How to decide if you can handle a slip and fall claim on your own or if you need an attorney. See how legal help can boost your compensation.
If you are injured in a slip and fall accident, you might wonder if you should file an injury claim on your own or hire an attorney.
There are certain types of insurance claims you can handle with no legal advice whatsoever. But sometimes an attorney’s expertise is absolutely required to win a personal injury case.
Luckily, there are key factors in slip and fall cases to help you make this decision. Use these factors to determine the best approach to maximizing compensation for your injuries.
When to Handle a Slip and Fall Claim Yourself
Anyone can handle their own slip and fall claim. The real question is, can they do it successfully?
Minor slip and fall injuries usually result in relatively simple insurance claims. It may only take a few phone calls and exchanging a few documents to settle the claim in your favor.
If your accident was straightforward and it’s clear who’s at fault, you can likely negotiate a fair settlement without legal help. All you need is some patience and the ability to convince an adjuster of your claim’s value.
You can handle your claim on your own if:
- Your injuries are minor, such as a sprained ankle or pulled muscle
- Your injuries won’t require significant, ongoing, or expensive medical treatment
- Your slip and fall injuries are unrelated to a previous injury
- The property owner’s wrongdoing is apparent, or they accept responsibility
- You don’t have permanent disabilities or disfigurement from the fall
- You can easily prove your damages such as medical bills and lost wages
Example: Simple Slip and Fall Claim
It was a rainy day when Linda went shopping at a local grocery store. Rainwater dripped from the awning attached to the outside of the building. As Linda exited the store, she slipped and fell on the wet surface, breaking three of her fingers.
Luckily, her injuries didn’t require surgery or ongoing treatment. Linda had minimal pain and her fingers were fully healed within eight weeks. The store accepted liability for Linda’s injuries.
Here, Linda’s case is straightforward and she can likely settle a claim on her own. Her injuries are relatively minor and the store admitted fault. Linda could hire a slip and fall attorney, but hiring one may not change the amount of her settlement.
Representing Yourself Takes Work
Handling your own claim might seem easy, but preparing a claim can be time-consuming and requires detailed work.
If you decide to represent yourself, be prepared to:
- Set aside time to work on your claim
- Collect evidence to support your claim
- Organize your documents
- Write an effective demand letter
- Negotiate with the insurance claim adjuster
If you won’t have the time and effort required to handle your own claim, don’t hesitate to consult a slip and fall lawyer.
If you decide to negotiate with the insurance company on your own, you can seek legal help at any time during the process. Nothing is final until you sign the settlement agreement. Even if you didn’t start your claim with a lawyer on your side, you can finish it with one.
Many injured parties initially file and pursue their claim independently, then hire a lawyer at some point during the claims process. What starts as a simple slip and fall claim can get complicated if the adjuster won’t cooperate, or tries to blame you for the circumstances leading to your injury.
You Need Negotiation Skills
You don’t need legal representation to accept an insurance settlement. You can accept the first offer given by the insurance company. However, you likely won’t be getting a full and fair settlement.
To ensure that you receive such a settlement, you need to understand your claim’s value and you will have to negotiate.
Most adjusters will make a low-ball settlement offer at the start of your claim, to see if you’ll take it and go away. If you know what your claim is worth and you’re willing to negotiate, you can typically increase your offer.
Settlement negotiations often entail several rounds of back-and-forth offers before arriving at a figure that both sides can agree on. While attorneys are used to this back and forth, claimants are often new to the process. It’s important to be aware of common negotiation styles and tactics used by claim adjusters.
When You Need a Slip and Fall Lawyer
Not every slip and fall leads to a quick and simple insurance settlement. Even when liability is clear, severe injury claims are best handled by an attorney.
Insurance companies don’t like to pay high-dollar claims. The adjuster will pull out all the stops to look for a reason to limit your compensation.
If any of these apply to you, get legal help:
- The insurance company says the accident was your fault
- The at-fault party or insurance adjuster claims they lost evidence or destroyed it
- You can’t get the insurance adjuster to return your emails or calls
- You suspect the insurance company is acting in bad faith
Complicated Claims
Certain factors can complicate slip and fall claims. These factors can make your claim more difficult to prove and decrease your chances of receiving a fair settlement.
Complicating factors might include:
- The insurance company denied your claim
- Lack of witnesses or video surveillance footage
- More than one injured party
- Potential multiple at-fault parties
- Severe injuries that will take a long time to recover from, or impact your ability to work or enjoy life for the foreseeable future
- Significant lost income
- Medical liens from your insurance company, Medicaid, or Medicare
- Shared blame for your injury
- Pre-existing injuries in the same area as your new slip and fall injuries
Case Example: Severe Fall Injury with No Witnesses
On October 16, 2016, 50-year-old Anne McDonald was touring the Noah Webster House Museum in West Hartford, CT. The museum’s executive director invited McDonald and her friends to tour the attic.
The attic stairs were outdated, dimly lit, and lacked a handrail. McDonald sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and broken bones when she fell from the stairs onto a hard wooden floor.
To complicate her injury claim, there were no witnesses to her fall, and due to her TBI, McDonald had no memory of it. The severity of her injuries and the specifics of her premises liability claim made it challenging for even the most experienced attorneys.
