When Negligence Led to Your Fall, Our Long Island Slip and Fall Attorney Protects Your Rights
Although slip and fall accidents are sometimes dismissed as being minor mishaps, they can cause severe injuries like breaks and sprains or concussions. Our Long Island slip and fall lawyer has experience with such cases and understands how, in a brief moment, one fall can change your life.
Imagine walking into a store to buy groceries, and suddenly your feet fly out from under you. You’ve slipped in a puddle and fallen, hitting your elbow, twisting your wrist, or hitting your head. Slip and fall accidents hurt – and they can cause a lot of damage to the soft tissue in your body or even result in a concussion.
Or, maybe you’re walking up outdoor stairs and into a building when you slip on treacherous ice in the middle of a Long Island winter. If the building owner didn’t clear the walkway of ice and snow, just entering the building could be dangerous.
You could even suffer from slip and fall injuries at work. For example, your employer does not replace worn safety harnesses. You climb up on scaffolding to start working on the exterior of a building. You trip over something another employee left on the scaffolding and fall. But instead of suffering from cuts and bruises, you suffer traumatic brain injuries because the worn safety harness broke.
Your daily life puts you in many situations where you could trip or slip and fall and suffer injuries. Regardless of how you suffered your injuries or where you suffered them, you should recover the compensation you deserve, including medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and future medical expenses and loss of earning capacity.
If you’ve fallen and are hurt because a walkway, ramp, or staircase was in poor condition due to negligence, you may have cause to file a Long Island slip and fall claim.
Each case is different, but our team is experienced in identifying what negligence is and how we can prove your claim. Call our Long Island slip and fall attorney today at (516) 399-2364 for a free consultation about your case.
How Slip and Fall Attorneys in Long Island Can Help
When you retain a slip and fall lawyer in Long Island at Tucker Lawyers, PC, we don’t treat you as “just another client” or a number. We are working for you to ensure the defendant does not violate your rights and you obtain the compensation you deserve. Our slip and fall lawyers in Long Island will investigate your case, including:
- Investigate the accident scene. If needed, we will hire forensic accident recreation experts.
- Interview witnesses and, in necessary, take witness testimony via depositions.
- Request evidence from the defendant.
- Review your medical records.
- Ensure you obtain the medical care you need.
- Run interference between medical provider collections and you.
Once our slip and fall attorneys in Long Island review your medical records, we consult with medical professionals regarding your injuries, especially if your doctors believe your injuries will result in long-term or permanent disabilities. The medical professionals help us determine a fair and reasonable settlement based on current and future medical expenses and other damages.
Our attorneys work to help you recover the compensation you deserve, which could be in the thousands or millions of dollars. We cannot determine how much your case is worth until we review all of the evidence and medical records and, depending on the situation, discuss your injuries with medical professionals.
We not only help you personally, but we help people in the community in general by making donations to certain non-profits, such as MADD and the American Cancer Society, and awarding scholarships.
Slip and Fall Injuries in Long Island
Slip and fall injuries can happen just about anywhere, including work, your home, school, a retail shop, an apartment building’s sidewalk, a parking lot, or even just walking down the road. Your injuries may vary depending on several factors, including how you land when you fall, whether something knocks you over or you trip over something, and how far you fall. For example, if you work in silos or from a bucket truck at work and a harness breaks, you could fall from a few feet to hundreds of feet. Slip and fall injuries include:
- Bruises, cuts, scrapes and scratches
- Strains and sprains
- Soft tissue injuries, including pulled and torn muscles
- Simple and compound fractures
- Crushed bones and other crush injuries
- Face and eye injuries
- Head, neck and shoulder injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Back and spinal cord injuries
- Death.
You could also suffer from infections of open wounds and other secondary injuries, whether the wounds are caused by the initial slip and fall accident or from surgery to repair slip and fall injuries.
Additionally, your injuries could exacerbate existing illnesses and injuries. The defendant is responsible for secondary injuries and exacerbated injuries as you would not have suffered them if not for the defendant’s negligence.
What Should I Do After a Slip and Fall Accident?
Get Medical Attention, Stay Calm, and Call a Long Island Slip and Fall Attorney
Right after you’ve fallen, especially if you’re in public, you may be tempted to get up and walk it off because you’re embarrassed. However, you should seek immediate medical attention and call an experienced slip and fall lawyer in Long Island for advice.
If the fall happened at work, notify your supervisor or employer as soon as possible. Your employer is responsible for starting the claim process so that medical professionals and entities know to bill your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance.
Following the proper steps right after a fall can help ensure you’re eligible for a slip and fall claim.
Do Not Discuss Your Case
You should avoid making comments about your fall that imply it was somehow your fault. Because your employer and the workers’ compensation insurance company will not want to pay this claim, even though they know they have to, they will do anything to deny the claim or offer you a pittance.
One of the tricks an insurance company uses is twisting your words and using what you say against you. If either your employer or the workers’ comp insusrance company wants a statement from you, let them know that you must speak with your Long Island slip and fall lawyer first.
Anything you say after a slip and fall accident can be used to disprove your case.
Get Medical Attention
Don’t be afraid to call 911, especially if you feel dizzy or if you’ve hit your head. Soft tissue injuries and strains or sprains won’t show up right away, but EMS workers are trained to diagnose those properly. Similarly, concussions won’t necessarily be obvious at first, but can later become serious head injuries.
Remember, if you don’t see a doctor, the insurance company can claim that you weren’t actually hurt, or were not hurt as badly as you actually were.
