New Haven Slip and Fall Attorney

Have you experienced a slip and fall on a negligent third party’s property in New Haven? If this has happened to you or someone you love, you could be eligible for financial compensation to pay for medical costs, pain and suffering, and more.

Weber & Rubano takes slip-and-fall cases against irresponsible property managers, owners, and lessees seriously. Our firm’s 60-year New Haven history can obtain you the compensation or verdict you deserve in your slip and fall case.

Contact our New Haven slip & fall lawyers for a free, no-obligation slip-and-fall case review today. We’ll be honest about your case’s future and next stages.

What is a Slip and Fall Accident?

“Slip and fall” is the common terminology for one type of premises liability case. Premises liability law is based on the legal requirement that all property owners or leasees must maintain their property in safe conditions. While all slip and fall cases are considered premises liability cases, not all premises liability cases are considered slip and fall cases.

If you slip or trip on a property owned by someone else due to their negligence, this could make you eligible to bring a slip and fall case. To be eligible to receive compensation in your slip and fall case, you must bring your claim within the statute of limitations window, which is two years from the date of the accident or when the injury was known. Contact our New Haven slip & fall lawyers for additional guidance.

Slip and Fall Accident Statistics

Falling is an ever-present threat to the lives of older adults. In the United States, falling is considered a public health crisis. Add to that crisis a dose of negligence from a property owner, manager, or lessee, you have a recipe for extensive pain and suffering.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) considers falling a public health problem and has been studying it extensively. What this organization documented is shocking:

Falls of adults over 65 cost $50 billion in medical costs, with ¾ of all those paid by the United States federal government through the Medicare and Medicaid programs
Emergency rooms in the U.S. reported over 3 million visits for adult falls in 2019
Over 34,000 adults in the U.S. perish from a fall, making it the leading cause of injury-related death

Common Causes of Slip-and-Fall Accidents

Store owners, hotel managers, and even private property owners must take reasonable measures to prevent injury to others lawfully on their property, including preventing falls. Common causes of slip and fall accidents in New Haven include:

Uneven ground surfaces and walkways
Icy sidewalks, stairs, or walkways
Uneven flooring or unmarked level changes
Loose carpeting
Loose or dangling wires and cords
Wet floors
Slick floors from spilled products
Inadequate lighting
Debris or clutter on the floor
Broken stair risers or rails
Improper floor cleaning products that leave the floor slick or slippery

Property owners have the duty to recognize fall hazards on their property and promptly correct or repair them. If there is a necessary delay in correcting a slip-and-fall hazard, property owners or managers have the duty to place warning signs or limit access to the property until it is safe. Failing to take these precautions results in liability. Common injuries from slip and fall accidents range from bruises, lacerations, and sprains to fractures, traumatic brain injuries, back injuries, whiplash, and broken teeth or facial disfigurment.

What to Do After a Slip-and-Fall Accident

If you fell on a commercial property, private property, or public property and the fall was due to the owner or manager’s negligence, you can use your phone as a tool to protect your physical and financial recovery. If you’re too injured to move safely, you can hand your phone to someone else to use for you and do the following:

Call 911 to request emergency transport to the hospital or make arrangements for transportation to an ER
Take photos of the cause of your fall or anything that contributed to the fall
Take photos of any visible injuries
Add the contact information of the property owner or manager
Ask the owner/manager to fill out an accident or incident report if the fall occurred on a business property

Once at the hospital, ask for a thorough medical report of your injuries. Save all medical bills and call an attorney at the New Haven law office of Weber & Rubano.

Proving Liability in Slip-and-Fall Accidents in New Haven

To make a successful claim for damages after a slip-and-fall accident, the injury victim (plaintiff) must prove the at-fault party (defendent) liable. Proving liability in this type of accident requires gathering evidence to demonstrate the following:

That the property owner had a duty of care to take reasonable measures to prevent injury to others lawfully on the property
That they breached this duty by failing to promptly address a known hazard on their property, or one that a reasonable person would have known was a safety hazard
That their negligent breach of duty directly caused an injury
That the injury caused significant damages—typically including medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering

Once your New Haven premises liability attorney documents liability they can craft a compelling case for your damage in a demand package sent to the property owner’s premises liability insurance.

Do I Have to Go to Court for a Slip-and-Fall Case in Connecticut?

Only in relatively rare cases of insurance companies that fail to offer a substantial settlement for damages does a slip and fall claim progress to a lawsuit, in which case, your attorney will diligently file the lawsuit within the state’s 2-year statute of limitations. Around 95% of these personal injury claim settle out of court, but your New Haven personal injury attorney is more than ready to defend your rights and best interests in court if required to secure your compensation. A court case for a slip-and-fall accident may take longer than a settlement, but a jury award for damages is often higher than a settlement.

How Much Financial Compensation Can You Recover from a Slip and Fall Case in New Haven?

It can be difficult to estimate the exact number of financial damages that a victim may be able to receive as the result of a slip and fall case. However, individuals can typically expect to receive either economic damages, non-economic damages or both.

Economic damages cover the victim’s losses. Non-economic damages compensate victims for intangible losses (such as pain and suffering). Punitive damages penalize wrongdoers.

Most economic costs are lost earnings. This covers present and future lost wages. Medical costs are the second most prevalent category of economic losses, and include all injury-related expenses. Reach out to our New Haven slip & fall lawyers for your free consultation.

Our New Haven Slip & Fall Lawyers Want To Help You

Weber & Rubano will fight to get you the best possible outcome in your slip and fall case. We know how much a slip and fall can drastically impact your life and livelihood, so we make it easy to get started. We operate on a contingency fee basis, so you don’t pay us for prosecuting your case unless we win.