Miami Slip and Fall Attorneys
Helping Victims of Slip and Fall Accidents throughout Florida
Slip and fall accidents are one of the most common injury accidents and the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths in the U.S. The CDC reports that each year, 3 million older Americans are treated in emergency departments for fall injuries and over 800,000 people are hospitalized because of a fall injury. In Florida, falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries among the elderly population.
Sad to say, many slip and fall accidents could be prevented if property owners and managers maintained their property so that it was safe. Under Florida law, they have a legal duty to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition for guests, customers, and others who are lawfully on their property. Unfortunately, however, many owners and operators of stores, hotels, restaurants, and other commercial establishments often fail to comply with this duty, resulting in dangerous walking conditions.
When property owners or managers do not maintain their property so that it is safe or when they fail to warn visitors to their property of known dangers, they may be held liable if you fall and are injured because of their negligence. With help from experienced Florida personal injury attorneys, you could potentially collect substantial compensation for the damages you have suffered because of falling.
The highly skilled personal injury attorneys of Boyers Law Group have been helping people injured throughout Florida due to others’ negligence for over twenty-five years. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a slip and fall accident, we would be honored to help you hold the responsible party accountable for their negligence and help you get fully and fairly compensated for your medical expenses, pain, suffering, loss of income and other losses.
Please call us at 305-512-7600 or submit the “Tell Us What Happened” form on our website to talk with an experienced Miami slip and fall accident attorney about your case.
What Causes Slip and Fall Accidents in Miami?
A wide variety of hazardous conditions can cause or contribute to a Miami slip and fall accident. Some common causes of slip and fall accidents in Miami include:
- Obstructions in a walkway. While stocking shelves or racks, workers at retail stores, supermarkets, and pharmacies often leave boxes and merchandise in walkways, causing a tripping hazard to customers.
- Liquid spills. Liquid spilled from a server’s food tray at a restaurant or caused by a broken bottle in a grocery store can lead to a slip and fall accident.
- Inadequate lighting. Inadequate or non-existent lighting increases the likelihood of a visitor to the property tripping, slipping or falling.
- Poorly maintained floors. Poorly maintained flooring is a serious hazard to anyone walking on the floors. Cracked cement, warped wood and chipped tiles all create a tripping hazard.
- Merchandise and boxes on shelves. Stores often stock merchandise and boxes on high shelves. Shoppers may fall trying to reach the merchandise or trip over boxes that have fallen into an aisle.
- Excess water. Florida’s storm season can inundate parking lots and sidewalks with water. If that water enters an establishment and is not cleaned up it can result in a serious slip and fall injury.
- Poorly installed or maintained stairs. When stairs are not properly installed or a property owner fails to inspect and repair them, uneven or broken steps, a loose board, a wobbly handrail, or an absent handrail, can pose a hazard to patrons of the property.
- Unsecured mats or rugs. When a mat or rug is not secured, it can bunch up, causing a tripping hazard.
- Improperly installed flooring. Substandard materials and/or workmanship can result in improperly installed flooring. Tiles or wood flooring that is not installed properly can lead to serious fall injuries.
- Electrical wires and extension cords. Electrical cables, extension cords, and other building materials left unsecured can result in a trip and fall accident.
The experienced Boyers Law Group slip and fall attorneys will thoroughly investigate your accident to determine what caused your fall. We will collect the evidence needed to build a compelling case demonstrating negligence on the part of the property owner(s) and/or other responsible parties.
To get started working on your case, call us at 305-512-7600 or submit the “Tell Us What Happened” form on our website.
What Types of Injuries Do Slip and Fall Accidents Cause?
A slip, trip or fall can result in numerous types of serious injuries. In fact, one in five people suffers a serious injury when they are involved in a fall accident, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A slip and fall victim may suffer multiple and varied injuries, including:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Internal organ damage
- Severe Lacerations and bruising
- Broken or fractured bones
- Spinal cord injuries
- Paralysis
- Nerve damage
- Torn ligaments, tendons or cartilage (e.g., tear of the rotator cuff or labrum)
- Knee injuries, including tears of the meniscus or patellar tendons
- Permanent scarring and disfigurement
- Emotional trauma
Slip and fall injuries can cause life-altering injuries that may require long-term medical treatment and rehabilitation. Many slip and fall injuries are fatal, especially among the elderly.
