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You should never suffer harm or damages due to someone else’s negligence–such as poorly maintained stairs or sidewalks. Property owners and managers are legally obligated to maintain safe conditions on their premises. Further, if you are hurt, you are entitled to financial compensation resulting from your slip and fall.
If you or a loved one has been injured due to a property owner’s negligence, call a Boca Raton slip and fall lawyer at Kogan & DiSalvo today. There are benefits to having a skilled personal injury attorney. It begins with a free consultation to learn about your legal rights, looming deadlines, and the possibility of financial recovery for your losses.
As noted above, property owners, lessees, and property managers are legally responsible for their premises. Under Florida law, they are required to maintain safe conditions or give adequate warning to residents/patrons/customers of unsafe or potentially harmful situations.
Common causes of slip and fall accidents include:
The injuries sustained in slip and fall accidents may not be apparent immediately following your accident. For example, a spinal injury from falling and hitting your head may initially present no symptoms. However, several days or weeks of internal bleeding and inflammation can result in a preventable yet permanent disability. For this reason, it is very important that you seek immediate medical care. In addition, do not accept an offer of settlement from an insurance company without first consulting with a slip and fall attorney in Boca Raton.
Examples of injuries caused by slip/trip and fall accidents are:
Negligence is judged by analyzing duty, breach, causation, and injury:
If a defendant is found to be negligent, then the court will move on to an analysis of damages. These are the losses, such as physical injuries, emotional trauma, or damaged property, that the plaintiff suffered due to the accident.
In a slip and fall, liability revolves around who was responsible for maintaining the property. It can be a grocery store, a public sidewalk, a park, or an apartment building. For example, you slipped on the way out of a flower shop. If you were still in the building, the shop owner would likely be liable. However, the shop wouldn’t be responsible if you continued walking for another twenty feet and fell on public property. In this instance, the claim would likely be against the government entity tasked with sidewalk maintenance.
Damages in slip and fall cases will be economic, non-economic, and exemplary. Economic damages are tangible, verifiable losses, such as medical bills and lost wages. Non-economic damages are intangible losses such as pain and suffering. Finally, exemplary damages are awarded to punish the defendant–and used to deter future similar bad acts or gross negligence.
Economic damages can include:
Non-Economic damages can include:
Punitive or exemplary damages are only awarded when the defendant’s egregious actions involved intentional misconduct or gross negligence. When awarded, they are typically for significant sums capped at $500,000 or three times the amount of compensatory (economic and non-economic) damages.
Should a death result from a slip and fall, the family may have the option of pursuing a wrongful death case. It will offer compensation for a lifetime of lost wages, companionship, and other services, such as child care that the decedent would have provided had they not died.
Finally, Florida is a modified comparative fault jurisdiction. This means that your total compensation from a slip and fall will be reduced by the amount of your fault for the accident, up to 50%. If you are found to be 51% or more at fault, you are prohibited from recovering anything. Thus, if a court finds that you are 30% responsible, you will be able to recover 70% compensation. Conversely, if a court finds that you are 70% responsible, you will be barred from any compensation.
Slip and falls can happen anywhere; however, some of the most common locations include:
A slip and fall accident can happen under an extensive set of circumstances. The consequences can range from mild surprise with some slight bruising to a traumatic experience accompanied by life-altering injuries. However, regardless of the circumstances of the slip and fall, the following are a few things to do in the aftermath:
In slip and fall cases, the two most essential issues to prove negligence is a breach of duty and causation. Breach of duty falls on the property owner, business renting the property, or the government. For example, if you slipped on a spilled drink in a food court—much will depend on how long the spill was allowed to remain–thus creating a hazard.
Demonstrating a breach of duty involves proving that the party responsible for maintaining the premises did not exercise reasonable caution. Again, using the example above—if the pool of spilled soda remained for several hours, then management would be in breach of their duty. Evidence can include testimony from witnesses or photos or videos of the scene. Once a breach is established, the court will then analyze causation.
Causation consists of two types: the actual cause of an accident, known as the “but for” cause, and the proximate cause. The test for actual cause in a slip and fall is “but for the defendant’s conduct (allowing a hazardous condition on their premises) would you have been injured?” If the answer is no, they are liable. To establish negligence, a defendant’s actions must be both the actual and proximate cause of an injury. Proximate cause, also known as “legal cause” or “direct cause,” requires proof that the defendant was a substantial factor in bringing about the result (your injuries).
Further, proving damages can be nuanced. Some economic damages are relatively straightforward, such as the medical bills or the value of property damaged in the fall. These can be established by the billing from a medical facility or the cost of replacing a laptop damaged when you fell on it. Future medical and rehabilitative treatment bills can require more evidence–the opposing side may claim they are unnecessary. However, testimony from a medical expert or peer-reviewed medical journals may substantiate the necessity of such treatment.
Non-economic damages require more argument and supporting evidence because they are not as easily quantifiable. For example, an accomplished athlete fell and sustained a spinal injury. This means that even though they spent their life training, they can no longer engage in their passion. It leads to a drastic loss of enjoyment in their lives. An attorney can argue that the ensuing depression represents pain and suffering; thus, they should be eligible for non-economic damages.
