Fresno Slip and Fall Accident Lawyer

It’s easy to dismiss the severity of a slip and fall accident. Unfortunately, these personal injury accidents can result in devastating bodily injuries and even permanent disabilities. You have the right to contact a Fresno slip and fall accident lawyer to discuss your legal options when your slip and fall stemmed from someone else’s negligence.

Our law firm wants to help you hold negligent property owners responsible for the injuries you sustained when they breached the duty of care they owed you. At Fowler | Helsel | Vogt, our team has more than 40 years of experience handling complex premises liability claims, including cases involving slip, trip, and fall accidents.

We understand that these accidents can lead to serious injuries, including brain injuries and spine injuries, leaving victims struggling to get back on their feet. You can start working with our Fresno personal injury lawyers today to discuss how to demand coverage for your medical bills, lost wages, and other losses from negligent property owners.

Where Do Slips & Falls Happen?

Our personal injury attorneys know that slip and fall accidents are most often the result of environmental negligence on private or public property. The most frequent falls stem from slippery surfaces, inadequate signage, poor lighting, or other factors that compromise safety at an accident scene.

Some common locations for slip–and–fall accidents include:

• Residential properties
• Grocery stores and supermarkets
• Restaurants and cafeterias
• Shopping malls and retail stores
• Hotels and motels
• Workplaces
• Public transportation facilities
• Uneven or cracked sidewalks
• Slippery or icy parking lots
• Hospitals and healthcare facilities
• Schools and educational institutions
• Construction sites
• Factories and industrial facilities
• Sports arenas and stadiums

Property owners, managers, and businesses need to take precautions, such as proper maintenance, warning signs, and prompt cleanup, to prevent slip and fall accidents and promote the safety of individuals in these locations.

If you believe that your slip and fall accident resulted from a property owner’s negligence and/or failure to properly address dangerous conditions, reach out to our Fresno slip and fall lawyers at Fowler | Helsel | Vogt. We can immediately begin investigating your situation to determine if you have grounds for a personal injury case.

Who is Liable for a Slip & Fall Accident?

Liability for a slip and fall accident depends on various factors and is typically determined by assessing the negligence of the parties involved. Here are some key entities that could be held liable for a slip and fall accident:

• Property owner or occupier: Property owners and occupiers have a duty to maintain their premises in a safe condition. If they fail to address known hazards, such as wet floors, uneven surfaces, or inadequate lighting, and someone is injured as a result, they may be held liable for negligence. This includes owners of residential properties, businesses, and public spaces.
• Businesses and commercial establishments: Owners of businesses, including retail stores, restaurants, supermarkets, and other commercial establishments, are responsible for keeping their premises safe for customers. This includes promptly addressing spills, providing warning signs, and maintaining a hazard-free environment.
• Government officials and entities: In cases where slip-and-fall accidents occur on government-owned or maintained property, such as sidewalks, public parks, or government buildings, the government entity may be held responsible for negligence if they were aware of a hazardous condition and failed to address it.
• Property management companies: In cases where a property is managed by a third-party management company, that company may share or assume liability for slip and fall accidents if they were responsible for property maintenance and failed to address known hazards.
• Contractors and construction crews: If a slip and fall accident occurs on a construction site or premises undergoing renovation, the contractors or construction companies involved may be held liable for not adequately securing the site or failing to warn about potential dangers.
• Individuals responsible for maintenance: Individuals or entities responsible for maintaining specific aspects of the property, such as cleaning companies or maintenance personnel, may be held liable if their negligence contributes to a slip and fall accident.
• Product manufacturers: If a slip and fall accident is caused by a defective product, such as a slippery floor cleaner or a malfunctioning escalator, the manufacturer of that product may be held liable under product liability laws.
• Employees or staff: If an employee’s actions or negligence contribute to a hazardous condition that leads to a slip and fall accident, both the individual employee and the employer may be held liable.

Should You Work With an Insurance Company After a Slip and Fall Accident?

The person responsible for your recent accident likely has property insurance, meaning that you should have the right to request financial aid from their insurance company. Unfortunately, insurance adjusters rarely want to help you recover from your losses. They want to make your case disappear as quickly as possible.

Our Fresno County slip and fall accident attorneys still recommend exploring your right to file for support with an insurance company. However, we also encourage you to allow an attorney to represent you throughout conversations about your right to accident support.

