Slip and Fall Attorneys in Brockton, MA

Every day, countless people slip, trip, or fall. Most of those falls are minor incidents that leave you with a few cuts and bruises, and perhaps a bit of embarrassment. In more serious cases, you can suffer serious, debilitating injuries. Those injuries include broken bones, neck and back injuries, head trauma and spinal injuries.

Sometimes a slip and fall accident is caused by a condition on someone else’s property. The property owner or occupier or business owner should have discovered, fixed, or warned visitors to the property about the condition. Our accident attorneys believe that a property or business owner should be held legally accountable for that a slip and fall accident. Our goal is to obtain the compensation that fall victims deserve for their injuries.

If a slip and fall accident on someone else’s property has happened to you in Brockton or elsewhere in Southern Massachusetts, allow The Law Offices of Gerald J. Noonan to help. We stand up on your behalf to get you the financial compensation you deserve. When you choose us to help with your slip and fall claim, insurance companies and at-fault parties will know you are serious about recovering fair and full compensation for your injuries.

To set up a free case evaluation with a slip and fall lawyer in Brockton, call us today or contact us online.

Types of Owner Negligence Cases Involving Trips, Slips, and Fall Accidents

A number of hazardous conditions can cause people to lose their balance and trip, slip or fall on someone else’s property in Brockton.  For many of those falls, the property owner or business owner has breached either a duty to maintain the property or a duty to warn of the hazardous conditions. A breach of either duty may make the property owner or business owner liable if someone is injured.

Here’s where many accident injuries occur:

Floors, Aisles, Lobbies

  • Waxed or polished floors, and other slippery or sticky cleaning agents.
  • Wet floors not properly marked or dried.
  • Dropped or foreign substances not cleared away.
  • Floor mats, worn, improperly placed or installed.

Steps, Stairs, and Stairwells

Dangerous or Faulty Doors

  • Automatic swinging doors
  • Automatic electrical doors

Parking Lots and Sidewalks

  • Uneven payment
  • Potholes
  • Bad design

Other Premises Liability Injuries

  • Escalators and elevator accidents
  • In a supermarket, shopping mall, department stores, fast food restaurants, or a convenience store
  • Crimes committed on owner’s property
  • Swimming pool accidents and drownings
  • Beach accidents and drownings
  • Dog and animal attacks
  • Other accidents resulting from property owner negligence

How Our Brockton Slip and Fall Attorneys Can Help After an Accident

A slip and fall may seem like a simple accident, but it can turn into a complex legal claim. Our firm zealously pursues maximum financial recovery on behalf of our clients who have been injured due to the negligence of property or business owners.

When you have been injured in a slip and fall accident, our attorneys can help ensure that you receive the financial compensation for your injuries by:

  • Investigating your accident by securing and reviewing accident scene photos, accident/incident reports, eyewitness statements, surveillance camera footage and medical records. Our investigation will help us determine how your accident occurred and who may have been responsible for your fall.
  • Collaborating with engineering and medical experts to help us effectively and persuasively explain how the property or business owner’s negligence caused the fall that resulted in your injuries.
  • Calculating the extent of your past, ongoing and future damages caused by your accident.
  • Filing claims with the responsible insurance companies and aggressively negotiating for a settlement that provides you with full compensation.
  • Preparing your case for trial, if necessary, and advocating on your behalf before a judge and jury.

In addition, our firm can help you by referring you to medical providers that will treat your injuries. We will also work to get your medical insurance to help defray the costs of your recovery. Our goal is obtain the compensation you deserve from the negligent property or business owner.

