The Top Detroit Slip and Fall Law Firm

Slip and fall accidents are some of the common causes of serious injuries every year. According to the CDC, there are over nine million falls every year that result in an injury or a restriction in normal every day activity. In Michigan, almost 1,400 deaths were the result of a fall. What happens if the injury is due to the negligence or wrongful actions of the property owner? In those situations, an experienced Detroit slip and fall lawyer can get you the compensation you deserve. This includes lost wages, the payment of medical bills, as well as pain and suffering.

Read on to learn the answers to these questions and more. And if you have further questions about slip and fall cases, you can contact our legal team of Detroit Slip and Fall Accident Lawyers for assistance.

Detroit Slip and Fall Lawyers with Decades of Experience

Many Michigan law firms do not handle slip and fall cases or very rarely handle them. The Lee Steinberg Law Firm has been proudly representing injured victims of the negligence of a property owner or landowner for more than 50 years. And we did so even when the laws were completely stacked against the injured party.

Now that the law has become more of an even playing field for injured individuals, our experience and skills representing Detroit slip and fall accident victims have taken on even greater importance. We know the terrain, the experts, and how to present your case to a judge and jury.

Contact our office today at 248-352-7777 for a free consultation. We look forward to helping you immediately.

What is Needed to Prove a Detroit Slip and Fall Case?

Slip and fall cases, also known as premises liability, are based on the fact property owners have a responsibility to maintain a reasonably safe premises so as not to cause harm to others.

To prove a Detroit slip and fall case, you must show a property owner acted negligently by not maintaining a reasonably safe premises. However, the challenge is that the hazard that caused the slip and fall must have been something the property owner would have reasonably known about and had a reasonable amount of time to address.

For example, if someone spills a drink in a mall, and you immediately slip on the floor where the drink was spilled before the defendant had time to be notified and clean it up, you likely would not be able to file a lawsuit against the property owner. The property owner needs to have had reasonable time to learn about the hazard and deal with it before you can claim they were negligent.

You must essentially prove the following things to win a slip and fall case in Detroit:

You were legally allowed on the property, and thus, the owner owed you a duty of care.
A dangerous hazard existed on the property.
The property owner knew or reasonably should have known about the hazard before you fell.
The property owner failed to address the hazard in a reasonable amount of time.
You suffered an injury as a result of the property owner’s negligence and failure to fix the dangerous hazard.

Why Is It Important to Hire Detroit Slip and Fall Lawyers with Experience?

Slip and fall cases are very different than car accident cases. In most auto accidents, liability is not contested. In a slip and fall case, the defendant almost always fights liability, or who is at fault for the injuries.

Property owners, their insurance adjusters, and defense lawyers will try and say the plaintiff was at fault. They usually use two main defenses, comparative fault and open obvious. These are explained in more detail below but they are powerful defenses.

To fight the insurance companies and their attorneys, you must have a team of dedicated and experienced Detroit slip and fall attorneys assisting you every step of the way. We will protect you from:

Recorded statements taken by the insurance representative
Aggressive insurance adjusters asking irrelevant questions
Prior medical or legal issues that have no bearing on the slip and fall and your injuries

Our Detroit Michigan personal injury law firm is aggressive in pursuing these cases. We go out to the scene and take photos, request surveillance videos, gather witnesses statements, get weather reports, hire the right experts, and do all the things needed to win your case.

What Should I Do After a Slip and Fall?

Slip and fall cases in Detroit are not the same as car accident or dog bite cases. Collecting evidence to show the dangerous condition and how it caused the injuries is very important. The property owner will quickly try to cover up or remove the hazard. This frequently occurs when there is a wet floor at a store or restaurant, or snow and ice outside the property. They will then later deny it existed.

That is why it is vital to try and do these things after a trip and fall accident in Detroit:

Take pictures and video of the accident scene. This is important because you must prove to the insurance company and judge that a dangerous hazard existed at the time of your fall. Although you can still prove your case without photos, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Get the names and telephone numbers of witnesses. This is your chance to collect information on the people who saw the fall. If you don’t get their info at the scene, you may never see them again. They can help later on and testify about the dangerous hazard and how the property owner knew about the problem but did nothing to solve it.

Get medical attention. It is important to make sure your injuries are treated in a timely fashion. It is also important to explain in detail to the doctors or hospital staff what caused you to fall. Usually, this will be included in the medical records. It can be used as important evidence later to prove your case.

How Much are Slip and Fall Cases Worth?

Compensation for slip and fall accidents in Detroit can vary. Several factors can affect how much money a victim is owed in a slip and fall case. These factors are most often referred to as damages suffered by the victims, which can include:

The cost of medical expenses for the slip and fall injury
Lost wages while the victim is recovering from their injury
Loss of future earning capacity if the injury leaves the victim unable to work in the future
How much physical pain and suffering the victim is in
How emotionally distressed the victim is as a result of the accident and their injuries
How the injury has affected the victim’s quality of life

In most cases, the more evidence you can provide to show how your life has been affected by the accident and injury physically, financially, and emotionally, the more money you will be awarded.

