Miami Slip and Fall Lawyer

Miami Slip and Fall Attorney

When most people hear the term “slip and fall” they imagine relatively minor incidents, but the reality is that a slip and fall accident can inflict tremendous injuries, some of which could be permanently disabling or even life-threatening. All property owners in the Miami area are legally required to ensure their properties are safe for lawful guests and visitors, and failure to do so could lead to serious personal injuries.

Helping Slip and Fall Victims Recover in Miami, FL

If you recently sustained a slip and fall injury on someone else’s property, it is crucial to know what your options are and the value of having legal counsel you can trust on your side. The right Miami slip and fall attorney is a valuable asset in this situation, and while the thought of pursuing a civil claim may be daunting, you can approach the situation with confidence when you have an experienced attorney representing you.

Why You Need a Miami Slip and Fall Attorney

Your case could seem very straightforward at first, and you may wonder whether you can pursue compensation for your damages without hiring legal counsel. While you are under no legal obligation to hire an attorney for a personal injury claim, doing so provides a tremendous advantage and preserves your chances of winning your case. Without an attorney, you would need to meet strict court filing requirements and other procedural deadlines while managing the medical aftermath of your injury. Any mistakes could jeopardize your claim, but even if you meet these requirements, you could mistakenly accept a much lower settlement than you legally deserve.

Hiring a Miami slip and fall attorney to represent you lets you rest and recover with the reassurance of knowing your case is in capable and trustworthy hands. Your legal advocate can answer any of your questions and provide updates as your case unfolds, and they can be invaluable for identifying every available avenue of compensation available for your damages.

Attorney Karen Callejo and her team at Callejo Law provide legal counsel in English and Spanish from our office in Coral Gables. We take time to learn as much as we can about each client’s individual needs, assisting them in developing comprehensive legal strategies aimed at maximum compensation for their losses. It is natural to have many pressing legal questions in the aftermath of any unexpected personal injury, and our team can not only provide the answers you seek but also a compassionate source of guidance throughout all the legal proceedings ahead of you.

Understanding Florida’s Premises Liability Laws

Every private property owner is expected to maintain their property, addressing any foreseeable safety issues as soon as they notice them. If a property owner sees any potentially dangerous element on their property, they must either fix the problem immediately, create a visible warning of the hazard that lawful visitors will readily notice, or provide clear verbal warnings to lawful visitors if they are likely to encounter the hazard while on the property.

It is important to note that this duty of care only applies to lawful visitors of a property. These include those the property owner has invited onto their property such as relatives, neighbors, and friends as well as individuals with implied permission to enter the property for their own purposes, such as mail carriers, utility workers, and door-to-door salespeople. Property owners do not owe a duty of care to intruders or trespassers. If anyone enters a private property without the property owner’s permission and suffers a slip and fall injury, they will not have grounds for a premises liability claim.

To succeed with a premises liability claim for a slip and fall injury in Miami, the victim must first prove they had permission to enter the property. Once they have proven this, they must then prove that the property owner either knew or reasonably should have known about the hazard that caused their slip and fall injury. Unmarked wet floors, damaged stairs and floorboards, cluttered walking paths, and many other hazards can potentially result in slip and fall injuries. Your Miami slip and fall attorney can assist you with gathering whatever evidence is needed to prove that the property owner failed to uphold their responsibilities under Florida’s premises liability laws.

Most Commonly Reported Slip and Fall Injuries in Miami, FL

Slip and fall accidents are easily capable of resulting in catastrophic injuries, some of which impose long-term or lifelong medical complications on victims. The severity of the injuries resulting from a slip and fall accident typically depend on the location of the fall and other environmental factors. For example, if someone trips in a divot they could sprain or even break an ankle. If they fall down a flight of stairs they could potentially suffer multiple catastrophic injuries.

