West Palm Beach Slip and Fall Lawyer
Property owners in West Palm Beach have a legal duty to do what they can to prevent visitors from slipping and falling. If you fell because of a property owner’s negligence, you may be entitled to significant compensation. Our West Palm Beach slip and fall lawyers are ready to go after the evidence you need so you can recover the compensation you deserve.
Falling in public or someone else’s home can happen so quickly that you may be unaware that it happened because of a hazardous condition that shouldn’t have been there. Before you blame yourself, call a knowledgeable slip and fall lawyer from our West Palm Beach personal injury law firm at 561-766-5020. We can identify the real cause of your fall and hold the negligent property owner accountable.
How a Slip And Fall Attorney in West Palm Beach Can Help
We have over 45 years of experience getting injured accident victims the compensation they deserve. Our compassionate slip and fall attorneys in West Palm Beach help accident victims when they need it most. When you choose Farah & Farah, you can trust us to do the following:Â
- Visit the site and gather evidence.Â
- Interview eyewitnesses about your accident and the hazardous condition.Â
- Obtain your medical records to assess the severity of your injuries.Â
- Work with experts to determine the severity of your injuries and losses.Â
- Advise you of your rights and keep you informed about your case.Â
- Provide our cell phone numbers and answer your calls.Â
- Handle all communications with the insurance company.Â
- Negotiate a settlement, and refuse to accept less than you deserve.Â
- Fight for you in court if the insurance company doesn’t offer a fair settlement.Â
Slip and fall claims are difficult to win without an attorney because you must prove the property owner was at fault. Property owners and insurance companies may deny hazards were present or claim they weren’t aware of them. An experienced West Palm Beach slip and fall lawyer can see through the smokescreens and find the evidence you need to meet your burden.Â
We win through caring, understanding, and hard work and have recovered over $2 billion for accident victims. Our experience makes all the difference. Contact us today to schedule your free case evaluation with a seasoned slip and fall lawyer in West Palm Beach, and let Team Farah put our experience to work for you.
What Compensation Can You Expect for Slip and Fall Injuries in West Palm Beach?
You may be able to recover substantial compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Â
Compensation for medical expenses and lost wages are known as economic damages. Recoverable medical expenses include doctor bills, care attendants, hospitalizations, surgeries, rehabilitation, therapy, medication, and other current or ongoing costs. Lost wages include missed days at work and loss of earning capacity.Â
Compensation for pain and suffering is also known as non-economic damages and includes physical pain, mental anguish, loss of society, and loss of quality of life. Â
If you have clear and convincing evidence that a property owner engaged in deliberate misconduct or gross negligence, you may be able to pursue punitive damages. These damages aim to punish defendants and deter others from similar conduct.
What if a Loved One Died in a Slip and Fall Accident in West Palm Beach?
If your close family member died as a result of a fall on a negligent property owner’s premises, our caring and skilled slip and fall lawyers in West Palm Beach may be able to help you pursue the following damages in a wrongful death lawsuit:Â
- Loss of your loved one’s lifetime income had they survived.Â
- Your family member’s medical expenses.Â
- Your funeral and burial expenses.Â
- Your family member’s pain and suffering.
- Your family’s emotional losses, such as loss of companionship.
What Types of Evidence Do I Need To Prove a Slip and Fall Claim?
You will need two types of evidence in a slip and fall claim: proof of the property owner’s liability and evidence supporting the severity and extent of your injuries and losses.
Evidence To Prove the Owner’s Fault
As a plaintiff in a slip and fall lawsuit, you will need to prove that the owner of the property caused or contributed to your injuries by failing to remedy a hazardous condition that they knew or should have known about. Such evidence might include the following:Â
- Eyewitness statements from those who saw the hazards or witnessed your fall.Â
- Video surveillance that shows the incident or the conditions that led to it. Â
- Photographs of the hazardous conditions.Â
- An incident report produced by a business in response to your fall.
- Admissions of fault by the property owner.