If you have been seriously injured or lost a loved one due to a slip and fall injury caused by someone else’s negligence, please do not hesitate to contact us. We have a long record of success in handling Florida personal injury and wrongful death claims and will put our expertise and substantial resources to work helping you obtain the full, fair compensation you deserve for all you have suffered and may continue to suffer in the future.
Who Can Be Held Responsible for Slip and Fall Accident Injuries in Florida?
Florida law imposes a duty of care on the owner or occupier of a property toward visitors to the property. As such, a visitor to the property who is injured in a slip and fall accident may be entitled to pursue compensation from the property owner or occupier (if the property is leased) for injuries suffered in the accident.
Premises liability is the area of the law that imposes the duty of care on the owner/occupier of property in Florida. The exact duty of care owed to a visitor depends on how the visitor is categorized, with the highest duty of care owed to a “public invitee” and the lowest owed to a trespasser. A visitor is classified as a public invitee if the property is open to the public and the owner/occupier stands to gain financially from the visitor’s presence on the property. A guest at a hotel, a shopper at a retail store or a diner at a restaurant would all be classified as public invitees, affording them the highest duty of care under Florida’s premises liability laws.
The duty of care owed to a public invitee can result in an owner or occupier of a property being held responsible for injuries sustained in a slip and fall accident that was caused in whole or in part because of a known hazardous condition on the property or because of hazardous conditions that the owner or property manager should have known about and repaired.
What Kind of Compensation Can You Receive for Miami Slip and Fall Accident Injuries?
A Miami slip and fall accident can result in serious physical injury and emotional trauma. A victim may also face financial hardship because of a slip and fall accident. In fact, slip and fall injuries are the primary cause of lost days of work, according to the National Floor Safety Institute.
According to Florida law, an injured victim may be entitled to recover both economic and non-economic damages in a Florida slip and fall accident claim. Economic damages are intended to compensate you for easily quantifiable, objective expenses related to the accident, while non-economic damages compensate you for the harder-to-quantify damages sustained because of the accident. Taken together, you may be compensated for:
- Mental anguish and anxiety resulting from the fall injury
- Physical pain and suffering
- Disfigurement, scarring and disability
- Medical expenses, including hospital bills, medical procedures, physician bills, medication, assistive devices and travel expenses to and from medical facilities
- Rehabilitation, therapy and other care expenses
- Lost income and diminished earning capacity
- Your family’s loss of your assistance, guidance and companionship
- Other damages recoverable under Florida law
If you are the surviving spouse or child of someone who was fatally injured in a Miami slip and fall accident, you could be entitled to pursue a Florida wrongful death lawsuit if the wrongful or negligent conduct of another party caused or contributed to the death or your family member.
Call us at tel:+18662699970 or submit the “Tell Us What Happened” form on our website for the commitment and litigation experience you need to pursue justice and obtain the substantial compensation you deserve.
How Experienced Miami Slip and Fall Attorneys Can Help
If you were injured in a Florida slip and fall accident, or you lost a loved one because of a slip and fall accident, the key to ensuring that the responsible party (or parties) is held accountable is to consult with the Miami slip and fall attorneys at Boyers Law Group as soon as possible. You may be entitled to compensation for your physical and emotional injuries as well as the financial devastation caused by the slip and fall accident, and the Miami slip and fall attorneys at Boyer Law Group have the experience, resources and dedication necessary to advocate and litigate on your behalf to secure the maximum compensation possible for your injuries or loss.
We feel a deep sense of responsibility to each client because we know that if you come to us for help, you have been seriously injured or suffered a deeply painful loss. You deserve answers to your questions as well as the maximum compensation allowable under the law.
Please call us at 305-512-7600 or submit the “Tell Us What Happened” form on our website to get expert advice from an experienced Miami slip and fall accident attorney.