VANCOUVER LAWYERS FOR SLIPS & FALLS
Personal Injury Lawyers – Downtown Vancouver
Slip & Fall lawyers for Vancouver & all of British Columbia
We have over 12 years of experience dealing with slip and fall accidents
In British Columbia, the law about slip and falls goes something like this:
A homeowner or a business owner must take steps to ensure the safety of visitors like you. If an owner does not take steps to make sure you are safe, and you fall and hurt yourself, the owner is responsible for paying you for your injuries.
Downtown Vancouver Slip & Fall Lawyers (personal injury lawyers)
Call us today for a free consultation 604-684-4300
What to do if you are involved in a slip and fall
If you are involved in a slip and fall accident, there are some steps you should take immediately:
– Take some photos of the area where you fell, or have a friend or family member take some photos on your behalf. This does not have to be high tech photography; the use of a good cell phone for pictures can be sufficient.
– Get legal advice right away – If you fall down on business premises, the business owner will go into full damage control mode after your injury. The hazard that caused your fall will likely be fixed right away. The business owner will also contact an insurance company, who may in turn advise the business to take steps to avoid legal liability for your injuries.
– If you fall on municipal or city property, you must talk to a lawyer immediately. The law has very strict timelines that require you to give a city or municipality notice right away of your injuries, and the notice you give must meet a very specific legal format. If you fail to give this legal notice within two months of your injury, you may be prevented from claiming any money for your injuries.
When are conditions considered hazardous or negligent?
In order to get money for your slip and fall, there must be evidence that the conditions where you fell were hazardous, and that a property owner was negligent. Generally, conditions can be said to be hazardous whenever a reasonable person would consider them to be hazardous. In other words, if it is a matter of common sense that the condition is hazardous, and that someone slips and falls because of those conditions, the law will hold the owner of the property responsible for any injuries caused by the slip and fall.
Common slip and fall hazards
In our 12 years dealing with slip and fall accident law, we have learned of a number of common hazards and negligent conditions that cause slip and falls. These include the following:
- Ice or snow in parking lots
- Ice or snow on stairwells
- Leaves or other hazards on stairs
- Wet floors that have not been mopped
- Liquids spilled on floors in businesses that was not mopped or cleaned
Most slip and falls occur either while one is visiting a home or a business. For example, many slip and falls occur while out shopping at a business, while others slip and falls happen while visiting the home of a neighbour or friend.
Remember, most homes and businesses have insurance. One of the main purposes of this insurance is to provide a source of money for lawsuits in case someone becomes injured from a slip and fall. By speaking with an experienced Vancouver slip and fall personal injury lawyer, you can find out whether a home or business has insurance that can pay you for your injuries.
Hiring a Vancouver slip and fall personal injury lawyer
If you hire an experienced Vancouver personal injury lawyer for your slip and fall, here is what you can expect:
– A free consultation where the lawyer will tell you your rights
– A thorough investigation of how the incident happened. For example, if the fall occurred in a parking lot, the slip and fall injury lawyer would obtain documents or evidence showing when the parking lot was last salted for ice, or when maintenance was last carried out, etc.
– The lawyer will gather medical evidence and assess the value of your injuries
– Ultimately, the lawyer will try and obtain a slip and fall settlement with the insurance company on your behalf
– In order to pressure the insurance company to take you seriously, the lawyer will start a slip and fall lawsuit on your behalf
– If your case cannot be settled, the lawyer will take your slip and fall lawsuit all the way to Court, where the lawyer will fight to make sure you get a favorable judgment ordering the insurance company to pay you for your injuries.
Downtown Vancouver Slip & Fall Lawyers (personal injury lawyers)
Call us today for a free consultation 604-684-4300
Trips and Falls
While the majority of cases we deal with involved slipping, some injuries are caused when someone trips and hurts themselves. Again, the basic slip and fall law applies to trip and fall cases: the owner of the property has a duty to make sure it is safe for visitors, and if you trip because it is not safe, the owner is liable for your injuries.
Some examples of trip and fall cases would include a hole on a sports field or in a park that was not repaired through proper maintenance. Other types of cases include tripping over something that is negligently left on a stairway or walkway.
Slip and Fall Settlements: How does it work?
We obtain settlements for slip and falls in the following way:
– We gather evidence to support your case – This would include visiting the scene where you fell and/or interviewing witnesses. If you fell at a business, we would obtain the internal documents or incident report about your fall from the business
– We let the insurance company know we will not back down – After you hire us, we contact the insurance company for the homeowner or the business owner and we make sure they understand you are entitled to compensation. We also let them know that if you are not fairly compensated, we will carry out with our threats of a slip and fall lawsuit
– We gather medical evidence from the people treating you. In this way, we make sure the insurance company knows the full extent of your injuries so they will pay you fairly.
– We look at slip and fall case law involving claims similar to yours – In this way, we assess the value of your case. We use this slip and fall law to convince the insurance company to fairly compensate your injuries
Slip and Fall lawsuit – How does it work?
Sometimes, an insurance company wants to play hardball, and refuses to settle your case. When this happens, we commence a lawsuit for your slip and fall claim. This means we start suing on your behalf by filing documents with the Court in BC. We then start going through a number of procedures through which we obtain valuable evidence on your behalf.
If your case cannot be settled, the end result is slip and fall litigation in the Court. Here, we would ask a judge to make a finding that the homeowner or business owner is responsible for your injuries, and we would ask the Court to give you an award of money to compensate you.
Downtown Vancouver Slip & Fall Lawyers (personal injury lawyers)
Call us today for a free consultation 604-684-4300
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