Slip-and-fall accidents injure millions of people in South Carolina and across the country every year. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that there were more than 10 million emergency room visits for fall-related injuries in just one year.
These injuries often leave victims in severe pain that can last for weeks or months afterward. Some fall victims face lifelong disabilities. And if someone sustains a sharp blow to the head in a slip-and-fall accident, it can prove fatal.
The North Myrtle Beach slip-and-fall lawyers at the Jebaily Law Firm can help you seek compensation for your injuries if you’ve been hurt in an accident caused by someone’s negligence. We have more than 100 years of combined legal experience and have helped our clients recover millions of dollars.
Get a free initial consultation by calling our office in North Myrtle Beach, or feel free to visit our contact page.
How Can a North Myrtle Beach Slip-and-Fall Attorney Help?
Property owners and their insurers often push back against any claim you make after a slip-and-fall accident. Let a slip-and-fall accident lawyer uphold your rights and handle the legal details for you, so you can focus on healing.
An experienced attorney can help by:
- Identifying who’s liable for your injury and how much you can claim in compensation
- Gathering and preserving evidence to support your case
- Handling all your communication needs, including settlement negotiations
- Taking your case to trial if a reasonable settlement can’t be reached
What to Do If You’ve Been Hurt in a Slip and Fall Accident
There are simple but essential steps you can take to protect your rights after a slip-and-fall accident, such as:
- Report the accident. If it happened on some sort of commercial property, file a written report with the manager or property owner and make sure you get a copy. If it happened on public property – a sidewalk, for example – report it to the government agency responsible for it.
- As soon as possible, write down all the details of the accident you can remember. Make sure to get the names of anyone who was with you when the accident occurred. If there were any third-party witnesses, get their contact information before leaving the scene. You might also want to take pictures of the accident scene.
- Get medical treatment immediately. Once you’ve seen a doctor, follow all of their instructions precisely.
- Save all the evidence. This includes pictures you took, your medical records, names of third-party witnesses, etc. If relevant, save the shoes and clothes you wore at the time, and don’t wash them. The more evidence you have, the stronger your case for compensation.
- Talk to a lawyer. A lawyer can take care of the legal legwork involved in your case while you focus on getting better.
Mistakes to Avoid After a Slip-and-Fall Injury in North Myrtle Beach
After a slip-and-fall accident, it is easy to make mistakes that can hurt your chances of securing maximum compensation for your injuries. One of the most common mistakes is failing to report the accident to the property owner. If you don’t report the accident within a reasonable period, proving that your injuries resulted from the property owner’s negligence may be harder.
Another common mistake is not seeking timely medical attention. The longer you wait to seek medical attention, the greater the chance that the at-fault party’s insurance company will claim your injuries aren’t as severe as you say. And don’t forget to collect evidence from the accident scene, including photographs of the hazard that caused you to slip, trip, or fall.
Finally, do not make the mistake of providing the at-fault party’s insurance company with a recorded statement. The insurance company will use your words against you to deny or devalue your claim. Instead, please consult our lawyers and direct all communications from insurance companies to us.
How a Trespassing Slip and Fall Attorney Can Help with Your Slip-and-Fall Claim
First, you have to prove that you were on the property legally, though trespassing children may have a claim in some cases. Assuming that’s the case, you will have to show that the property owner owed you a duty of care and somehow failed in that duty.
Business owners generally have a higher duty of care to customers than homeowners do to guests. Business owners are expected to keep an active eye out for potential hazards and fix them quickly, or at least make sure customers are adequately warned.
Homeowners are generally only required to warn guests of potential hazards that the homeowner is reasonably expected to have known about. If your case meets this standard for negligence, you likely have a compensation case.
Steps for Filing a Slip-and-Fall Injury Claim in North Myrtle Beach, SC
Knowing the proper steps to take after being injured in a North Myrtle Beach slip-and-fall accident is crucial for maximizing your recovery. Some of the key steps to take include:
- Report the accident to the property owner as soon as possible. If the accident occurred on a commercial property, request that the property owner file an incident report and give you a copy.
