Slip and fall accidents can lead to serious injury and even death. These types of accidents commonly occur at local businesses as well as hotels, timeshares, and condos around the Myrtle Beach area. They are particularly common during the tourism season when the area is visited by large numbers of guests who come to enjoy the beach and many local attractions.
Property owners are responsible for maintaining their premises in a manner that promotes safe conditions for individuals who are lawfully visiting the region. When hazardous conditions exist that property owners were aware of, or should have been aware of, avoidable accidents and injuries can happen. In these cases, property owners or lessors may be liable to pay financial compensation to victims for their losses. An experienced slip-and-fall lawyer in Myrtle Beach can help you secure the maximum amount of compensation for the losses that you have suffered as a result of your injuries.
What Action Should You Take When Injured in a Myrtle Beach Slip and Fall Accident?
It can be difficult to prove a premises liability claim. There may be no video recordings or witnesses who can attest to what happened. Property owners will often claim that they did not know about the existence of the dangerous conditions that led to the accident. Slip and fall lawyers will work to gather evidence that shows that the condition existed for a lengthy period to demonstrate that the business owner had prior knowledge that it was present.
What Are the Elements of a Slip and Fall Lawsuit in South Carolina?
When you work with our experienced Myrtle Beach slip and fall lawyer here at Jebaily Law Firm, we help you to build a strong understanding of all aspects related to your case. This includes explaining the elements that you have to prove in the state of South Carolina to win financial compensation for your losses. Those basic elements include:
- Duty: The property owner/manager owed you a duty of care as a visitor on their premises.
- Breach: The property owner/manager breached their duty of care by acting in a manner that was negligent or by failing to take appropriate action.
- Causation: As a result of the property owner or manager’s negligence, you suffered injuries that have caused you significant losses.
Under premises liability law in the state of South Carolina, the duty of care owed by property owners to guests depends on their visitor classification.
There are four visitor classifications recognized by South Carolina:
- Invitees – If you have entered a property at the express or implied invitation of the owner, you are considered to be an invitee. It is in this circumstance that the property owner owes the highest duty of care to you. This includes exercising reasonable or ordinary care to ensure that the premises are safe for you to be in. Property owners have to take reasonable steps to repair any conditions that are dangerous or warn visitors of any non-obvious hazards that are present.
- Licensees – The term licensee refers to individuals entering a property with the consent of the owner. An example of this would be a social guest at another person’s home. As a licensee, you are accepting the premises as they are. At the same time, the property owner does have a duty of care to warn you about any concealed/dangerous conditions that they are aware of or should be aware of.
- Adult Trespassers – If you enter a property owner’s premises without their consent, you are classified as an adult trespasser. In these cases, the property owner owes no duty of care to you. It is important to note that the premises owner cannot willfully/wantonly cause injury to you while you are trespassing on their property.
- Children – South Carolina property owners may have a duty of care to keep child trespassers safe from dangerous artificial conditions that are present that a child would not recognize, but the owner is aware of or should have been aware of.
As we have shown, South Carolina slip and fall laws can be complex and highly dependent on the specific facts related to the case. Minor details can make a major difference in putting together an effective slip-and-fall claim.
What Are the Common Reasons for Slip and Fall Injuries Experienced in Myrtle Beach?
- Torn carpeting
- Cracked/uneven flooring
- Wet/slippery flooring
- Electrical cords/wires
- Torn/loose floor mats
- Loose tiles
- Area rugs
- Escalator malfunctions
- Elevator malfunctions
- Poor lighting
- Snow/ice
- Potholes
- Walkways cluttered with trash/debris
- Broken handrails
- Loose/broken stair treads
It is important to note that when individuals fall, they often instinctively reach out to catch themselves. This can result in hand injuries as well as injury to the forearms and wrists. These injuries often take the form of fractures. It is often the case that accident victims will also hit other objects as they fall to the ground. This can end up creating both primary and secondary blunt-force trauma injuries.
How Slip and Fall Legal Assistance in Myrtle Beach, SC Can Help You Understand the Statute of Limitations
Understanding the slip and fall statute of limitations in the state of South Carolina is important if you wish to bring forward a claim for financial compensation. This subject falls under Code Section 15-3-530, which gives you up to three years to ask the South Carolina court system to provide you with a civil remedy for any personal injury, property damage, or death that occurred because of a slip and fall. Given this fact, it is important to quickly speak with a personal injury lawyer in Myrtle Beach after experiencing a slip and fall.
Talk to a Myrtle Beach Slip-and-Fall Injury Lawyer Now
If you have suffered from a slip and fall accident near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, it is important to report the incident to the property owner where it occurred. It is advised that you take photos of the area where you slipped and quickly seek medical attention. After this, it is important to reach out to our Myrtle Beach slip and fall lawyer here at Jebaily Law Firm, who can assist you in building a case for the recovery of your losses.
To contact our offices, you can give us a call or you can message us online.
FAQs
Slip-and-Fall FAQs
Will My Slip-and-Fall Case Go to Court or Settle Out of Court?
Whether your case settles or goes to court depends on factors like the strength of the available evidence, whether the other party is disputing their liability, the amount of money potentially at stake, and the quality of your legal representation. While a settlement might offer a faster resolution to your case, it might be in your interest to proceed to a trial if your evidence is strong and you stand to recover more compensation.
Can I File a Trip-and-Fall Claim for Injuries on a Rental Property?
Rental property owners have a responsibility to keep their properties reasonably well-maintained and to alert tenants and visitors to any known hazards. If your trip-and-fall accident took place on a common area of a rental property – as opposed to within the space you are renting, for example – you may have a valid claim against the property owner, landlord, or maintenance company.
What Role Do Witnesses Play in a Slip-and-Fall Case?
Witnesses can be very valuable in supporting a slip-and-fall claim against a property owner. If other people can confirm the presence of hazardous conditions, how long those conditions existed, the lack of warning signs, and other key facts, they could help persuade insurers or the court to hold the property owner accountable.
Can Footwear or Clothing Impact My Trip-and-Fall Claim?
A property owner may try to cite your shoes or clothing as having contributed to your trip-and-fall accident, or even claim that your attire was fully the cause of the incident. Depending on the strength of the evidence in their favor, this could reduce your compensation or prevent you from financial recovery entirely. It is important to have a South Carolina slip-and-fall accident attorney who can push back against unfair attempts to blame you for your injuries.
How Quickly Should I Start My Slip-and-Fall Claim Process?
Reach out to our slip-and-fall injury lawyers as soon as you have sought emergency medical treatment for your injuries. An attorney from Jebaily Law Firm can begin investigating the accident immediately. At the same time, the evidence is fresh and can help protect you from insurance companies, which may try to get you to accept a lowball settlement offer before you fully understand your situation and your rights.
What if I Didn’t Realize I Was Injured Until Days After the Fall?
If you felt okay after the accident, you may not have gone to the doctor. That is okay, but don’t wait any longer to get checked out. Having a record of your injuries and treatment is going to be one of the most important elements of your claim, and you need to be able to show that you sought treatment as soon as you realized you were hurt.
What Documents Should I Bring to a Trip-and-Fall Consultation?
For your initial consultation with our South Carolina trip-and-fall injury lawyers, gather any documentation you have that is related to the incident. That might include receipts or bills from medical providers, documentation of work you missed due to your injuries, receipts for out-of-pocket expenses you incurred as a result of the accident, and emails or notes of any conversations you had with insurance companies. If the property owner prepared an official report of the incident, get a copy of that as well. In short, anything you have that could help your attorney prepare your claim is worth bringing to your consultation.
