Slipping and tripping accidents cause more serious injuries than many people would think, especially when they happen to young children and elderly adults. Unfortunately, it can also be much more difficult than you might expect to hold a landowner liable for a dangerous property condition that led to this sort of accident, even if all the evidence seems to point towards them having been negligent in maintaining their land.
In situations like this, guidance from an experienced personal injury attorney could be key not just to maximizing the compensation you may ultimately receive, but often to getting paid anything at all for your damages. With a seasoned Chandler slip and fall lawyer on your side, you will have far better chances of securing a favorable case result than you would ever likely have filing suit on your own.
Common Causes of Slips and Falls
What qualifies as an unreasonably dangerous property condition under Arizona premises liability law depends on specific circumstances, including the reason someone is on the property in the first place. Additionally, extremely obvious hazards that any reasonable person could have identified as dangerous generally cannot serve as the basis for a lawsuit, even if they directly cause a slip or trip and fall accident. That said, there is no shortage of hazardous property conditions that could potentially cause a serious injury and give rise to a civil lawsuit, such as:
- Uneven or broken steps
- Lack of proper lighting
- Clutter in walking spaces
- Unsecured electrical wires or cords
- Loose floorboards, carpeting, or tiles
- Potholes or cracks in outdoor pavement
- Lack of handrails on stairs or raised platforms
- Failure to clean up liquid spills or ice buildup
Even a fall from a standing position to the floor can cause soft-tissue injuries and bone fractures, which may take months to heal, and falls from more elevated heights may result in life-altering damage to the brain, spine, or even internal organs. A skilled Chandler slip and fall attorney could help demand fair restitution for both economic and non-economic consequences of an injury stemming from this sort of accident.
Holding a Landowner Liable for a Slip and Fall
One of the biggest reasons why having help from seasoned legal counsel can be so important to achieving success with a slip and fall claim in Chandler is the fact that these claims are governed by a specific subset of personal injury law. Rather than assigning roughly the same duty of care to everyone, premises liability law imposes different expectations on landowners for different types of visitors on their land, which means the right of an injured person to file suit over a slip and fall may change depending on why they were in that location, to begin with.
For example, trespassers are generally owed no duty of care from property owners other than to not intentionally cause them harm. However, patrons at a restaurant or other people visiting a business for the benefit of the owner are owed the highest duty of care, and owners must warn them of any potential or known hazards as well as regularly inspect for dangerous conditions.
In addition, landowners are only liable for injuries that stemmed directly from their failure to fulfill their duty of care, so even a little bit of doubt that a landowner was directly responsible for a dangerous property condition could sink this sort of claim before it even begins. Last but certainly not least, Arizona Revised Statutes § 12-542 generally limits accident victims to two years at most after initially getting hurt to file civil suit, so anyone who wants to sue a landowner over a slip or trip and fall must do so fairly quickly after their accident.
Talk to a Chandler Slip and Fall Attorney About Your Legal Options
Working with a Chandler slip and fall lawyer from our firm with over three decades of experience could be vital to ensuring your accident does not have a disproportionate impact on the rest of your life. Call today for a consultation with a trusted legal advocate who has been helping people in the local community just like you get the justice they deserve.
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