- Seek ongoing medical treatment for your injuries until your treating doctor says you’ve fully recovered or will not recover further. Also, keep track of all medical bills related to the accident so your lawyer can use them when calculating your medical expenses.
- Document everything related to the case. That means taking photographs of the hazard that caused your injuries and writing down everything you remember about the accident.
- Consult an experienced premises liability lawyer at Jebaily Law Firm to secure the legal assistance you need. Our attorneys are ready to review your legal options with you and file a claim against the at-fault property owner’s homeowners, renters, or business insurance policy.
How Long Do You Have to File a Premises Liability Claim in North Myrtle Beach?
South Carolina’s statute of limitations on premises liability claims gives you three years from the date of your injury to file a lawsuit. This is a strict deadline. Only rare and narrow circumstances can extend it.
Crucial evidence can disappear quickly after an accident, so you’re better off getting in touch with a lawyer as soon as possible if you want to pursue full compensation for your injuries.
Demanding Compensation for Your Slip-and-Fall Accident Injuries
South Carolina allows slip-and-fall accident victims to recover fair compensation if they can prove negligence on the part of the property owner. You can potentially claim compensation for:
- Your lost wages
- Your reduced ability to work because of your injuries
- Your medical expenses related to your injuries, including the cost of future care
- Your pain and suffering
- Your mental anguish and diminished quality of life
- Other related losses
Common Causes of Slip-and-Fall Accidents
One reason slip-and-fall accidents are so common is that they can happen almost anywhere under the right circumstances. If there’s a slick surface in a place where people walk, there’s a decent chance someone will slip and get hurt.
Some of the most common causes of slip-and-fall accidents include:
- Spilled liquids on the floor of a home, business, or workplace
- Rain, snow, ice, and other precipitation in hallways, sidewalks, parking lots, and other common areas
- People slipping or tripping on objects left on the floor
- People slipping while walking on poorly maintained sidewalks or other pathways
- People tripping over power cords
- People slipping on staircases or steep walkways due to damaged handrails
- People are slipping on the floor because of poor lighting
- Residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities are slipping on the floor due to poor upkeep
- Construction site accidents
- Swimming pool accidents
Common Places Where Slip-and-Fall Accidents Occur
Property owners and businesses have a legal responsibility to provide tenants, visitors, and employees safe premises to live, work, and conduct business. This includes specific duties to protect visitors from slip-and-fall injuries, whether they’re a North Myrtle Beach resident or a tourist visiting the area. If you’re visiting a business in North Myrtle Beach and you slip on a dangerous walkway, you may have a claim for compensation, no matter whether or not you live in South Carolina.
Here are some of the most common locations of slip-and-fall accidents:
- Hotels and resorts
- Stores and restaurants
- Sports stadiums
- Movie theaters
- Amusement parks
- Public playgrounds and parks
- Parking lots and garages
- Apartment complexes, condos, townhomes, and other rental properties
- Construction sites
- Swimming pools
- Elevators and escalators
- Assisted living facilities and nursing homes
How to Prevent Slip-and-Fall Accidents
Knowing how to avoid slips, trips, and falls can help prevent severe injury accidents. However, knowing what hazards to watch out for can be tricky, especially if you’re unfamiliar with a property and the hazards it might contain. Some simple steps you can take to stay safe on someone else’s property are:
- Wear appropriate footwear with good traction.
- Pay attention to your surroundings.
- Adhere to all posted safety instructions.
By taking reasonable steps to avoid slip, trip, and fall accidents, you can reduce your chances of suffering an injury and increase your chances of securing the compensation you need if an accident occurs. You’ll be able to point to your safe behavior as evidence that you were not at fault for the accident.
Talk to a North Myrtle Beach Slip-and-Fall Injury Lawyer Now
Our slip-and-fall accident attorneys at Jebaily Law Firm are ready to get to work on your case immediately. Get a free case review by calling our North Myrtle Beach office or visiting our contact page.
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.