A few of the most commonly reported slip and fall injuries that generate personal injury claims in the Miami area include:

• Bone fractures. Falling and breaking bones can not only be extremely painful, but these injuries may also impose long-term medical complications on the victim. They may experience reduced range of motion, diminished flexibility, and nerve damage. Some bone fractures may require surgical correction and the surgeries necessary for fixing broken bones often include placement of steel plates and rods. Over time, individuals who undergo these procedures can experience various forms of chronic pain and other complications.
• Traumatic brain injuries. The human brain is highly vulnerable to physical injuries, and one of the most difficult aspects of treating brain injuries is their unpredictability. Two people could appear to suffer the exact same brain injury but have completely different symptoms and recovery experiences. Many brain injuries cause a range of symptoms, some of which may improve or worsen over time.
• Spinal cord injuries. The spinal cord is the cluster of nerves that connects the brain to the rest of body, allowing the brain to control the body’s movements and functions. Any injury to the spinal cord is permanent, potentially resulting in paralysis.
• Facial and dental injuries. It’s possible for the victim of a slip and fall to hit their face as they fall on the ground. These injuries can result in tooth damage or loss and scarring injuries to the face. This can not only be extremely painful but also psychologically damaging to the victim.
• Internal organ injuries. Depending on the location and severity of a slip and fall accident, the victim could suffer injuries to their internal organs. These injuries can be life-threatening if the victim does not receive immediate medical care. Additionally, some internal injuries may go unnoticed for some time, worsening to critical levels before the victim realizes something is wrong. This is why seeking prompt medical care is crucial after a slip and fall, even if the victim thinks they only sustained minor injuries.

It is possible for a slip and fall accident to result in multiple serious injuries, some of which could require extensive medical treatment and leave the victim disabled while they recover. Some victims suffer permanently damaging injuries that leave them disabled for life, and this can not only diminish their quality of life but also impede their ability to work and earn income. After a slip and fall accident, it is vital for the victim to seek medical care immediately, and once they have stabilized from their injuries they should reach out to legal counsel they can trust to help them determine their options for legal recourse.

Compensation Available for Premises Liability Claims in Miami, FL

Once you have proven fault for your slip and fall accident, you can proceed with claiming compensation for the damages you suffered. The state’s personal injury statutes enable a plaintiff in a premises liability claim to seek full compensation for any economic losses they suffered because of the defendant’s negligence, which may include:

• Property losses. If any of your personal belongings were damaged or destroyed in the accident, the defendant must compensate these losses by paying the value of the lost property.
• Medical expenses. Any slip and fall accident has the potential to cause serious injuries, including traumatic brain damage, spinal injuries, broken bones, and more. Your Miami slip and fall attorney can help you prove the full extent of the healthcare you need to heal as fully as possible from your injury. Remember that you can not only claim compensation for immediate healthcare expenses resulting from the incident in question, but also for the cost of any future treatment you are likely to require to reach maximum medical improvement.
• Lost income. Many people who sustain serious personal injuries are unable to work while they recover. If this applies to your situation, your Miami slip and fall attorney can help you hold the defendant accountable for the income you cannot earn during your recovery period. If you were forced to use paid time off from work or vacation time, your attorney can potentially help you recover compensation for the value of the paid time off you needed to use after your accident.
• Lost future earning capacity. Unfortunately, a slip and fall accident has the potential to inflict life-changing injuries, some of which could prevent victims from working until they fully recover. If your earning power has been diminished by your recent slip and fall accident, your Miami slip and fall attorney can help you calculate the future income you will not be able to earn in the future and add this to your economic damages.

When you have an experienced Miami slip and fall attorney handling your case, you are far more likely to accurately assess the extent of economic damages you can claim from the defendant. The average person might be able to assess immediately recognizable damages like their hospital bills, but accurately calculating long-term damages like lost earning capacity will be very challenging without experienced legal counsel advising them.

