If you were injured in a fall on another’s property, you could have the right to seek compensation for your injuries and other damages. This area of law is called “premises liability.”

Under Tennessee law, those who own property owe a duty to exercise ordinary care to avoid injuries to visitors on their property. So, if a property owner’s negligent maintenance, operation, or design of their property caused your accident and subsequent injury, the owner could be held liable. The duty also applies to those who merely occupy the property, such as tenants.

Two key questions in any slip and fall case in Tennessee will be:

  • Did the property owner have notice of the dangerous condition?
  • Was the hazard so “open and obvious” that you could have avoided it?

Contact your Memphis slip and fall lawyer today and explore all legal options available to you. Our consultations are always free.

What Steps Should You Take After a Slip and Fall ?

As you start out on learning more about your rights and taking legal action after a slip and fall, you should focus on taking care of a few important matters. We suggest that you take these five basic steps:

See a Doctor

Do not wait to get examined and treated by a doctor. Go to the emergency room or see a family doctor. A slip and fall can cause brain, soft tissue, and internal injuries that may not be immediately apparent. This is why you want to get seen by a physician as soon as possible.

Report Your Accident

If you have not done so yet, file an accident report with the property owner. For instance, if you were hurt at a store, report it to a store manager. Fill out any required report forms. Be sure to get a copy of the report.

Gather Your Evidence

Take photos of where you suffered the slip and fall as well as photos of your injuries. Get the names and contact information of any eyewitnesses that live in the Memphis area. Keep any clothes you were wearing that day. Hold on to all medical bills and proof of other slip and fall-related expenses.

Do Not Talk with The Insurance Company

You may be contacted by the property owner’s insurance company. Never give a recorded statement. Also, do not accept a settlement offer unless it has been reviewed by a trusted Memphis slip and fall attorney first.

How Can an Attorney Can Help with Your Claim?

Our Memphis slip and fall representative’s goal is to secure a settlement that fully and fairly compensates you. When you contact David E. Gordon about your slip and fall case, he will provide you with a free, confidential and no-obligation consultation. During the consultation, he will listen closely to you and learn all of the facts of your case. He will also answer any questions you may have.

If we agree to work together, we will launch an immediate investigation into your slip and fall. We will preserve, gather and analyze all evidence relating to your slip and fall. We also will consult with any experts who can shed light on how the slip and fall happened and the extent of your injuries. We will file all necessary claims and other documents. We also will deal directly with the insurance companies on your behalf. As a former insurance defense attorney, David knows how these companies operate. He will aggressively counter any attempts to deny or minimize your claim.

His goal will be to secure a settlement that fully and fairly compensates you. If no settlement can be reached, he will be ready to take your case to trial. In short, we can do everything it takes to pursue maximum compensation for the harm you have suffered in a slip and fall.

How Can You Prove Liability in a Slip and Fall Case?

A trip and fall can occur in many different situations. For instance, you may have been injured in an accident that involved:

  • Snow or ice on a sidewalk or in a parking lot or entryway
  • A recently mopped lobby or hallway
  • Liquid that had been spilled in an aisle (and sat for several hours)
  • Objects sticking out of the ground
  • A hole that had been concealed
  • Broken or uneven pavement or stairs
  • Broken handrails in a stairway
  • Torn or frayed carpeting or a loose area rug
  • Poor lighting in a common area
  • A defective elevator or escalator

However, not every slip and fall can result in a successful legal claim against the property owner.

An important question will be whether the owner knew or, in the exercise of ordinary care, should have known about the dangerous condition. In your case, we will look for evidence that establishes the owner’s “notice.”

In some cases, the owner may have actual notice. For example, evidence may show that the owner caused the dangerous condition or could have reasonably foreseen that its operations would lead to a hazard.

In other cases, a property owner could be deemed to have “constructive notice.” If the hazard had existed for a long time without being addressed, it would lean towards liability.

For example, the evidence may show that a landlord received several complaints about a broken handrail. However, the landlord did nothing to repair it or warn about the hazard. In that scenario, the landlord could be held liable for any fall-down accidents caused by the defective handrail.

Attorney David E. Gordon can thoroughly investigate your case and consult with safety experts and others to determine whether a Memphis property owner’s negligence caused you to suffer injures in a slip and fall.

What Compensation Can You Recover in a Slip and Fall Lawsuit?

We will be focused on recovering full and fair compensation for you in slip and fall injury claim, including recovery for:

  • Past and future medical expenses
  • Lost wages and any diminished ability to earn wages in the future
  • Scarring and disfigurement
  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress
  • Loss of consortium (harm to a marital relationship, for instance)

In many cases, we can obtain a recovery through a settlement, which eliminates the need for a trial. However, legal advisor David E. Gordon will always be ready to take your case into the courtroom.

An issue that may arise when seeking compensation in Memphis slip and fall accident claim with your attorney is whether the hazard you encountered was “open and obvious.” For example, did you step into a hole that any reasonable person could have seen? If the hazard was open and obvious, then (as we mentioned above), your recovery could be reduced in relation to your degree of fault. If you are considered to be at greater fault than the property owner, then you could be barred from a recovery. It is important to work with a professional who will aggressively take on property owners (or insurance company lawyers) who will try to assign undue fault to you in a slip and fall claim.

Get Help from a Memphis Slip and Fall Attorney Today

When you hire the Law Office of David E. Gordon for your slip and fall accident claim, you will work directly with Mr. Gordon. He will be dedicated to providing highly personalized service, seeking maximum compensation and keeping you informed and updated at every stage of your case.

We serve clients throughout Tennessee and northern Mississippi. To get started on your case, call or reach us online today and receive a free consultation from a Memphis slip and fall lawyer today

The Law Offices of David E. Gordon

The Law Offices of David E. Gordon
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