Finally, punitive damages require reasonably demonstrating through evidence that the defendant acted with intentional misconduct or gross negligence. As per Florida law, intentional misconduct is action by a party with actual knowledge of the wrongfulness of their conduct, and the high probability of injury or damage to another party would result. Florida’s definition of gross negligence is conduct so reckless or wanting in care that it constitutes a conscious disregard or indifference to the life, safety, or rights of those exposed to it.
Most causes of action for slip and fall injuries will be negligence. In Florida, the statute of limitations for negligence is two years from the date of the accident. Therefore, if a lawsuit is filed more than two years after, it will likely be dismissed by the court. This will also affect any insurance claims, as losing the ability to file a lawsuit will result in having little to no leverage over an insurance company to force a settlement. However, it is always best to speak with an attorney if you are unsure about this deadline since there are exceptions.
Though filing a lawsuit or insurance claim years after the injury is possible, it is highly recommended to begin your claim as soon as possible. This is because photos and videos can be lost, and witnesses may move or no longer remember what they saw. Further, other evidence may disappear or become otherwise unavailable. Additionally, diligently pursuing your claims within a reasonable timeframe will show both the opposing party and court that you are taking the exercise of your rights seriously.
If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident, a skilled injury lawyer will protect your rights and interests, ensuring you receive the maximum compensation from the negligent party who is responsible for your injuries and losses. Regardless of where the accident occurred, the Boca Raton slip and fall attorneys at Kogan & DiSalvo will help you. The attorneys at our law firm will aggressively pursue the maximum compensation you deserve for your injuries, pain, and suffering, lost wages, or even the wrongful death of a loved one due to a slip/trip and fall accident.
Total reviews: 956 |
Average rating: 4.9
(Translated by Google) Excellent company I recommend them 100 percent
(Original)
Excelente compañía los recomiendo 100 por ciento
I’m glad that I used Kogan And Desalvo. They truly made me feel like I was family. Very easy to talk to you about anything you needed help with. I especially thank Jay London, esq and Samantha Juerakhan The paralegal to Jay London, and his amazing team. They made this very easy and fast. Love these guys and ladies. 5 star team all the way🥳🥳🥳💚
It took a while, but the results were well worth the wait. My attorney J London was excellent. And his associate Gisseiie, they were the best
Very nice people so professional and they keep you posted of how your case is going.
Jay is amazing! Took my horrible experience and made sure my health and well being came first!
Mr. Kogan is an excellent Lawyer , he surpassed my expectations. I highly recomend him . Thank you again.
I can’t thank Kogan & DiSalvo enough for their help after my accident. From day one, they were incredibly supportive, guiding me through the entire process with care and expertise. I never imagined my case would be worth as much as it turned out to be, and that’s thanks to their hard work and dedication. They kept me informed every step of the way and made sure I understood all my options. If you’re looking for attorneys who truly go above and beyond, I highly recommend Kogan & DiSalvo!
Great law firm, takes care if all your needs, gights gor you
Thank you
Jay and Jennifer were very responsive to my calls. When I had questions, they provided clear answers. They thoroughly explained the settlement process to me and kept me informed every step of the way.
Samantha, embodies what customer service should be like. So friendly, down to earth, caring, resourceful, knowledgeable, and goes the extra mile .
If I’m ever in another accident or know someone that’s been in an accident, I will definitely be referring Kogan & DiSalvo (Samantha and Paul).
Samantha thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to get me and my husband to a successful resolution.
Thank You Again,
Iris
My case with Kogan and DiSalvo, was handled with the utmost seriousness and respect. Mr. George Bakalar, who lead my case from the beginning, along with Miss. Macy and Miss. Victoria were all outstanding individuals. They were able to resolve my case inline with all parameters discussed in my initial interview. More than expected they were personal and listened to all my concerns. I would definitely recommend them to anyone! Have a great day and Enjoy!
Paul Silvestri and his team were great! They took care of everything and made the process stress free. Very pleased with my settlement. I highly recommend Paul Silvestri at Kogan & DiSalvo!
Jennifer was helpful, answered all of my questions and made the process simple.
I am very please on the outcome of my case with Kogan & DiSalvo. It took a while but the results are worth the wait. I want to also thank Amanda who did an outstanding job on my settlement with the crew.
Selecting an attorney is hard. I briefly worked with the “largest firm” and that was a complete mistake. Paul Silvestri of Kogan and DiSalvo immediately built confidence that I was with the “best” firm. He is strategic, smart, listens, takes times to evaluate facts, follows up, is very responsive, and makes you feel like you have a partner during a tough time. The firm has great technology, great support through the app. Christina B is very responsive when other firms never reply!!! Great experience, great firm, don’t go anywhere else!
A big truck sideswiped my car. I had two surgeries due to the accident. I had surgery on my neck and back. I would like to thank Jay London and Christina Bejarano for everything they did for me and my case. Jay and Christina provided outstanding service. They did a great job explaining each step along the way. I highly recommend Jay and Christina; they did a wonderful job.
I got the help I needed,I had a very nice attorney name Kayla,she was so nice and very understanding and helped me through the whole process
They helped me the best they could,I’m happy with the outcome
Samantha Vola handled my personal injury case with care and made sure I was informed what was going on in the whole process. I was very happy with the results.
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