How to Calculate Pain and Suffering in Your Miami Slip and Fall Accident Claim

Beyond economic losses, the plaintiff in a personal injury claim in Miami will also have the right to seek compensation for their pain and suffering. Nothing limits pain and suffering compensation for premises liability claims in the state, so the plaintiff has the right to seek as much as they believe to be reasonable to compensate the physical pain and psychological distress they experienced from the incident in question.

The average person might find it difficult to determine appropriate monetary compensation for something like physical pain or emotional distress, and an experienced attorney can provide valuable guidance in this aspect of their case. Your Miami slip and fall attorney may seek pain and suffering compensation based on the time it will take you to fully recover, or they might seek a large lump sum to reflect the severity of a permanent injury you suffered. Ultimately, many plaintiffs in personal injury suits discover that their pain and suffering compensation amount to more than the total of their claimed economic losses.

Slip and Fall Accidents on Public Property in Miami, FL

Most slip and fall accident claims filed in the Miami area pertain to injuries suffered on private property. The state’s premises liability laws pertain to private property owners, but if a slip and fall injury occurs on public property the victim is likely to wonder if the same rules apply. There is no easy answer to this as most government entities have sovereign immunity from civil claims filed by members of the public. While this may sound like you would have no legal recourse if your slip and fall happened on public property, there are exceptions to the sovereign immunity rule.

You could still have grounds to claim compensation for slip and fall damages if your accident occurred on public property due to an error or omission by a government employee. If the employee made the error in the scope of their employment, the government employer would be liable for the victim’s damages. If you suffered a slip and fall injury on public property, pursuing a claim against any government entity is very different from filing a civil suit against another private party, and it will be crucial for you to have legal counsel you can trust for this case.

Understanding Florida’s Comparative Fault Rule

If you suffered a slip and fall on someone else’s property and you are considering whether you can file a civil suit against the property owner, it is natural to hesitate if you think you bear partial fault for the incident in question. If you believe you contributed to causing your slip and fall accident in any way, however slight, this will impact your recovery.

The state upholds a modified comparative negligence law that applies to any personal injury case in which the plaintiff and the defendant share liability for causing the damages in question. There is a fault threshold of 50%. This means that as long as the plaintiff is less than 50% at fault, they recover their damages but lose a portion of the case award equal to their percentage of fault. So, 10% fault means losing 10% of the total compensation claimed from the defendant. If the plaintiff is found 50% or more at fault they lose the right to seek compensation from the defendant.

What to Expect From Your Miami Slip and Fall Attorney

Every slip and fall accident claim filed is unique, and every plaintiff will face different challenges as they seek compensation for their losses. Having legal counsel that you can trust will significantly improve your chances of maximizing your recovery, and your attorney can be available to provide guidance and support through all your legal proceedings.

When you choose Callejo Law to represent you, we will immediately begin handling your case by helping you gather the evidence needed to assert liability. We can help you determine whether the property owner failed to meet their duty of care to maintain a reasonably safe premises. Physical evidence from the scene of your accident, testimony from any witnesses who saw the accident happen, security camera footage, and other forms of evidence could all prove crucial to your case. Our team can help you build a compelling case that proves the defendant knew or reasonably should have known about the hazard that caused your injury.

Our goal in every personal injury case we accept is maximum recovery for our client. You can rest assured that the team at Callejo Law will carefully evaluate your damages, helping you to assess the full range of immediate and future economic losses you are entitled to claim from the defendant. We would calculate future damages such as your lost earning capacity if you suffered a permanent injury of any kind, and we can help you maximize the pain and suffering compensation you win from the defendant.

You have a limited time in which to file a personal injury claim for a slip and fall injury in Miami, and taking swift legal action helps to preserve the integrity of any evidence you may need to firmly prove liability. The team at Callejo Law is ready to provide the client-focused legal representation you need to face your legal proceedings with confidence, so contact us today and schedule your consultation with a Miami slip and fall attorney you can trust.