Weston is a planned suburban community on the western edge of Broward County. With a population of around 67,000 and a median family income of more than $115,000, the city has many high-end neighborhoods and a mix of businesses, corporate offices, and retail spaces.
Despite the well-maintained environment, slip-and-fall accidents can happen anytime in Weston’s businesses, offices, and public areas.
Slips and falls might be funny in comedy shows or movies, but they can have serious consequences in real life. A slip on a spilled drink or falling on a damaged staircase can lead to severe and costly injuries. A Weston slip-and-fall lawyer can be useful if premise negligence caused your injuries. Filing a lawsuit isn’t difficult with the right legal aid.
Weston, FL, sees its fair share of slip-and-fall accidents. Some of the common ones include:
Slippery Floors
Weston Town Center and Weston Lakes Plaza have high foot traffic. If not cleaned up, spills from drinks or cleaning solutions can quickly turn floors into slippery hazards. Imagine grabbing a coffee and then slipping on a wet spot and breaking your wrist—it can happen in an instant!
The Weston YMCA Family Center also has its risks. Wet surfaces in the pool areas and locker rooms can easily cause slips and falls. After leaving an exercise machine, you can easily slip on a slick floor. Keeping these areas dry and safe is crucial to prevent accidents.
Uneven Surfaces
Peace Mound Park and Weston Regional Park are filled with uneven paths and neglected walkways. Weston’s weather, with its heavy rain and intense sun, gradually cracks sidewalks, creating tripping hazards.
The last thing you expect during a relaxing walk is to trip over an exposed root or pothole or stumble on uneven pavement. With no warning to brace yourself, injuries can be catastrophic with long-lasting repercussions.
Poor Lighting
Poor lighting hides serious slip-and-fall hazards. This can include broken pavements, puddles, boxes, roots, or anything you can trip over. Say you are trying to find your car in the dimly lit car park after golfing at Weston Hills Country Club.
You can easily trip over a cracked pavement or obstacle, breaking your nose or teeth.
Weather-Related Hazards
Weston summers are long, wet, and oppressive. Thunderstorms and humidity can create moist and slippery conditions that can cause serious slip-and-fall accidents. Places like Weston Regional Park and Peace Mound Park can become slippery when water pools on walkways or outdoor stairs. Slip-and-fall accidents are imminent if the water isn’t drained or cleaned up promptly.
According to Florida’s premise liability law, property owners and managers must ensure visitor safety. This includes regular inspections, ensuring pooling water and spills are cleaned quickly and damages are repaired. However, they may try to blame you for your injuries to avoid payouts. A Weston slip-and-fall injury lawyer can collect witness statements, evidence, and more for a strong case and maximum compensation.
Document everything thoroughly to get the best compensation after a slip-and-fall accident. A Weston slip-and-fall injury lawyer would recommend:
Photos of the Accident Scene
After a fall, taking pictures of the scene might not be the first thing on your mind, especially if you’re injured. However, these can strengthen your case against the property owner.
Time is critical here. The hazard that caused your fall may be cleaned up soon after you report the accident. Ask someone to take pictures for you if you are seriously injured in a slip-and-fall accident.
The Accident Report
A slip-and-fall accident report is crucial evidence of your fall. Without it, the property manager might deny knowledge of the incident. Make a thorough report and ask for a copy of your personal injury lawyer’s report from the manager.
A Written Account of the Accident
Note down the details of the incident. Include details like the date, time, exact location, witnesses, and what caused the accident (like spilled liquids or lack of warning signs).
Witness Statements
If your accident happened in a busy place, chances are someone saw it. These witnesses can provide valuable statements to support your slip and fall lawsuit. Your Weston slip-and-fall lawyers can contact them for their account of the incident and if they can testify. If you cannot ask yourself, your lawyer can prove invaluable in this case.
Surveillance Footage
Stores, parks, and businesses may have security cameras that record your fall. Get the footage from the property owner as quickly as possible. Surveillance systems often overwrite old recordings soon after an incident.
Medical Records
Even seemingly minor slip-and-fall injuries can be serious. So, make sure to consult a doctor right after your accident, even if there is no pain. You may have internal injuries that can worsen with time. Give copies of all medical records and treatments to your personal injury attorney.
Authentic medical records can provide proof of maximum compensation after your Weston slip-and-fall accident.
Head Injuries
If you hit your head on a hard surface, you can get cuts, bruises, or even a concussion. Severe impacts can cause one of two types of traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Closed brain injuries happen when the brain is injured without the skull breaking. This happens if the brain bounces inside the skull from impact, causing bruising, tearing of brain tissue, and blood vessel damage.
Car accidents, falls, sports injuries, and shaken baby syndrome can cause closed brain injuries. Similarly, penetrating brain injuries occur when something breaks through the skull. For example, you can sustain blunt force trauma to the head when you slip and hit it on a piece of sharp glass or damaged pavement.
Broken Leg or Ankle
If you slip into a hole or suddenly drop when you step into a hidden pothole, the impact can fracture your ankle or leg bones. Fractures can be small cracks or complete breaks that need urgent medical care. You might have pain and swelling, struggle to walk, and may need surgery or a cast for recovery.
