When you get hurt in a slip and fall, you might be facing a lot of issues. The pain and suffering is hard enough to deal with coupled with medical bills and lost wages. We are so sorry that you have been going through this because of someone else’s carelessness.

A Clearwater slip and fall lawyer is here to help you through this.

After you have been hurt, you need to have strong and dependable representation. Our experienced personal injury attorneys can help you get the justice you deserve. Whether you are still in the hospital today or you are at home recovering, all you need to do is make that first phone call. We can get you set up with a free consultation right away.

Continue reading to learn about a former client of ours who we helped receive full justice for their claim. Then read until the end to learn about some case mistakes you should avoid making.

Clearwater Slip and Fall Client Story

We have changed some of the details of this story as well as the names to protect our client’s identity. Taylor was tasked by her roommate to go to the store to pick up some stuff for the apartment. They had moved in a week ago. They were still missing a lot of essentials. Taylor took the list they made together and headed out to the store. Her roommate was setting up the pantry and was then going to set up the TV stand.

Taylor considered this a fair trade-off. In the car, she pulled up her directions to the store and headed off. She was still getting used to the new area. They only moved an hour away, but she was not totally familiar with where she was going yet. The closest store that had cleaning supplies was about 15 minutes away. She listened to some music in the car to fill the silence. This week was completely exhausting. She forgot how hard moving was when you didn’t hire movers. They didn’t have the money to hire anyone.

The rent payment was the top of their budget, so they were going to have to be careful with money. Taylor pulled into the parking lot, found a spot, and grabbed her list. She needed mostly things for cleaning so she head towards that area of the store. Taylor scanned the aisles for the specific type of sponge that her roommate wanted. She was looking for the ones with the handles you could fill with soap. She didn’t see any among the regular kitchen sponges. She decided to go ask someone for help instead of aimless walking the aisles and wasting time.

As she rounded the corner, she tripped over something in the aisle. As she fell, she tried to catch herself. Her head hit something on the way down and she landed on her wrist. Someone came rushing over to see if she was alright. There was a splitting pain above her left eye. “Ow,” she lifted her hand to her face. When she pulled her hand away from the spot, she noticed a lot of blood. Her wrist was also throbbing in pain. A woman helped her to her feet. “Are you okay?

They should not be leaving their mops around like that. ”Taylor noticed then that what she had tripped over was a wet mop propped up against the shelves. It was impossible for her to see it before she tripped over it. She was slightly disoriented from hitting her head. “Are you alright?” the woman asked again. “I don’t know,” she said. “If it’s broken, you should sue.”

Taylor looked at her confused then realized she was holding her wrist up to her chest. It was really painful. The woman suggested they go get a manager. She was grateful to have this woman taking care of her.They filed an accident report together. Then the woman offered to drive her to the urgent care. “Thanks. I should call my roommate though. She’s going to be wondering where I am,” said Taylor. She thanked the woman for helping her and waited to get picked up by her roommate who took her to the urgent care a few miles away. They assessed her and determined she had a mild concussion.

The x-rays showed that she had a fractured wrist. She also received stitches on her forehead and there was a good chance that she was going to have a scar. She thought about what the woman at the store said about suing and decided to reach out to a lawyer. During a search online, she found our website and decided to make a call. We got her set up with a free consultation right away where she asked the following questions:

  1. How does this all work?
  2. How much is my case worth?
  3. What fees do I need to pay a lawyer?

You likely have similar questions that Taylor had. Continue reading to learn how our knowledgeable Clearwater slip and fall injury attorneys answered these questions for her.

How does this all work?

Taylor had never experienced anything like this. It was actually her first broken bone. She didn’t know what to expect. When she asked us how this was going to work, we explained to her that we are aiming to get her justice in the form of compensation.

This compensation would come from the store’s insurance company. We would determine the value of her case based on her damages, and then negotiate with the insurance company to get her the results she deserved. That is the very simplified explanation of the claims process.

How much is my case worth?

Taylor had heard of a lot of advertisements and commercials from personal injury lawyers who won millions of dollars for their clients. She wasn’t quite sure what her own case would be worth. This was all new territory for her and she didn’t know what to expect from this. We told her that when we determine the value of someone’s case, it would be based on a few different things.

Some of these things we could punch into a calculator such as the lost wages if she had to miss work, the fees from the urgent care, the expenses of any follow up care she needed as well as any financial loss related to the accident.Then we would have damages that were not as simple to calculate. Those would include her pain and suffering. It also included all of the ways in which her life was negatively impacted by the accident. If she was unable to enjoy some activities she used to do like knitting or playing piano that was going to be significant in her compensation award.

We also explained to her that we would not be able to know definitively what her compensation award would be until she reached maximum medical recovery because it was important that we knew when she was done paying medical bills. That would be the point in which we could definitely say that we knew all of her damages.

What fees do I need to pay a lawyer?

