A “slip and fall” doesn’t sound serious, but slips, trips and falls can cause severe, long lasting injuries. If you slip and fall in Roswell, you may have fractured bones, torn ligaments, and injured muscles and joints. You may need surgery or months of physical therapy.
Medical treatment and prescription drugs are expensive, and you may also have to deal with missed time from work because of your accident. But you don’t have to pay the full cost of your accident. You are entitled to recover money from the people who caused your accident, but you need to contact a Roswell slip and fall lawyer.
John Foy & Associates has been helping accident victims like you for over 20 years. We started as a local law office and have grown into one of the largest and most well respected law firms in Georgia. Our focus has always been on helping accident victims—never representing insurance companies.
We will give you a free consultation where we’ll talk about your case and the way you can get a complete financial recovery. Call us at 404-400-4000 and get your free consultation today.
Do I Have a Legitimate Slip and Fall Case?
If you fell and hurt yourself, you probably do have a case. It’s common to blame yourself for falling, but we’ve found that falls don’t usually happen for no reason. Most of the time, there is some sort of hazard or unsafe situation that caused you to fall. If someone else had been more careful, you wouldn’t have slipped, tripped or fallen. That means the accident legally wasn’t your fault.
We often see these types of slip and fall accidents:
- Slipping on something that was spilled in a restaurant, food court or store
- Tripping on holes, cracks or uneven spots on sidewalks or pavement
- Tripping on an unmarked or poorly lit step
- Falling on stairs
- Stumbling or tripping because of bad lighting
- Falling out a window or over a railing
These types of cases are known as “premises liability” cases. This means that if you own property, you have a legal responsibility to make it safe for people who visit or use it.
If your property is unsafe or has hazards, you are considered “negligent.” When property owners are negligent, they are liable for the harm they cause, even if they didn’t mean to create a hazard or hurt anyone. The property owner’s insurance company must pay for your injuries.
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Is There Anything I Should DoIf I Slip and Fall in Roswell?
Any time you slip and fall, you should do what you can to protect your rights. Start by getting any emergency medical care you need. If you don’t need to go to the emergency room immediately, you can also take some simple steps to document what happened.
- Tell the owner or manager that you fell and hurt yourself. If you fell at a business, make sure you talk to the person in charge. Tell them you were injured, and get their name and contact information.
- Take cell phone photos or video. It’s true that a picture is worth 1,000 words. Act quickly to take photos or video of the hazard or obstacle that caused you to fall, as well as the general scene and any visual injuries you have.
- Speak to people at the scene. Bystanders may have seen you fall, or they may have observed the situation that caused your fall. Get names and contact information for anyone who has helpful information.
- Go to the doctor. Even if you don’t need emergency care and don’t think you were badly hurt, get checked out by a doctor as soon as possible. There are two reasons this is important. First, many injuries are worse than they seem, and only become harder to treat if you wait to seek help. Second, when you see a doctor right away, you have a stronger claim because it shows that you believed from the beginning that your injuries were serious.
Insurance companies will do anything they can to avoid paying a claim. They may say your injuries are less serious than they really are, or they may question the way your injuries happened. Never apologize to anyone for falling, and never, ever accept the blame for your accident. Remember, anything you say can be used against you.
What If I Fell at a Friend’s Home?
It doesn’t matter where you fell—you can still recover 100% of your costs and damages. However, it’s understandable that you may be reluctant to make a claim when a friend or family member is involved. Remember, your claim is not against your friend. It is a private matter between you and your friend’s insurance company. A good friend will be happy to see you get the money you need to treat your injuries, and they will not have to pay anything out of pocket.
Is There a Time Limit to File a Roswell Slip and Fall Claim?
The City of Roswell has strict deadlines for filing accident claims. These deadlines are set by state and federal law and are called “statutes of limitations.” The statute of limitations that applies to your case will depend on the specific circumstances of your fall:
- Usually you have two years to file your claim
- In some cases your deadline is far shorter and you may only have weeks
Missing the deadline carries serious consequences. The local courts will refuse to hear your case, and you will not be able to recover any money for your injuries. In fact, waiting to file a claim may not be in your best interest because it may be harder to prove your case. This is why we recommend that you speak to a lawyer as soon as possible after your accident.
Talk to a Roswell Slip and Fall Lawyer for Free
We don’t want you to pay for someone else’s negligence. At John Foy & Associates, we want to help you get the financial recovery you need to get treatment and full financial recovery for all the damage you suffered. At our free consultation, we will talk about your case and help you decide what to do.
Call us at 404-400-4000 or fill out the form to your right and get your FREE consultation today.
(404) 400-4000 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
