There are more than 34,000 occupied residences as well as hundreds of commercial office or retail buildings and public buildings in El Cajon. One thing that the owners or managers of all of these buildings have in common is the responsibility to protect visitors and tenants from hazardous property features that can cause injuries. This is known as premises liability.
One of the most common types of accidents to occur as a result of a property's owner or manager failing to take reasonable actions to protect visitors from harm is a slip and fall accident. If you were injured in an El Cajon slip and fall accident, you may be able to seek compensation for the monetary and emotional costs of your injury by filing a personal injury claim against the property owner or manager's relevant insurance policy, such as a homeowner's, renter's, or property liability policy.
REQUEST A FREE CONSULTATIONProperty owners and managers are required to take reasonable actions in order to prevent guests from suffering harm as a result of hazardous property features. Those actions typically include performing regular inspections of the property in search of hazards and promptly mitigating any hazards that are found. The types of hazards that can result in a slip and fall accident and give rise to a personal injury claim include:
If the property owner or manager discovers a hazard that could result in a slip and fall accident and they are unable to promptly mitigate the issue by cleaning up debris and clutter on the floor, repairing the flooring, or replacing lighting, they must warn guests of the hazard by placing a prominent warning sign or barricades to let guests know to avoid the hazard.
When a slip and fall accident occurs, whoever is in control of the property at the time of the accident can be found liable. For example, if a slip and fall accident occurs in an El Cajon building that was owned by one party and leased to another company, the company leasing the building will be liable, as they are in control of the property. If someone becomes injured due to a poorly-lit stairwell in an apartment complex, the owner or manager of the complex will be liable for failing to replace lighting in common areas of the complex.
However, it is important to note that if the owner or manager of the property had no reason to know that the hazard existed, they are generally not found liable. An example of a claim where this is an issue would be a claim filed against a grocer by an individual who spilled liquid on the floor of the store and then immediately slipped on it. Because there was no time for the grocer to discover the hazard and mitigate it by wiping up the liquid, they are not liable for the claimant’s injury.
When an individual has suffered an injury due to a slip and fall, the process of seeking compensation for the expenses and impacts of their injury generally begins when they hire a slip and fall attorney to help them with their claim. The slip and fall attorney brings valuable experience and understanding to the claimant’s plight, providing services to assist them, including help determining the source of liability and a relevant insurance policy to file the claim against, valuing the claim to ensure that the claimant has the compensation they need, negotiating a settlement with the at-fault party’s insurance provider, and assisting the claimant in receiving their compensation at the resolution of their case.
The slip and fall accident claim is filed first against the at-fault party’s relevant insurance policy. When they receive the claim, the insurance provider will assign a claims adjuster to the case. The claims adjuster is an employee of the insurance company that is tasked with protecting their bottom line by evaluating claims, determining whether the insured was liable for the accident, and whether compensation is owed to the claimant.
If the claims adjuster discovers that their insured was liable, they can either pay the claim outright, or they can make an offer to settle the claim out of court for less than its established value. If they fail to compensate the claim, it can be filed as an El Cajon slip and fall lawsuit, which is a type of legal personal injury claim in which the court is asked to hear the case and make decisions on matters pertaining to liability and compensation.
The slip and fall attorney who assists the claimant works on a contingent fee basis, meaning they are not paid for the services they provide to the claimant until there is a positive outcome to the claim. This ensures that anyone who needs legal assistance with a personal injury claim is able to afford a slip and fall attorney.
Although slip and fall accidents are often regarded as minor or even frivolous, these accidents can produce severe, life-altering injuries. An experienced slip and fall accident lawyer from Kash Legal can explore your legal options with you and provide professional legal services designed to make the process of obtaining compensation after an injury easier for you.
Let our slip and fall lawyer help you have a better understanding of California’s personal injury claims process and the types of services our slip and fall lawyers can provide to assist you with your claim. For a free case evaluation, contact us online or by calling (888) 527-4128.
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