Evidence To Prove Your Injuries and Damages
You can generally prove your injuries with medical records. If you take photographs of your injuries, this can also help, especially if your case goes to trial. Â
You’ll also need to establish the damages attributable to the accident. Such proof may include medical bills, paystubs to show lost wages, statements from family and friends regarding the impacts of your injuries on your life, and other documentation of your expenses and losses.Â
Property owners and insurance companies may claim that your injuries existed before the accident. These are common tactics meant to lower your compensation, but you will need evidence to refute these claims. Â
Our West Palm Beach slip and fall attorneys work with a network of respected medical and financial experts who can provide credible testimony to establish your damages. Contact us now for a free case review.
Who Is at Risk of Falling in West Palm Beach?
Falls are the number one cause of traumatic injury in Palm Beach County, according to WBPF News Channel 25. They are the second most common reason for calls to Fire Rescue in Palm Beach County and the most common reason in Delray Beach.Â
Falls are the leading cause of fatal injuries in Florida residents aged 65 and older. The Florida Department of Health reports that in 2021, 3,805 adults ages 65 and older died from falls in Florida.Â
Approximately 20 percent of the population of West Palm Beach and more than 25 percent in Palm Beach County are 65 or older. As a result, older adult falls are common in the West Palm Beach area. Older people are more susceptible to falls due to medication, failing eyesight, arthritis, and other conditions common in older adults.Â
Regardless of your risk factors, if you are an older adult injured by a fall caused by a hazardous condition, you have a right to hold the property owner liable. Our compassionate West Palm Beach slip and fall lawyers are ready to fight for you. Call us today at 561-766-5020 for a free case review.
The Most Common Types of Slip & Fall Accidents in West Palm Beach
Most slips and falls are attributable to wet or slippery surfaces, trip hazards, and uneven pavement. The types of slips and fall accidents that commonly occur in West Palm Beach vary based on the location.
Retail Establishments
Falls at retail establishments such as grocery stores, supermarkets, and shopping centers often occur as a result of the following:Â
- SpillsÂ
- Water leaksÂ
- Obstructions in walkwaysÂ
- Damaged floor tilesÂ
- Poorly maintained exits and entrancesÂ
- Inadequate lightingÂ
Our successful case results include a $750,000 recovery from a large supercenter chain for a client who fell in a puddle of water and $350,000 from another major retailer for a client who suffered neck and back injuries in a fall caused by an ongoing water leak.
Parking Lots
Parking lot accidents often happen because business owners fail to follow basic safety practices, such as fixing potholes, removing loose asphalt, and ensuring the parking lot is well-lit. Our skilled team of attorneys recently recovered $130,000 for a client who fell and broke his arm when his pant leg got caught on a broken concrete parking stop at a fast-food restaurant.
Public Sidewalks
Sidewalks can become damaged due to wear over time, storm damage, or tree roots pushing up on the concrete. Debris on sidewalks can cause trip hazards, and poorly lit areas can lead to falls near curbs at nighttime. Â
Palm Beach County has a unique concern regarding public sidewalks. In 1992, the county started requiring developers to plant oak and mahogany trees in medians between sidewalks and streets. These trees have developed roots that push up on the sidewalks, creating trip hazards.Â
Although hundreds have been cut down since 2020, many residents opposed their removal. Maintaining safe sidewalks near these trees is expensive, so government entities may fail to take the appropriate steps. Thus, the city or county may be liable when a pedestrian falls on the damaged sidewalk.Â
Other sidewalk hazards include bushes encroaching the walkway, faulty repairs, and rocks or other debris in walking areas.
Drawbridges
Two people have fallen from the Royal Park Bridge between West Palm Beach and Palm Beach since February 2022. The first was a woman who fell more than 50 feet to her death when the drawbridge tender failed to check for pedestrians and raised the bridge while she was still walking across it. Â
In April 2023, a second woman fell approximately ten feet and suffered injuries when the bridge was raised as she walked her bicycle across it.
Restaurants
Restaurant falls commonly occur from spills, leaks, greasy floors, and items or cords on the floor in walkways. We recently won the following two verdicts against fast food establishments for falls:Â
- $460,000 for an 80-year-old client who fell on water leaking from a restroom.
- $450,000 for a client who needed back surgery after a fall.
Health Care Settings
Common causes of falls in health care settings include wet floors, cords hanging from IVs and other medical equipment, and medical negligence, such as poor patient supervision.