Document Your Condition and the Scene of the Slip and Fall Accident
Have a store manager or person in charge fill out an accident report describing the conditions where you fell. They’ll also take note of the employees who were working at the time. Plus, having the contact information for the business may help our Long Island slip and fall lawyer obtain video surveillance tapes. Try to collect contact information for anyone who witnessed your fall. Our attorney can reach out to them to substantiate your claim.
Contact a Reliable Slip and Fall Lawyer in Long Island
The quicker you contact our slip and fall attorney in Long Island, the better chance we’ll have to gather evidence to help solidify your claim for damages and medical care. You can reach our team at (516) 399-2364.
Am I at Fault for a Slip and Fall?
To establish negligence on the part of the New York property owner for public or private property, and therefore substantiate liability for your accident and subsequent injuries, your Long Island slip and fall lawyer will have to prove three things:
- The property owner caused the dangerous conditions that led to your fall.
- They knew about hazardous conditions and opted not to fix them.
- They should have known about the dangerous conditions because a reasonable person would have noticed and fixed them.
- You suffered injuries and other damages because of the dangerous condition.
A few other factors determine slip and fall liability. How long the location was potentially dangerous is one. For instance, it can be hard for a property owner to shovel and de-ice walkways and stairs in the middle of a snowstorm.
Other factors include the property owner’s protocol for inspecting the general area and how the hazard could have been fixed or otherwise remedied before the accident.
However, there are a few factors that the other party’s insurance company may claim made you at fault for your spill:
- You wore flimsy footwear or unsupportive shoes.
- You were in a hurry.
- You were distracted, using your phone, or not paying attention.
- You ignored posted signage warning of hazardous conditions.
- You ignored safety regulations at work, including wearing safety equipment and personal protective equipment.
When these situations apply, you may have a harder time proving your claim.
Working with a Skilled Attorney Can Increase Your Compensation
Our seasoned slip and fall lawyer in Long Island will be able to construct a case for reasonable negligence. One reason that slip and fall cases are so tricky is that proving the “reasonable” part of a reasonable negligence claim can be subjective.
However, these claims can be proven through documented records or by proving that no safety records or best practices exist. Most of the proof in reasonable negligence cases comes down to showing what a reasonable person in the property owner’s position would do, which can come down to industry standards, OSHA practices, and plain common sense.
When you work with Tucker Lawyers, you can rely on our experience and feel secure knowing that we will advocate for you aggressively. We take on insurers to get you the best settlement possible. If your case needs to go to court, our skilled litigators are ready to fight for you.
Talk to our slip and fall attorney in Long Island about your case. We stand ready to advocate for you and get the compensation you deserve. Call us today at (516) 399-2364.
FAQs about Long Island Slip and Fall Accidents
Common Questions our Long Island Slip and Fall Accident Lawyers Hear from Clients
When you’re hurt after taking a fall, you could have a legal claim if your fall was caused by someone’s negligence. You may wonder how a legal case works after a slip and fall accident in Long Island. If you suffered severe injuries, you may wonder where to turn, be concerned about medical bills, be worried about lost wages, and wonder how you can get the most compensation possible. Our Long Island slip and fall accident lawyers are here to answer any questions you may have after a nasty fall. Here are a few we regularly hear.
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What is the statute of limitations for a slip and fall?
In New York, you have three years from the date of the incident to file a claim. However, you should contact a Long Island slip and fall attorney immediately, as it takes time to review your medical records and otherwise prep for settlement negotiations or litigation. The three years goes by before you know it. If you miss the deadline, you won’t be able to recover damages.
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How much is my Long Island slip and fall accident settlement worth?
It depends on the circumstances of your case, including whether you sustained long-term or permanent injuries.
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How much will a slip and fall lawyer in Long Island cost?
Many personal injury lawyers work on a contingency basis, where they’re paid a portion of a winning settlement only. Your initial case evaluation is free and without obligation. We work on a contingency basis, so you don’t pay unless we win your case.
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How long will it take to settle my slip and fall case?
Our lawyer will often want you to complete your medical treatment before filing a claim to ensure that they have an accurate dollar amount for your medical fees and compensate you for any time missed at work.
Don’t see an answer to your question? We are happy to help. Reach out to our slip and fall accident attorney in Long Island to talk about your case. We welcome you to reach out to us with any other questions you may have.
Why Choose Our Experienced Slip and Fall Attorneys in Long Island
Depend on the Experience of Tucker Lawyers
When you need a knowledgeable legal representative in Long Island, reach out to Tucker Lawyers. Our accomplished legal team has the specialized knowledge and experience to recover the compensation that our clients deserve after a slip and fall injury.
Remember: We don’t get paid unless you do, too.
We believe that all victims deserve justice, and we will fight tirelessly to secure the financial compensation that you are owed after your fall. We know that your life can change in an instant. We want to help you get your life back. While you heal, let us handle the details of an injury claim. We will fight to get you all the compensation you deserve after a slip and fall at a Long Island property.
For a free consultation, contact our Long Island slip and fall injury lawyers at (516) 399-2364.
Managing Attorney John. J. Tucker, Esq.
John has personally handled thousands of clients who were victims of another’s negligence and fights relentlessly for their rights. John enjoys bringing closure to a client’s matter so that the injured party can move forward with their life. His background enables him to evaluate complex liability related claims and bring resolution to claims in a record time frame. [ Attorney Bio ]