Those were the words my friend used when she told me what had happened to her on a cold, icy day in January many years ago.
She and her friend were standing in front of a video rental store when, all of a sudden, she lost her balance, tripped, and fell heavily on the ice, injuring herself in the process.
While the injury was not extremely severe, it did impact her ability to work for the next few days, and as she was leaving the premises of that video store, she noticed the area in question was not salted for the winter.
Unlike the video store owner, she decided not to hire a premises liability lawyer, since she preferred to deal with the matter herself. Only days following her fall, she contacted the video store to begin what would become a long and ultimately fruitless negotiation.
She was offered a settlement, which she refused. Needless to say, since she was not supported by a legal team, the case quickly became a battle between David and Goliath. She did not get any monetary compensation for her fall in the end.
Whether you fell on a commercial or residential property, or whether you are the landlord or owner of the property in question, consulting with a premises liability lawyer will save you grief, time and lots of money.
As experts will tell you, you should contact a legal representative-one who offers free consultations-within hours of the fall in question. Indeed, he or she will inform you of how statues of limitations, that is, the time limit you have to fill a claim against the other party, can be applied in your case.
Your premises liability lawyer will then determine with you whether the fall in question could have been easily avoided or if it is was “an accident waiting to a happen” due to negligence.
He or she will investigate the length of time the conditions which lead to the fall were in place, and whether reasonable attempts to fix the problem were made.
Don’t be “left out in the cold” if you injured yourself while on someone’s property this winter, or if someone is filing a premises liability claim against you for that same reason. You will be glad you chose to be legally represented and supported by a team whose duty it to fight-in your interest.