Falls in nursing homes and assisted living facilities are more common due to their substantial older adult populations. If you or your loved one has suffered an injury from a fall at a health care facility, including any of West Palm Beach’s 46 nursing homes, call our West Palm Beach slip and fall attorneys today at 561-766-5020.
Construction Sites
Downtown West Palm Beach, often dubbed the “Wall Street of the South,” is experiencing significant growth in 2024, giving rise to commercial construction projects, including a massive skyscraper that will be known as One West Palm on North Quadrille Boulevard. The Sun Sentinel reports it will be 426 feet high. It will house offices, luxury apartments, a fitness center, a movie theater, and more.
NORA, a new downtown district featuring high-end dining and boutiques, is near completion and slated to open in 2024. Several large skyscrapers are also under construction.
Construction sites are dangerous areas with numerous slip, trip, and fall hazards, such as the following:
- Electrical cords from power tools in walking areas
- Improperly secured or defective ladders
- Debris
- Defective scaffolding
- Uneven walking surfaces
- Unprotected edges in high locations, such as roofs
Falls from heights are more likely to cause severe injuries or death. Contact our slip and fall lawyers in West Palm Beach today if you or your loved one has been injured in a slip and fall accident on a construction site in or near West Palm Beach.
Who Is Liable for Your Slip and Fall?
The property owner is liable in most slip and fall claims. However, falling on someone else’s property doesn’t automatically give you grounds to sue. You can only hold a property owner liable if you prove they were negligent. To do so, you must establish all of the following elements:
- You were legally on the premises, and the owner owed you a duty of care.
- A hazardous condition was present, and the owner knew or should have known.
- The owner should reasonably have foreseen that the hazard would cause injuries.
- The owner failed to remove the hazard.
- You fell because of the hazard, causing an injury you would not otherwise have sustained.
- The owner’s failure to remedy the hazard is the actual and proximate cause of your fall and subsequent injury.
Business owners are generally liable for the negligence of their employees. However, you can often name additional parties in your lawsuit. For example, if you or your loved one fell at a health care facility due to medical negligence, you may also have grounds to file a medical malpractice lawsuit and name each health care provider in your claim.
If you are a worker who fell at a construction site, workers’ compensation likely covers your injuries and generally prohibits you from suing your employer, although some exceptions exist. However, if a dangerous condition on the premises caused the fall, you may have grounds to file a slip and fall lawsuit against the property owner.
If you fell on a public sidewalk or at a government building, you may be able to sue the agency responsible for maintaining the premises.
Shared Fault in Florida
If a court determines that your actions contributed to your fall, it may decide that you are partly at fault. Florida’s comparative negligence law allows you to recover damages if you are 50 percent or less at fault for the accident. However, your compensation will be reduced in proportion to your fault.
You may be found partly at fault if you walked in an unauthorized area or signs warned of the danger.
Common Slip and Fall Injuries in West Palm Beach
Slip and fall injuries can range from minor bruises to catastrophic injuries. Adults over the age of 65 and construction workers who fall from heights are the most likely people to sustain serious injuries from falls, but this can happen to anyone. Common fall injuries include:Â
- Traumatic brain injury, or TBIÂ
- Spinal cord injuriesÂ
- Broken bonesÂ
- Broken hipsÂ
- Soft tissue injuriesÂ
- Increased risk of future fallsÂ
- DeathÂ
Falls are the leading cause of TBIs in the United States, according to the CDC. Older adults are more likely to die or require hospitalization from TBI, and doctors often fail to detect TBI in older adults due to the symptoms overlapping with other conditions that are common in the elderly.
Hurt in a Fall? We Can Help
If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall accident in the West Palm Beach area, call our award-winning Palm Beach slip and fall lawyers today at 561-766-5020 to schedule a free consultation. We help injured clients in West Palm Beach and throughout Palm Beach County, including Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, Boynton Beach, and Royal Palm Beach.
How a Slip And Fall Attorney in West Palm Beach Can Help
What Compensation Can You Expect for Slip and Fall Injuries in West Palm Beach?
What Types of Evidence Do I Need To Prove a Slip and Fall Claim?
Who Is at Risk of Falling in West Palm Beach?
The Most Common Types of Slip & Fall Accidents in West Palm Beach
Who Is Liable for Your Slip and Fall?
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