San Diego Slip and Fall Attorneys

San Diego slip and fall accidents can happen at home, at a business, at the airport, at a shopping mall, at a theme park, next to a swimming pool, or almost any place else that you can imagine. Property owners in San Diego have a legal obligation to maintain safe premises for those who visit and to warn visitors about known hazards. Negligent San Diego property owners who don’t remove hazards from their property or warn visitors about potential dangers open themselves up to liability for damages when someone gets hurt in a slip and fall accident on their property.

A severe San Diego slip and fall accident often leads to serious, sometimes fatal injuries, creating economic stress for victims and their families. Catastrophic injuries can bankrupt a family. Fortunately, California law permits slip and fall accident victims to take legal action against a negligent property owner to recover losses related to the accident and resulting injuries.

If you, your child, or another loved one has suffered injuries on another person’s property or at a business, contact the experienced San Diego slip and fall attorneys at Gomez Trial Attorneys for a free consultation to share your slip and fall accident story, discuss the viability of your claim, and learn how we can assist you going forward.

Gomez Trial Attorneys’ Results in Slip and Fall Claims

The award-winning legal team at Gomez Trial Attorneys has been advocating for accident injury victims for decades, including those who suffered injuries in a slip and fall accident. The firm’s commitment to client service and professional excellence has led to tens of millions of dollars in compensation for accident victims and their families. Our most recent case outcomes involving slip and fall accidents range between almost $800,000 and more than $16 million.

They include:

• $780,000 jury award
• $1,000,000 settlement
• $1,250,000 settlement
• $2,000,000 settlement
• $2,000,000 jury award
• $2,100,000 settlement
• $7,500,000 jury award
• $16,200,000 settlement
• $16,200,000 jury award

These settlement and verdict amounts for clients who were injured in slip and fall accidents do not guarantee a particular financial outcome for your claim. Each slip and fall case has underlying facts that add to or detract from its value. The skilled slip and fall attorneys at Gomez Trial Attorneys have the knowledge and resources to build a strong case against the property owner responsible for your injuries, giving you the best chance of receiving the maximum compensation for your injuries.

Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and fall accidents are preventable events that can lead to severe injury or death, especially in older adults. In fact, the California Department of Health estimates that more than 90,000 adults over age 50 are hospitalized across California each year due to unintentional falls. More than 350 people die each year due to unintentional falls in San Diego County alone, approximately 300 of whom are over age 65. Yet, the elderly are not the only group vulnerable to slip and fall accidents. Children and adults can also sustain injuries in slip and fall accidents.

Snow and ice aren’t a problem in Southern California, but other environmental factors can lead to slip and fall accidents. Additionally, we include all kinds of unintentional falls under the slip and fall umbrella, including trip and fall accidents.

Examples of dangerous conditions that can result in slip and fall accidents and injuries may include:

• Old structures with loose or ripped carpet, broken tiles, cracked hardwood, and other dangerous floor coverings.
• Loose stairways, steps, and handrails.
• Uncleared debris in storefronts, parking lots, and driveways.
• Use of wet floor products or spills including, water, floor wax, floor cleaners, oil, and food.
• Use of dry products or spills including powder, sawdust, granules dirt, and sand.
• Malfunctioning escalators, especially those that haven’t been regularly maintained.
• Uneven, cracked, or broken sidewalks, walking paths, and walkways.

Determining Liability in San Diego Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and fall accident claims are based on a property owner’s negligence, which an attorney must prove in civil court or demonstrate to an insurance company to reach a settlement or win a jury award. If you suffered injuries on another person’s property, that does not automatically mean the owner was negligent.

California law states: “Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person.”

Determining liability in a slip and fall accident is sometimes an easy task for lawyers, investigators, and the courts. Often, however, cases are complex, making it especially important for slip and fall accident victims to seek out a skilled attorney.

Prevailing in a slip and fall case in San Diego requires the plaintiff to prove:

• The defendant owned, leased, occupied or controlled the property where the injury occurred.
• The defendant was negligent in the use or maintenance of the property.
• The plaintiff suffered harm.
• The defendant’s negligence was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s injuries.

Ultimately, determining liability is akin to proving negligence. All property owners have a duty to maintain their premises. Negligent property owners breach that duty and expose visitors to dangerous conditions and potential injuries in a slip and fall accident or another type of accident.

Some considerations lawyers, insurance companies, and courts use to evaluate whether a property owner has breached their duty in a specific case include:

• The likelihood of a slip and fall injury given the circumstances.
• The potential severity of an injury given the circumstances.
• A property owner’s knowledge, or lack thereof, of the hazard that led to the slip and fall accident.
• The property’s location.
• The extent of the burden for a property owner to remove or fix the hazardous condition.
• The amount of control the property owner had over the hazard that led to the slip and fall accident.

Recouping Losses After a San Diego Slip and Fall Injury

If you suffer injuries in a slip and fall accident that would not have happened if not for the property owner’s negligence, you deserve compensation for losses related to the accident and your injuries. California law permits slip and fall accident victims to seek compensation for losses by bringing a personal injury lawsuit against the negligent property owner.