Broken Arm or Wrist
A slip-and-fall accident can happen anytime. But, when you slip, your body will automatically try to protect itself by stretching out an arm. The impact can cause serious wrist or arm fractures.
These can vary in severity, from minor cracks to complete breaks that may require surgical intervention for realignment. Symptoms typically include pain, swelling, bruising, and limited limb movement.
Back Injuries
You can injure your back if you land awkwardly or twist your body during a fall. This might cause slipped discs (herniated discs) or vertebrae fractures.
A slipped disc occurs when the soft disc between your spine’s bones bulges or tears, causing pain and numbness. Similarly, vertebrae fractures vary in severity and may require surgery or bracing to heal. Symptoms include back pain, trouble bending or twisting, and nerve damage affecting feeling or movement in severe cases.
Proving Negligence for a Strong Case
A slip-and-fall injury lawyer can explain and establish the premise of negligence’s impact on your case. Negligence means the property owner failed to take reasonable care, leading to your injury. Ensure that the responsible party is held liable for their actions or inaction.
For example, if a property owner ignores a broken staircase railing and you fall and get hurt, this shows negligence. Your Weston slip-and-fall injury lawyer can hold them accountable for failing to maintain a safe environment for visitors.
Proving Duty of Care
Your Weston slip-and-fall lawyer can gather evidence proving the property owner had a legal obligation to ensure the safety of their premises for visitors like you. This includes regular maintenance, promptly addressing hazards, and providing adequate warnings.
For instance, if a property owner fails to fix a broken stair despite knowing it’s dangerous, and you get injured, this shows negligence.
Demonstrating Breach of Duty
In a strong slip-and-fall case, your lawyer can show how the property owner breached their duty of care. This can include evidence of neglected maintenance, unrepaired hazards like uneven flooring or icy walkways, or inadequate warning signs.
By highlighting these failures, your personal injury lawyer strengthens your case against the property owner’s negligence.
Establishing Causation
Your lawyer can use evidence to link the property owner’s breach of duty and your injuries with proof. This includes medical records, expert testimonies, and other proof showing the dangerous conditions that directly led to your slip-and-fall accident. Proving causation can show that the property owner’s negligence caused your injuries and subsequent damages.
For instance, your lawyer could show that a store’s loose carpet made you trip and fall, causing your injuries.
Maximizing Compensation
With their expertise in personal injury law and slip-and-fall cases, your lawyer will seek the highest compensation for you. They’ll evaluate all damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and future rehab costs. With sufficient evidence, they can get fair compensation for your injuries.
For example, they can argue that a store’s negligence in fixing a slippery floor led to your fall, resulting in medical bills and lost wages. For fair compensation, your Weston slip-and-fall attorneys can prove how this incident affected your life.
What compensation can I get for Weston slip-and-fall accidents?
Depending on accident severity, you may be entitled to:
Economic Damages: These cover tangible costs like medical bills, therapy, lost wages, medical devices, medications, transportation, and home help expenses.
Non-Economic Damages: These compensate for intangible losses such as physical pain, emotional suffering, disability, and reduced quality of life.
Punitive Damages: If the property owner acted deliberately or recklessly to get back at you, you may get punitive damages.
What are comparative negligence laws?
According to Florida’s comparative negligence laws, you could be held partially responsible if your actions contributed to your fall and injury. However, you may still recover damages based on the percentage of fault attributed to others.
For example, if the property owner is 60% to blame and you’re 40% to blame, you can only get 60% of the damages. That will be the extent of your personal injury claim.
Do my slip-and-fall injuries need to be permanent to recover non-economic damages?
No. You can seek compensation for non-economic losses regardless of permanent injury. This means you can pursue damages for physical pain, emotional distress, and any other hardships from an accident, even if your injury is temporary. Discuss your personal injury cases with experienced attorneys to understand your rights and fair compensation.
What should I do after a slip-and-fall accident?
Get medical attention right away, even for seemingly minor injuries for your slip and fall claim. This is crucial for your health and creates a record of your injuries.
Report the accident to the property owner or manager. Ask them to fill out an incident report and get a copy for yourself.
If it is possible, gather evidence at the scene of the accident. Take photos of where you fell, hazards like spills or uneven surfaces, and anything else that can strengthen your case.
Get contact information from witnesses who saw what happened. Their statements could be important later on.
Contact a slip-and-fall attorney for advice. They can help you understand your legal options and guide you through the compensation process for injuries and related expenses.
Without swift legal action, a slip-and-fall accident can ruin you financially. Contact Madalon Law’s Weston slip-and-fall lawyers for a free case evaluation. You can pay when we win your case and get you the compensation you deserve for your slip-and-fall liability claims. Our Weston slip-and-fall lawyers will protect your rights and face the insurance company and opposing parties for you.
Most people are not aware of how the law works, the rights they have and the amount of compensation they can be entitled to after they have been injured in an accident that was the result of another party’s negligence. The obstacles and confusion that follow an accident and an injury can seem overwhelming.
