It can happen to even the most graceful of people. You are picking up a few last minute groceries to put together dinner after work, you are looking at the shelves to try to find just the right item, and then it happens. You slip and fall and find yourself on the floor embarrassed and in pain.
Occasionally it might be your own fault due to an untied shoelace or heels a little higher than you are used to wearing, but sometimes it is not your fault. Sometimes it is the grocery store’s fault for allowing a dangerous condition to go unremedied and not warning you about it. In these cases, you may be entitled to compensation.
Grocery stores are especially common hosts of slip and fall accidents. They are open to the public, they often have slippery floors, and spills happen all the time. Often there are employees re-stocking the shelves during business hours, which can also create tripping hazards.
Additionally, while weather may not be a common cause for dangerous conditions in our sunny climate, on the occasions where the weather does create slippery conditions this can make parking lots and entryways dangerous as well. It may seem like these falls are no big deal, and some of them are not. Sometimes you just suffer a bruised knee and a bruised ego. But other times the injuries can be serious.
Who Is Responsible for Your California Slip-and-Fall Accident?
When there is a potentially dangerous walking surface, the California property owner (or tenant) and the person who is walking on the surface each bear some responsibility for preventing the slip and fall and avoiding injuries. The California property owner must keep the property safe. Anyone who encounters a slippery or otherwise dangerous walking surface in California must also exercise reasonable care to avoid hurting themselves.
In a slip-and-fall lawsuit, each party has some degree of responsibility. The injured party has to show that he or she exercised reasonable care when walking on the dangerous surface, and the property owner has to show that he or she took reasonable care to keep the property safe.
California courts will look at the comparative liability of each party (in other words, how much responsibility the injured party bears and how much responsibility the property owner bears for the injury). This percentage of liability is then used to calculate how much the property owner must pay in damages or compensation to the injured party and how much of the cost the injured party will have to bear.
Compensation for a California Slip-and-Fall Injury
If you are injured in a slip and fall accident in California, you may be entitled to compensation for:
- All of your medical bills for treatment related to your slip-and-fall injuries
- Any future earning ability lost due to your injury
- The cost of hiring someone to do household chores that you’re unable to do because of your injury
- The repair or replacement of any property (such as eyeglasses) that was damaged or destroyed when you fell
- Lost wages for time off from work (including time spent going to doctor’s appointments and physical therapy)
- Permanent disability and disfigurement stemming from the California slip-and-fall accident
- Emotional distress stemming from the accident
- Any other costs you’ve incurred because of the accident
Call Fiumara Law , PC Today!
If you have been injured in a slip and fall in the North Bay area, you may be entitled to compensation. To learn about your rights you should contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Fiumara Law , PC.
Call us today at 707-571-8600 OR 760-832-6118 and we will schedule a case consultation at no cost to you. We look forward to speaking with you and fighting for YOU!