If an accident victim reaches a settlement with the owner’s insurance company or a court rules in the victim’s favor, the victim can recover some or all of the following losses related to their slip and fall accident injuries:

• Medical treatment costs, including ambulance and emergency room service, hospitalization, X-rays, surgery, follow-up visits, medication, and travel to and from the hospital or doctor’s office.
• Estimated future medical expenses when a slip and fall accident leads to a catastrophic injury requiring ongoing treatment and care.
• Rehabilitation costs for visits with specialists such as physical therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, mental health professionals, or any other specialist who helps the victim regain lost functions, cope with disabilities, or work through the emotional trauma of a permanent injury.
• Expenses for assistive devices such as walkers, canes, and wheelchairs.
• Lost wages for time away from work due to the slip and fall accident and injuries.
• Estimated future lost wages when a catastrophic slip and fall injury prevents a victim from returning to their job or seeking employment in the future.
• Home modification expenses to make an accident victim’s home more accessible by installing handrails, wheelchair ramps, or making any other needed accommodations.
• Physical pain and suffering.
• Mental anguish.
• Loss of consortium with a spouse.
• Decreased quality of life.
• Punitive damages when gross negligence or intentional harm caused the slip and fall accident and injuries.

California law also allows surviving family members to take legal action if a loved one dies as a result of a slip and fall accident. Eligible survivors sometimes receive compensation from one or both of two types of claims after the death of a loved one: a wrongful death claim and/or a survivor claim. Wrongful death claims are complex in California, so it’s best to consult with an experienced slip and fall injury attorney who can advise you on the best course of action for you and your family. Eligible survivors sometimes receive compensation for some of the above losses as well as funeral expenses and burial costs.

Additionally, compensation is based on the claimant’s specific relationship with the deceased. For example, minor children who lose a parent sometimes receive compensation for loss of guidance and parental support. Similarly, widows and widowers sometimes receive compensation for loss of companionship. Your San Diego slip and fall lawyer can answer any questions you have related to the death of a loved one after a slip and fall accident.

Common Defense Strategies for Slip and Fall Claims

A property owner who is named in a personal injury lawsuit and their business or homeowners’ insurance carrier will usually go to great lengths to undervalue an injured person’s claim. In fact, in many cases, insurers do their best not to pay on a claim at all. After all, insurance companies do not stay in business by paying every claim or settling every lawsuit that comes their way.

Depending on the situation and circumstances of your slip and fall injury, the insurer or the insurer’s lawyers will typically use one or more of the following strategies in an attempt to reduce or eliminate their financial liability:

• Argue that your slip and fall accident injuries aren’t as severe as you claim.
• Argue that your fall did not cause injury; instead, you have pre-existing injuries.
• Argue that you slipped or tripped and fell because you were distracted by your cell phone, by a friend, by eating or drinking, or by engaging in some other distracting activity that caused you to miss the obvious hazard in your path.
• Argue that you were in an area restricted to visitors.
• Argue that you ignored posted signs, markings, or verbal warnings about the hazard that led to your slip and fall accident.
• Argue that you did not have permission to be on the property and you were trespassing. Property owners have no obligation towards trespassers or liability if a trespasser suffers injuries on their property, with two caveats. Property owners cannot set traps for trespassers, nor can they intentionally harm trespassers without opening themselves up to liability.
• Argue that you tripped over your own feet because no hazard existed.
• Argue that a reasonable person would have seen the hazard, avoid it, and avoided the fall.

Experienced and skilled slip and fall injury attorneys can anticipate the strategies the defense’s legal teams and insurance companies will use to try to avoid liability. In many cases, a lawyer can anticipate these tactics based on the circumstances of a slip and fall accident. Typically, personal injury attorneys investigate a slip and fall accident claim, gather relevant evidence from the scene of the accident, talk to witnesses, search for previous complaints, and build the strongest case possible to prove a property owner’s negligence led to the injury. This gives accident victims the best chance of receiving the maximum compensation for their claim.

Get the Help You Need from Gomez Trial Attorneys After a San Diego Slip and Fall Injury

John Gomez, San Diego Slip and Fall Lawyer

At Gomez Trial Attorneys, our attorneys understand the physical, mental, and economic challenges that slip and fall accident victims face in the wake of a severe injury. We cannot take away your physical pain, but we can help you fight for the compensation you deserve for your injuries if you have a viable claim. Financial compensation does not turn back time, but you should not have to suffer economically because of a property owner’s careless decisions or laziness. You also deserve compensation for the mental anguish and emotional stress you have experienced as a result of your accident and injury.

An experienced San Diego slip and fall attorney can help you through this difficult time and guide you through the claims process and a lawsuit, if necessary, giving you time to focus on healing and recovery. Contact Gomez Trial Attorneys online or at (619) 237-3490 to discuss the events that led to your slip and fall accident, determine your eligibility for compensation, and get advice about the best course of action after your slip and fall accident injury.