your accident first before you make claims regarding either the value of your case or the identity of a liable party. You don’t have to gather that evidence on top of going back to work or recovering from an injury, though.
You can ask our slip and fall accident attorneys in Frankfort, IN, for help instead. We can bring forward debris, bystander statements, and expert witness testimony to help you argue for the time in court that you deserve.
When do You Need to File a Slip and Fall Accident Claim?
The amount of time you have in which to file your claim doesn’t change whether you blame an individual or an institution for your slip and fall accident. Indiana Code section 34-11-2-4 consistently dictates that you have no more than two years to investigate your losses and bring evidence of related negligence forward.
Those two years can go by in the blink of an eye when you’re dealing with medical expenses, damaged property, and reduced quality of life. Fortunately, Frankfort slip and fall accident attorneys can keep your investigation on track and ensure that you stay on top of your relevant deadlines.
Vaughan & Vaughan Represents Indiana’s Slip and Fall Accident Survivors
Slip and fall accident lawyers in Frankfort, IN, understand that many victims don’t understand how to react to their post-accidents losses. You may find yourself too caught up in the details of medical care and insurance to consider what legal right you have to loss-based compensation.
That’s why Vaughan & Vaughan strives to demystify the nature of slip and fall accidents. You can bring evidence of negligence forward in civil court and make the person responsible for your accident help you throughout your recovery. Let’s sit down and discuss how, specifically, you can ask for help with your losses.
You can contact us online or over the phone today to request your free, no-obligation case consultation.
