San Antonio Slip and Fall Lawyer

What may seem like a simple slip, trip, and fall incident on another’s property can sometimes lead to serious and long-lasting consequences for the injured person. If you slipped and injured yourself on someone’s property, and you believe that the premises owner’s negligence is to blame for your injuries, it may be wise to reach out to a skilled attorney.

A San Antonio slip and fall lawyer can review the facts of the incident and determine whether you may have a viable claim for monetary compensation. A diligent personal injury attorney can help you prove responsibility or liability and the injuries sustained in the slip and fall incident, and help you hold the negligent party accountable. En Español.

Injuries Frequently Sustained in Slip and Fall Incidents

The severity of the injuries a person may sustain in a slip and fall incident varies and depends significantly on the nature of the conditions that led to the incident. Slip and fall incidents can be commonly caused by bad lighting, dangerous staircases, slick surfaces, gaps or holes in pavement, exposed wires, and unsecured carpeting or floorboards.

Serious slip and fall injuries may include fractured bones, nerve damage, broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, neck injuries, and back injuries. Other injuries commonly reported after a slip and fall incident include lacerations, sprains, muscular injuries, shoulder injuries, ligament tears, and soft tissue injuries.

Negligence in Slip and Falls

To recover compensation on behalf of a slip and fall claimant, a San Antonio attorney is required to demonstrate that their claim satisfies the legal elements of premises liability. The nature of the burden of proof depends on the status of the claimant to the premises. Generally, most claimants are considered invitees, such as when you go to the grocery store to shop. As an invitee, the premises owner owes a duty to exercise ordinary care to keep the premises in a reasonably safe condition, inspect the premises, and discover latent defects. If the premises owner fails to do so, they may be negligent and held accountable.

The owner of a property is obligated by a legal duty of care to patrons as well as individuals they expressly invite onto the premises to keep the property free from reasonably discoverable hazards.

If the owner does not comply with their legal duty, and this breach causes someone to suffer injuries, the property owner can be legally liable for the compensable harms sustained by the injured party. For example, lost wages, medical expenses, pain and suffering, as well as loss of enjoyment of life, may be compensable.

Understanding the Comparative Negligence Theory

There may be slip and fall cases in which the court determines that both the injured party and the property owner acted negligently. Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 33.001 contains the state’s comparative negligence law. Under this rule, if the injured party is no more than 50 percent negligent, they can still partially recover money damages. If the injured party’s percentage of liability is found to be more than 50 percent, then they are barred from recovery.

Moreover, any negligence allocated to the injured party would reduce their recoverable compensation proportionately. As an example, an injured party assigned 10 percent liability for their slip and fall incident could still receive 90 percent of their total compensation.

San Antonio Slip and Fall Claim Filing Deadline

Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003 requires slip and fall plaintiffs to file a personal injury lawsuit within two years of the date that the slip and fall occurred. If the plaintiff waits to contact a San

Antonio attorney and tries to file their slip and fall claim after more than two years have transpired, they will generally, with few exceptions, no longer be eligible for financial recovery, and the court will reject their lawsuit outright.

Reach Out to a San Antonio Slip and Fall Attorney Today

A San Antonio slip and fall lawyer could draw upon the wide breadth of their experience and resources to help you seek just financial recovery for your injuries. An attorney could negotiate with the property owner’s insurance company for the comprehensive value of your claim. If a settlement is not possible, a lawyer could aggressively represent your interests in court before a judge or jury.

Call now to set up your confidential case evaluation and learn more about starting a claim.