If you fell and hurt yourself on someone else’s property, you should contact our office immediately. You may have a viable claim against the person who owns the building in which you fell. Our South Fulton personal injury lawyers meet with new clients every week who fell and got injured at a store, restaurant, or public building. Let us do what we can to get you the damages you deserve.
Here, we’ll discuss how to handle a slip and fall accident. Some of our clients were not aware that they had a potential claim against more than one party. When we point this out to them and show them how complicated their case may become, they usually decide to retain our services. If you want the best chances of winning or settling your case, you’ll want a Georgia injury lawyer there by your side.
What are the Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents?
Most people tend to suffer their slip and fall accidents while on commercial property. For example, a lot of people fall and get hurt at grocery stores and department stores. Others fall and get hurt while on public property. You could be at the library and fall on a patch of ice on their sidewalk. You could even be in a courthouse in South Fulton, Georgia and fall on an overly waxed floor. There’s no limit to how these things can happen.
What we do know is that most of the defendants in these cases have insurance. While Georgia law does not require businesses to carry general liability, most do. Their general liability insurance will cover any injuries that happen on their property, including after a slip and fall accident. This means your South Fulton personal injury lawyer will need to sue their insurance company in order for you to get paid. If you learn that the company doesn’t have the necessary insurance coverage, you can always sue the business owner personally. This isn’t ideal, especially if the owners of the company are protected by limited liability ownership. Thankfully, it’s rare that a business would continue to operate without the requisite insurance.
Will Your South Fulton Personal Injury Lawyer Able to Pursue an Insurance Company?
The first thing your South Fulton personal injury lawyer will need to do is find out if the defendant has insurance. If they do, there’s a chance that they’ll be able to negotiate payment of your claim. Most insurance companies would rather settle a claim than go to court. Even though they have a staff of attorneys working for them, it is still expensive to fight a claim in court.
At the same time, your Georgia injury lawyer wants to settle your claim as well. From your perspective, it can be very expensive to sue somebody. Not only do you have to pay filing fees, but you may also have to pay for depositions and expert witnesses. You also have to consider the time it takes to go to trial. If you’re like our other clients, you need money now, not two years from now. Sometimes, it’s better to settle for some damages now than risk going to court. You could lose if you go to trial. Or the judge may determine that you were partially at fault for your slip and fall accident and reduce your damages.
You May Have to Sue More than One Defendant
Depending on where you fell, there’s a chance you may have to pursue more than one defendant for your slip and fall accident. You will obviously need to sue the person or company who owns the building you fell in. For example, if you fell in an ABC grocery store, you would sue the owners of ABC. If your South Fulton personal injury lawyer learns that an outside company manages the property, they’ll need to file a claim against them as well. The good news is that these companies and individuals typically have insurance. This means you may not have to sue anybody personally for damages.
If, of course, your Georgia injury lawyer isn’t able to settle your claim with the insurance companies, you may have to file suit. If this is the case, you’ll need to name several parties. Some of these may include the following:
- The person or company who owns the business or building where you fell
- The property owner’s insurance company
- The property management company
- The management company’s insurance company
- The company responsible for cleaning and treating the floors inside the building
As you can see, things can become quite complicated. There are even some South Fulton personal injury lawyers who would have a hard time handling a slip and fall accident case. The good news is that our Georgia injury lawyers have the expertise and experience necessary to help you in these matters.
The Good News is Our South Fulton Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help Get You the Compensation You Deserve
If you suffer a slip and fall accident and get hurt while on someone else’s property, you may have a claim for damages. Of course, it depends on a lot of factors. For example, did you suffer any real injury when you fell? Did you fill out an incident form right away before anyone could say you were injured some other way? All of these things matter when it comes time to pursue your case. Our South Fulton personal injury lawyers do their best to prove your case and get you the compensation you deserve. However, we can only do that if you handle things properly after your slip and fall.
We recommend that you contact our office and speak to one of our Georgia injury lawyers as soon as possible after your slip and fall accident. Ideally, we would be involved before you file your initial insurance claim. That’s because you may need to file a claim with more than one party. Because these cases can become complicated, we suggest that you retain a South Fulton personal injury lawyer sooner rather than later. Since we offer you a free, initial consultation, you don’t have anything to lose.