A trial attorney with Fowler | Helsel | Vogt can present your case for economic and non-economic damages without allowing an insurance adjuster to misrepresent your losses. We can preserve your right to civil action, too, if an insurance adjuster refuses to acknowledge your right to reasonable support.

When Can You Sue a Property Owner for a Slip & Fall Accident?

What do car accidents, truck accidents, pedestrian accidents, and slip and fall accidents have in common? If you want to demand compensation for your losses, you need to prove that your injuries are the result of someone else’s negligence. You can work with our law firm to prove that:

• Someone else owed you a duty of care at the time of your accident.
• That person breached the duty of care that they owed you, directly resulting in your accident.
• You suffered economic and non-economic losses as a result of that negligence.

The evidence you use to make your case can vary depending on where your accident happened and what losses you sustained. Our personal injury attorneys can connect you with professional investigators who can help you secure:

• Electronic evidence relevant to your accident
• Witness statements
• Video footage of your accident, including surveillance footage
• Photos from before, during, and after your accident
• Medical records going into detail about your injury severity
• Medical expenses elaborating on the cost of your recovery
• Police reports, as applicable
• Accident reconstructions
• Property management records
• Evidence of physical debris, including an expert witness’s assessment of your accident scene

Invitees, Licensees, and Trespassers

Under California premises liability law, property owners can be held legally liable for injuries and deaths occurring on their properties in certain situations. If you want to participate in settlement negotiations or otherwise argue for financial support based on your slip and fall injuries, you and a slip and fall accident attorney in Fresno, CA, need to argue that:

• You were invited onto a property owner’s land as an invitee, or a friend, family member, or consumer.
• You were invited onto a property owner’s land as a licensee, or someone contracted to perform a service on that land.

Unfortunately, trespassers do not often have the right to request compensation for slips and falls in Fresno County. However, you could argue that you benefited from California law’s attractive nuisance doctrine while trespassing on someone else’s property. You can discuss this approach to your case with our team during a free consultation.

How Long Do I Have to File a Slip and Fall Claim?

Insurance adjusters may pressure you to accept an insufficient settlement offer in the weeks immediately following a slip and fall accident. In reality, you have more time to file for support. According to California personal injury law, you have two years from the day of your accident to take legal action against a landowner.

California elaborates on this deadline in its statute of limitations, Cal. Code of Civ. Proc. § 335.1. Unfortunately, the statute of limitations is firm. You can’t miss your filing deadline if you want to preserve your right to take legal action against a liable party through California’s civil system. 

If you need help staying on top of your case’s statute of limitations while holding insurance adjusters at bay, look no further than Fowler | Helsel | Vogt. Our personal injury attorneys can help you file your claim in a reasonable amount of time without forgoing your right to comprehensive financial support.

What Damages Are Available to Slip, Trip, & Fall Accident Victims in Fresno?

Slip and fall accidents often result in significant injuries, from serious bruises and lacerations to broken bones. They can also result in concussions, traumatic brain injuries, ruptured discs, spinal cord injuries, and permanent disabilities.

At Fowler | Helsel | Vogt, our personal injury lawyers seek compensation for all your losses by accounting for the cost of your:

• Emergency medical care costs, including the cost of your hospitalization, surgeries, physical therapy, and rehabilitation
• Your lost wages, workplace benefits, or ability to return to work
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress and trauma
• Reduced quality of life
• Counseling/therapy costs
• Property damage, if applicable

If you lose a loved one as a result of a slip and fall, you can work with a personal injury lawyer to pursue a wrongful death claim against a negligent property owner. Our law firm can advocate for your family’s right to damages based on your loved one’s funeral expenses and lost income, as well as your grief.

Contact Our Fresno Slip & Fall Accident Lawyer Today

If you’re struggling to recover from a recent slip and fall accident, you need legal allies who understand your civil rights, as well as the case law that can help you financially recover from your economic and non-economic losses. That’s where Fowler | Helsel | Vogt comes in.

Our slip and fall accident attorneys in Fresno, CA, don’t let insurance companies dictate how you get to recover from your losses. We calculate the value of all of your losses, from your medical bills to your lost wages, and argue for a settlement that can restore your lost quality of life.

Your case consultations with our team come free of charge and won’t lock you into a set course of legal action. It’s up to you to decide how you move forward with your recovery. Contact us today to learn more about the steps our law firm can take to help you heal.