There are nearly 60,000 housing units in Rancho Cucamonga, as well as thousands of business offices, retail properties, and public properties. The owners or managers of each of these properties have the legal responsibility to take reasonable actions to prevent visitors from being injured by hazardous property features. These reasonable actions include regularly inspecting the property in search of hazards and promptly mitigating hazards that are discovered. Failing to take these actions can make the property owner or manager liable for compensating the costs and psychological impacts of the injuries that were incurred.
Slip and fall accidents are the most common type of accident to occur as a result of property owner negligence. These accidents occur when a visitor slips or trips over a hazard and falls. While this type of accident is often regarded as minor, it is capable of producing extremely serious, life-altering injuries. If you've been injured in a slip and fall accident, you can seek compensation for your injury through California's personal injury claims process. An experienced Rancho Cucamonga slip and fall lawyer can help you understand this process, and provide services aimed at helping you to obtain the compensation you need.
REQUEST A FREE CONSULTATIONWhat Is the Process of Seeking Compensation After a Rancho Cucamonga Slip and Fall?
Individuals injured in slip and fall accidents in Rancho Cucamonga can seek compensation for their injuries by filing a personal injury claim against the at-fault property owner, manager’s business, or homeowner’s liability insurance policy. When the insurance provider receives the claim, they will evaluate it to determine if their insured was liable for the accident, and, if so, how much compensation is owed to the claimant. After they’ve evaluated the claim, they can either accept it, deny it, or offer a settlement of the claim. If the insurance provider fails to compensate the claim, it can be filed as a personal injury lawsuit in a civil court in Rancho Cucamonga in order for a judge or a jury to hear the case and resolve the matter.
Insurance providers commonly prefer to settle personal injury claims out of court, as it helps them avoid the expense of litigation and allows them some control as to how the claim is resolved. However, this doesn’t mean they will simply agree to fairly compensate the claim. The initial settlement offers made by insurance providers are generally a fraction of the claim’s value. The claimant’s slip and fall attorney is able to negotiate with the insurance provider in an effort to get them to increase the offer to a level that is acceptable to the claimant.
Personal injury claimants in California, including those injured in slip and fall accidents, have two years to file their claim in court. Failing to file a lawsuit within this deadline—known as the personal injury statute of limitations—will generally result in the claimant no longer having the right to pursue compensation for their injury in court. Allowing the statute of limitations to expire is usually devastating to the claimant’s ability to receive compensation, as without the court process as a form of legal consequence for insurance companies who refuse to compensate claims, there is little reason for the insurance provider to make a settlement offer.
The Type of Compensation You Can Seek Through a Slip and Fall Claim
Slip and fall accident claimants in Rancho Cucamonga can seek compensation for both the expenses and the impacts of the injury. This is commonly referred to as recovering economic and non-economic damages. The expenses and impacts commonly included in slip and fall damage claims include:
- All reasonable expenses associated with medically treating the injury.
- Wage loss from the time period after the injury in which the claimant was too injured to report to work.
- Lost earning capacity, if the injuries result in permanent disabilities and the claimant is no longer able to earn in the same capacity as they did before their injury.
- Property damage sustained in the accident, such as torn clothing or a broken smartphone.
- Physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of consortium, and loss of the enjoyment of life.
Slip and fall lawyers generally wait to value a slip and fall accident claim until the claimant has reached maximum medical improvement, which is the point in the claimant’s recovery when their physician believes they have made all of the meaningful recovery possible in their case, even if the injury continues to be treated. This is a good time to value the claim because it gives a more accurate picture of the totality of medical expenses involved in the claim and the presence of permanent disabilities that will need to be accounted for in the claim’s value.
Affording a Rancho Cucamonga Slip and Fall Lawyer
Many people pause at the notion of hiring a slip and fall attorney to help them with an injury claim because they don’t think they can afford one. However, personal injury lawyers use a contingent fee billing method that allows the claimant to wait to pay for the services of their legal team until after their claim has been compensated. Instead of requiring a retainer and billing the claimant by the hour every time there is work done on the claim, slip and fall lawyers enter a contingent fee agreement with their client at the start of the claims process that designates a percentage of the compensation received as payment.
The contingent fee means that the legal team can immediately begin working on the Rancho Cucamonga slip and fall claim, and they can continue working while the claim is active without worrying about whether their client is current on their bills. It also means the claimant can receive the legal assistance they need, regardless of their financial status.
Contact Kash Legal for Answers to Your Questions About Your Slip and Fall Claim
In an instant, a hazardous property feature can cause someone to become injured in a slip and fall accident. The injury can create a cascading impact on the individual’s finances, with missed work, mounting medical expenses, and profound psychological costs. Fortunately, the California personal injury claims process is an avenue the victims of slip and fall accidents in Rancho Cucamonga can use to obtain the compensation they need.
Let an experienced Rancho Cucamonga slip and fall lawyer from Kash Legal help you understand your legal options. Contact us online or by calling (888) 527-4128 for your free case evaluation.
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