However, by piecing together the testimony of those with her in the museum, her attorney established the dangerous conditions on the attic stairs.
The attorney was also able to have McDonald evaluated by one of the best brain injury medicine specialists in the United States. The expert testimony supported the scope and severity of McDonald’s fall injuries.
Her legal team settled her case in July 2020 for the museum’s insurance policy limit of $2 million.
9 Benefits of Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney
Most experienced slip and fall attorneys offer a free case evaluation. You have the option to meet with lawyers from different law firms before deciding if you want to hire one. You aren’t required to hire any of them. But if you do hire one, select the attorney who best suits your needs.
1. Providing Money for Upfront Legal Expenses
One benefit of hiring a slip and fall lawyer is that they can advance the money necessary to build a strong case. For example, the success of serious injury claims often hinges on expert testimony, and experts are expensive.
Depending on your case, the following legal expenses might be incurred:
- Discovery expenses, such as document reviews
- Payments for expert testimony
- Accident reconstruction services
- Travel for depositions
- Deposition expenses
- Court document filing fees
2. Having Technical and Hands-On Experience
Slip and fall lawyers have the legal education and experience necessary to navigate the claims process and negotiate settlement offers. Often, their negotiation skills can provide maximum compensation to an injured victim without the need of going to trial.
Your attorney will be familiar with the legal landscape in your community, from the county clerk to the courtroom style of the judge. Injury attorneys also get to know the different insurance companies, and know what to expect from each company.
Your attorney’s first-hand experience with the insurance company’s tactics can help you get the compensation you deserve for your slip and fall injuries.
3. Collecting Strong Evidence
Claims without sufficient evidence will not get a favorable settlement. Slip and fall lawyers know what evidence is necessary to prove your case. Your attorney can get to important evidence you won’t be able to get on your own.
For example, your attorney can subpoena a store’s surveillance camera footage for the day of your fall, and copies of their incident reports for prior years. The store would never hand over that kind of evidence without a court order.
Your attorney can schedule depositions of the property owner, employees, and other witnesses who may provide information under oath that will support your case.
4. Uncovering Sources of Compensation
Some slip and fall injuries fall under multiple insurance policies. However, finding these policies is challenging without legal experience.
Your attorney will know where to look to uncover all sources of compensation that might apply in your case. If successful, finding other sources can increase your payout substantially.
5. Holding All Parties Liable
More than one party may be liable, or legally responsible, for your injuries. Personal injury attorneys maximize compensation in many ways, including identifying all parties who owed you a duty of care.
Suppose you slipped in a hair salon on some shampoo that a hairstylist, who was working as an independent contractor, spilled on the floor. An employee saw what happened but took no action to clean it up or warn anyone about the hazardous condition.
In this example, you could pursue legal claims against the salon owners, the independent contractor, and possibly the employee as well. The more parties held accountable, the more money you could potentially collect for your injuries.
6. Increasing Claim Value
Slip and fall victims who are represented by a lawyer are taken more seriously by insurance adjusters. They know that getting you to settle for less is much more difficult when you have a good lawyer.
Insurance adjusters will often increase their settlement offers when an attorney gets involved. An adjuster wants to avoid exposing their companies to a personal injury lawsuit, which could damage their reputation.
7. Having an Objective Viewpoint
After an injury accident, it’s only natural for you to feel a range of emotions. You might feel frustrated, hurt, anxious, or angry. These strong feelings can make it hard to negotiate your own insurance claim.
A personal injury attorney can bring an objective or more neutral view to your claim. Your legal counsel isn’t swayed by personal feelings or opinions when considering and representing the facts of a case.
8. Relieving You of Having to Speak to the Adjuster
Once a lawyer represents you, the insurance company and adjuster can no longer speak to you without going through your attorney. They still have the right to seek information from you and ask questions, but they must get the answer through your lawyer. If they wish to speak directly with you, your lawyer must approve it and represent you during the conversation.
Not having to speak with an adjuster takes the pressure off many claimants. It also protects you from saying something that could hurt your claim.
9. Filing Your Lawsuit on Time
If you decide to represent yourself, one of the most crucial things you need to understand is the statute of limitations.
Each state has a deadline for slip and fall lawsuits. It’s up to each plaintiff to know when this deadline is. If you miss this deadline, you lose your right to seek compensation, no matter how badly you were hurt.
Personal injury attorneys are extremely familiar with the statute of limitations in their clients’ cases. They take every necessary step to make sure they are not risking this statutory deadline.
Making Your Decision
Now that you know the important factors to consider when thinking about handling your own personal injury claim, you can make your decision.
Review your slip and fall case and ask yourself:
- Is your claim complicated?
- Did you suffer severe injuries because of the fall?
- Do you dislike negotiating or working with insurance companies?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you will want to hire a personal injury attorney to handle your claim. If you answered “no,” then you will likely succeed with your claim on your own.
If you want to meet with an injury lawyer to discuss your claim, remember that most law firms offer a free consultation.
Since most injury attorneys work on contingency fees only, you won’t owe attorney fees unless your case is settled or the attorney wins at trial. In that case, they will receive a portion of your compensation as payment for their services.
Whether you decide to represent yourself or want to hire someone else, don’t wait to find out what a skilled slip and fall attorney can do for you.