Slip and Fall Lawyer in Cleveland
Something as seemingly simple as a slip and fall accident can happen so quickly and unexpectedly, leaving you with life-altering injuries and long-lasting consequences. Your injuries may derail and disrupt your regular daily routines and even your ability to perform at work. The unforeseen medical expenses and loss of income are likely to place immense pressure on your finances, putting you and your loved ones under a lot of unwarranted stress. A Cleveland slip and fall lawyer from our law firm can review your case in a free consultation and help you plot the way forward.
Common causes of slip and fall accidents are wet floors without warning signs, missing handrails by stairs, uneven flooring, and poor lighting. A serious fall can result in severe injuries including broken bones, internal bleeding, back injuries, and even brain injuries. Fortunately, in the state of Ohio, victims of slip and fall accidents caused due to the negligence of another party can file a personal injury claim against the liable party to try to recover the economic and non-economic losses they have suffered.
Your slip and fall attorney will be able to advise you on the losses that you may be able to include as part of your claim. For example, your past and future accident-related medical bills, loss of income due to your inability to perform at work, loss of future earning potential, cost of home modifications, pain and suffering, loss of life enjoyment, and permanent disability. Your lawyer can also help you to identify all liable parties, gather important evidence to support your claim, and handle the negotiations on your behalf. Call Obral, Silk & Pal at 216-529-9377 to talk to one of our experienced slip and fall attorneys in Cleveland today.
Questions Your Slip and fall Lawyer in Cleveland May Ask
Your initial consultation is an important opportunity for you to learn all about the claims process and the various laws that relate to your case. It is also important that you use this opportunity to share all the evidence that you have managed to gather thus far with your attorney.
Your slip and fall lawyers will use this to start familiarizing themselves with your case, evaluate your claim, and determine the strengths and weaknesses of your case. They can then begin to build your case and determine what gaps in evidence need to be filled.
Here are a few questions your slip and fall attorney in Cleveland may ask you during your case assessment:
- What Did You Do Immediately After the Accident? You will need to provide your attorney with a detailed account of exactly how the accident happened. It could be useful to write down a report of how the events unfolded and exactly how your injuries occurred in a personal injury journal. Your attorney will also need to know what you did immediately after the accident, as your actions are likely to be monitored closely by the insurer after the accident. Any missteps you make after the accident could lead to your claim being disputed by the insurer, likely resulting in a reduced settlement.
- Did You Visit a Doctor Immediately After the Accident? Your attorney will want to know if you received immediate medical attention after your accident. A prompt diagnosis is important as it may help to connect your injuries to the accident and provide proof that you took all reasonable measures to mitigate your damages by seeking urgent medical care. Your medical records can also be used as important evidence when proving the extent of the damages you have suffered.
- Did You Speak to Any Eyewitnesses? Your attorney is likely to want to interview anyone who saw the accident happen. If you managed to get contact details for any eyewitnesses, bring this with you to your free consultation. Eyewitness testimony could help to back up certain aspects of your claim.
- Have You Had to Miss Work Due to Your Injuries? Your attorney will want to know if your injuries have had an impact on your ability to perform your usual duties at work. If your doctor has booked you off work to rest and recover, it is important to follow your doctor’s orders closely. This will help to avoid any disputes against your claim that may suggest your actions have caused your injuries to worsen. If you have missed work due to your injuries or have not been able to work at full capacity, bring your paychecks and bank statements with you to your consultation as this can be used to prove loss of income and earning capacity.
- Have You Spoken to Anyone from the Insurance Company? Let your attorney know if anyone from the insurance company has contacted you for a recorded statement. This recorded statement could be picked apart by the insurer and used to try to dispute your claim. It is best to leave all correspondence with the insurer to your slip and fall lawyer.
We Can Help You Gather Vital Evidence
Having strong and thorough evidence is key to a successful slip and fall personal injury claim in which causation, liability, and damages need to be proven. Having strong evidence can help to strengthen your claim for compensation and leave little room for unwarranted disputes from the insurer. Your attorney will have the resources and know-how to help you uncover hard-to-access and time-sensitive evidence that can be used to back up important aspects of your claim.
Below is a list of important pieces of evidence that your Cleveland slip and fall attorney will help you to gather to help strengthen your case:
- Medical Records: Keep a file containing of all your medical records. Your medical records can be used to prove the severity of your injuries, outline future medical expenses that you may incur, help connect your injuries to the accident, and indicate the financial losses you have suffered from unexpected accident-related medical bills.
- Financial Documents: Your injuries may have left you unable to return to work for some time or unable to ever perform at full capacity. As a result, you may have missed out on a few paychecks while you were recovering at home, or you may have suffered a significant reduction in your salary due to your reduced abilities. It is important to keep a record of all your financial documents such as paychecks, letters from your employer, and bank statements that prove your loss of income and future earning capacity.
- Photographs: If you can, take photos of the scene of the slip and fall accident, the damage to your personal property due to the accident, and the injuries you have sustained. This can be used to connect your injuries to the accident as well as prove causation, liability, and damages.
- Eyewitness Details: If you spoke to any eyewitnesses and you managed to get their contact information, your attorney can interview them. Eyewitness testimony can help to back up certain details of your claim.
- Expert Witness Testimony: Your attorney can call upon expert witnesses to testify during your case. Expert witnesses have the necessary knowledge and skills to provide depositions that could help prove certain aspects of your claim.
- Personal Injury Journal: Your attorney is likely to advise you to keep a personal injury journal. Use this to detail your daily pain levels and symptoms. This can help to prove intangible losses such as discomfort, suffering, loss of life enjoyment, and emotional trauma caused by the accident and subsequent injuries.
Contact a Slip and Fall Accident Attorney in Cleveland for a Free Consultation
At Obral, Silk & Pal, our skilled slip and fall accident attorneys are ready to help you seek the compensation that you deserve for the unforeseen losses you have suffered. Your attorney will handle all of the logistics of the claims process for you while you focus on your recovery. Call us at 216-529-9377 or fill in our online contact form to schedule a free consultation with one of our helpful slip and fall accident attorneys in Cleveland.