Taylor explained to us that her money situation was going to be incredible tight. She and her roommate had picked out an apartment closer to their work that was at the top of their budget. She was barely going to be able to afford the cost of her medical care. She was sure she was going to have to ask her parents to loan her some money. It was not a good situation. She asked us what we charged to take on her case. We were happy to explain to her that we did not charge any upfront fees or out of pocket costs.

Our committed Clearwater slip and fall attorneys work on a contingency fee basis which means that our clients do not have to pay us unless we win their claim. It is usually a huge relief for our clients to hear this because it means they do not have to work it into their budget to be able to have our service. In the end, we were able to help Taylor get full compensation for all her damages after some negotiation with the insurance company.

She was so relieved to get this justice. We were glad to help another person get the justice they deserved after they were hurt because of someone else’s carelessness. Keep reading to learn about some mistakes you should avoid making if you want to receive full compensation.

Slip and Fall Case Mistakes

Following a slip and fall in Clearwater, you might be confused about what you can expect. It is important to act carefully as not to put yourself in a position to ruin your claim. Here are some common mistakes we want you to avoid making.

Delaying Getting to a Doctor

We see far too many people wait to see a doctor after they get hurt. People may wait to see a doctor right away because they don’t think they are hurt as bad as they are. That is usually adrenaline masking their pain. We understand that life can get in the way, but if you ignore pain, you are likely going to end up worsening your injuries. You should always see a doctor after an accident.

While you may think it’s okay to delay going to see a doctor, the insurance company won’t see it that way. They are looking for any way to reduce your compensation award. They don’t want to have to pay you everything you deserve because they want to save money on your case. When you delay seeking medical care, they may try to say you lied about how badly injured you were. That would make it easier for them to justify offering you less than what you deserve. Get to a doctor immediately after your accident.

Not Taking Your Doctor’s Advice

Something you should know about these cases is that the insurance company has been known to go to great lengths to save money on claims. That might include them having an investigator follow you to catch you doing something you are not supposed to be doing. Your doctor may give you limitations such as staying off of your feet or not lifting anything more than a certain weight.

If the investigator happened to capture a photo of you briefly holding something too heavy, even if you only had it in your hands for a moment and it caused you pain to do it, they can use that photo as evidence against you. Do not take risks with your health. If your doctors tell you to do physical therapy, make your very best effort to get to your appointments. Your body will thank you for it.

Giving a Recorded Statement to the Insurance Company

You will likely be approached by the insurance company shortly after your accident. They will start calling you asking if they can talk to about the accident. You may have been previously under the impression that insurance companies are there to help you when things go wrong. We want you to know that right now, they are not your friends. They are not your ally. Insurance companies want to save themselves money on your case. They will work very hard to accomplish this.

Part of what they do to save money on peoples’ cases is they specially train their representatives to get recorded statements regarding the accident. These recorded statements are the time in which they get people like you to say things that would end up hurting your case and help them reduce your case value. Even seemingly innocuous answers can be harmful to your case. You have absolutely no legal obligation to talk to them about the accident.

They might seem helpful over the phone when they call, do not fall for this. They do not care about helping you get this case resolved in your favor. They care about getting you to settle for less than what you deserve. You have every right to tell them you won’t give them a statement and hang up the phone.

Waiting to Talk to a Lawyer

Following your accident, you might be confused about what to do. Something we want you to know, that you should be doing right away, is getting in touch with a lawyer. You do not have unlimited time to file your claim. In Florida you are given two years from the date of the accident to file a claim. You might think that this is a lot of time.

However, we want you to understand that when you delay hiring a slip and fall lawyer in Clearwater , even a short period of time after your accident, the odds of your evidence disappearing and your witnesses becoming impossible to track down are too high. You need to call a qualified lawyer right away. They will be able to preserve your evidence. They will get testimony from any witnesses before they forget key details. The sooner you talk to a seasoned attorney, the less likely you are to make mistakes that would ruin your claim.

Hiring the Wrong Lawyer to Represent You

It is particularly important to the success of your case that you get the right lawyer to handle your case. Hiring the wrong person to handle your claim might be the worst mistake of all. You have one opportunity to get the compensation that you deserve. If you do not have the right person on your case, they can miss out on getting you the justice you deserve in the fullest possible amount.

You should be looking for someone who has handled Clearwater slip and fall cases successfully before. This should be something they do every single day. They should have a long list of success stories. Handling slip and fall cases successfully should be second nature to them. You also want someone who is going to talk to you directly when you call them with questions. If you are getting passed along to someone else for all of your calls and it doesn’t seem like they are as invested in your case’s success as you are, that is likely not the lawyer for you.

Call a Clearwater Slip and Fall Attorney Right Away

When you are seriously hurt after a slip and fall you deserve justice. We want to help you get the fullest compensation award possible. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office right away if you are in search of justice. Call today to set up your free first consultation with a Clearwater slip and fall lawyer.

Perenich Law injury Attorneys

Perenich Law injury Attorneys N/a
CLEARWATER OFFICE
25749 US Hwy 19 N
Suite 200
Clearwater,
FL 33763
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Phone
(727) 669-2828