What is Comparative Negligence in a Detroit Slip and Fall Accident?

There are two types of negligence. There is the standard negligence, or fault, of the defendant for allowing a dangerous hazard to remain that causes the injury. Then there is comparative negligence, which is the fault or blame towards the plaintiff or injured person for not avoiding the dangerous condition.

A judge or jury can decide what percentage of your own negligence caused your injuries. If you were partly to blame, the court reduces the amount you receive by your apportionment of fault. However, if you are more than 50% at fault, then the injured plaintiff cannot obtain any compensation for pain and suffering.

Here is a quick example of how comparative fault works. A jury found the plaintiff’s losses and injuries from the slip and fall were $100,000, but found the plaintiff was 30% at fault for the injury. The plaintiff would receive $70,000. If the jury finds the plaintiff 51% at fault, the plaintiff receives nothing.

What Does Open and Obvious Mean?

Under Michigan law, a condition is open and obvious if “an average user with ordinary intelligence would have been able to discover the danger and the risk present upon casual inspection.” While under old Michigan law, a person could not even file a lawsuit if they slipped and fell on an open and obvious condition, the law has changed.

However, the open and obviousness of a condition goes to the comparative negligence of the plaintiff. The more open the hazard is the more likely a judge or jury will find blame the plaintiff for their injuries.

Our Detroit Michigan slip and fall lawyers specialize in protecting our clients from these accusations. Instead, we flip the script on the landowner or landlord. Why did they allow such a dangerous condition to exist? Why did they not inspect the premises more regularly? Who oversaw the inspections? Why didn’t they put up a warning sign or caution tape? Why did the wet floor exist for so long?

All these questions are relevant and important to your case. But only a Detroit personal injury law firm with experience handling slip and fall cases can be successful.

Recovering Compensation from a Detroit Slip and Fall Accident

Slip and fall incidents can cause huge financial turmoil. The pain from the injuries along with this financial stress can create great emotional pain. We will get you reimbursed and obtain justice for the pain and suffering you are experiencing. The types of damages we can pursue include:

Payment of medical bills
Money for future medical treatment
Lost income
Out-of-pocket expenses
Pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Anxiety and depression

Some damages like pain and suffering are difficult to measure. But we make the insurance company for the landowner or property owner understand the impact the trip and fall has had on your life. There are numerous harms and losses that result from these horrible incidents. We paint a full picture so you get everything you deserve.

What Are Common Places in Detroit That Slip and Fall Accidents Occur?

Detroit slip and fall accidents can happen just about anywhere there is a hazard that can cause someone to slip or trip and then fall. But some of the most common places where falls happen include:

Grocery stores
Malls
Restaurants
Sidewalks
Bars
Hotels
Swimming pools
Parking lots
Amusement parks
Medical facilities
Movie theaters
Warehouses and factories

Essentially, a slip and fall can happen anywhere there is flooring or pavement that could become slippery, or where there could be a hazard such as loose carpeting, broken pavement, uneven steps or floors, missing handrails, and cluttered floors.

What Are Common Injuries From Slip and Fall Accidents?

The injuries sustained from a slip and fall accident can vary greatly depending on where the fall occurred and how far the person fell. A slip and fall on carpeting after tripping over an item on the floor, for example, might not result in as severe an injury as someone slipping and falling down icy steps.

There are a few injuries that are more often related to falls, however, which include the following:

Hip fractures
Head injuries
Traumatic brain injuries
Knee and elbow injuries
Wrist and ankle injuries
Shoulder strains and dislocations
Muscle sprains and strains
Back injuries
Scars, cuts and bruises

What is Black Ice?

Black ice is ice that is essentially so clear that it resembles the color of the underlying pavement.

Many slip and fall cases involve black ice because it very slippery and difficult to see.

In fact, a recent case in the Michigan Court of Appeals described black ice as “invisible or nearly invisible.” This means defendant property owners cannot easily argue a plaintiff should have reasonably been able to spot the hazard and avoid it.

Are The Rules Different If I Fell on Public Property?

If you are on public property when you slip and fall, this means the property owner is technically the city, state, or other local government agency. Filing a premises liability claim is different when dealing with government agencies.

In Michigan, government agencies and functions have complete tort immunity in most cases, which means you cannot sue them. The exception is situations involving highway safety.

So, if you slip and fall on public property, you will need to consult with a local Detroit slip and fall accident attorney to see if you have a valid case. Claims brought against government agencies also have shorter statutes of limitations, meaning you have less time to bring your claim against a government agency.

One of the Best Slip and Fall Lawyers in Detroit

For over 50 years, The Lee Steinberg Law Firm has helped injured victims win their cases to collect the compensation they need and deserve. We care about the health and well-being of our clients. The results of a Detroit slip and fall accident can be traumatic—let us help you get the compensation you need to recover and move on as comfortably as possible.

Please call The Lee Steinberg Detroit slip and fall lawyers at 1-800-LEE-FREE (1-800-533-3733) or fill out the Free Case Evaluation Form so we can answer any questions you may have about your accident. You pay nothing until we settle your Detroit slip and fall accident case.