Compensation After a Slip and Fall

Many slip and fall accident victims suffer serious, life-altering injuries. If you have been severely injured by a slip and fall, you may be entitled to recover compensation for these damages:

  • Medical expenses, including hospital bills, doctor’s office visits, surgeries, physical and occupational therapy, pain medication, and mobility or medical equipment
  • Anticipated future medical costs
  • Costs of long-term care if your injuries disable you from caring for yourself
  • Lost wages or income for the time you miss from work due to your injuries
  • Lost earning capacity, if your disabilities prevent you from returning to work or otherwise cause you to suffer a reduction in your income
  • Pain and suffering or emotional distress
  • Lost quality of life

Our Brockton slip and fall accident attorneys can help you to understand the kinds of compensation you and your family may be entitled to for your injuries and damages.

What Do You Have to Prove in a Slip and Fall Claim?

To succeed in a slip and fall claim, you must show that your slip and fall was caused by a dangerous or hazardous condition of the property that you were lawfully on. Not every dangerous or hazardous condition that causes a slip and fall accident makes a property or business owner liable for the accident.

Typically, you must show that the property or business owner knew of the condition and failed to fix it or warn visitors of its existence. You must also show that the condition existed long enough prior to your fall that a reasonable property or business owner would have discovered it and acted to protect visitors from an accident.

For example, if a bottle is knocked off a shelf in a supermarket by a customer and causes a spill, and you walk down that aisle a minute later and slip and fall, the supermarket might argue that it could not have reasonably been discovered or cleaned up the spill. However, if the spill remained on the ground for two hours before you slipped and fell on it, you might argue that reasonable maintenance and safety checks would have allowed the store to discover and clean up the spill before your accident.

How Long Do You Have to File a Slip and Fall Lawsuit in Massachusetts?

In Massachusetts, the law places a time limit, known as the statute of limitations, on filing a lawsuit for compensation in a slip and fall case. The statute of limitations for those injury claims is three years from the date of your accident. If you file a lawsuit after the statute of limitations has expired, the court will dismiss your case. That will bar you from seeking compensation in court.

In addition, if your slip and fall accident occurred on public or government property, you must provide the state or municipal government with notice of your claim before you can file suit. The claim must be filed within two years of the date of your accident. The government has up to six months to accept or deny your claim. Only after six months or after your claim is denied will you be entitled to file a lawsuit.

What to Do If You’ve Been Hurt in a Slip and Fall

If you suffer a slip and fall accident on someone else’s property, take these steps to ensure that your legal rights are protected:

  • Notify the property or business owner of your accident. Whether your fall occurred on residential or commercial property, notify the owner or occupier of the property of your accident. If your accident takes place in a store, restaurant, or another place of business, speak to a manager or supervisor to report your accident. On a commercial property, a supervisor or manager may prepare an accident or incident report to forward to the property or business owner’s insurance company. If possible, obtain a copy of that report before you leave.
  • Take photos of the accident scene. If possible, take photographs or video of the area where your slip and fall took place. Try to photograph whatever may have caused your fall, such as a puddle of liquid or a patch of ice. Also photograph any warning signs, the lighting in the area, and (if applicable) the outside weather. Also document the clothing and footwear you were wearing at the time of your accident. If you suffered any visible injuries, photograph them as well. Finally, take the time to note whether any surveillance video may have caught your accident. If so, ask the property or business owner to preserve a copy of the video.
  • Get examined by a physician. A doctor or other medical provider can often diagnose injuries you may have suffered in your fall via a physical examination. Promptly identifying your injuries will allow you to more persuasively argue that those injuries were caused by your fall and not something else.
  • Talk to a slip and fall accident lawyer. After a slip and fall accident, take quick action to collect and preserve critical evidence. Talk to a slip and fall lawyer as soon as possible. That will allow your attorney to begin building a case for the financial compensation you need and deserve.

After your accident, you may be contacted by an insurance adjuster or attorneys with a request for a statement. Those parties hope you will say something that they can use against your claim. Instead, let our Brockton slip and fall accident attorneys deal with the insurance companies and their lawyers. We will look out for your rights and interests when dealing with the insurance companies.

Where Do Slip and Fall Accidents Typically Occur in Brockton, Massachusetts?

Although a slip and fall accident can take place nearly anywhere, examples of locations where slip and falls most commonly occur include: