Slip And Fall Lawyer Toronto

A slip and fall on public or private property as a result of someone else’s negligence is the basis of a slip and fall claim.

Every year, hundreds of injuries occur due to property neglect. A slip, fall, or tripping incident can happen anywhere. They’re often caused by avoidable, unsafe conditions. You don’t need to have any type of relationship with the property owner to hold them accountable and to be compensated for your injuries.

Many fall accidents are life-changing. Receive the support you need when you need it most. File a slip and fall claim with the experts at your side.

If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall, and aren’t sure of your rights or how to move forward, reach out to Joshua Goldberg Law.

A slip and fall accident may have immediate injuries that require medical attention. In the days and weeks to come after a slip and fall has happened, however, you may discover the injury is worse than you initially suspected.

The true depth of a slip and fall injury can be deep. How your life may be impacted can be extensive. The aftermath of a slip and fall can be confusing.

While you may want to file a slip and fall claim, managing everything that comes with it isn’t easy.

This is why it’s strongly advised to go the route of hiring a slip and fall lawyer in Toronto from Joshua Goldberg Law.

When we review the circumstances of your slip and fall accident, one of our specialized personal injury lawyers will answer your questions and address your concerns.

A lawyer will prepare the most compelling case to recover maximum compensation for an accident victim.

Working with us, we will ensure your slip and fall claim is handled properly, paperwork is filed on time, and never will we accept a low settlement offer when there is more compensation available to help you in your recovery.

Fall accidents are typically the result of a poorly maintained property in some form or fashion or an unresolved hazard.

Wherever your slip and fall occurs, the property owner or property manager is responsible for the conditions of their property. If they have been negligent in some way and you experienced an injury, these are grounds to file an injury claim.

To these points, when litigating a slip and fall incident, the most important argument will be regarding whether the property manager, property owner, or other responsible party was negligent in identifying hazards and removing them, or did not alert people of the hazards present.

If it can be proven that the responsible party knew of safety risks and hazards and did nothing, and if the injuries sustained can be proven to relate to the hazards, fall accidents like these can lead to major compensation.

Common causes of fall accidents are cracked sidewalks or tile, icy sidewalks, wet floors with no warning, torn carpeting, broken floorboards, and improperly installed or broken handrails.

These causes all relate to it being the responsibility of the property owner to resolve.

• If there are slippery floors – such as with water, ice, or debris – a property manager must ensure spills are cleaned promptly and that signage is put up.
• If there are icy stairs, public stairs should be salted and equipped with a handrail.
• Any sort of broken floorboards, torn carpeting, or walkways littered with debris and construction material should be cleaned and cleared.

Many victims walk away from a slip and fall accident with minor injuries. Meanwhile, others experience catastrophic injuries, such as an injury to the spinal cord or traumatic brain injuries.

Depending on the severity of the injury, a victim may not be able to return to work and their quality of life is severely impacted. The healing and recovery may involve being put on medications with their own risks and side effects, physical therapy, and surgery, alongside treatments that you may need to pay for out-of-pocket.

If the victim was already in a vulnerable state or had issues with their physical condition, such as being elderly or disabled, recovery may take more time. In some fall accidents, the victim may not ever be able to fully recover.

Add to this pain that may present and continue for months or years to come. This is why fall accidents are serious.

Slip and fall victims often do not realize that they are not responsible for their accident but the property owner is.

An injured person may be entitled to compensation and has the legal right to pursue it.

Municipalities and property owners of all types are responsible for keeping their premises free from critical dangers.

If it’s a commercial property – such as a bar, retail store, or restaurant – they are legally required to maintain a safe property. An unsuspecting customer who has a fall accident due to uneven tiles, unseen or unidentified construction work, and wet floors can hold a property owner liable. If there was improper lighting or if there was an issue of safety in the parking lot, this also falls under the responsibility of the property owner.

A private property owner has the same obligation. If you were visiting someone’s home and had a fall accident, it was the property owner’s responsibility to ensure the property did not pose a risk to visitors. Clearing the driveway of snow and ice is an example.

Furthermore, if you’re a tenant and an accident occurred where you live, you may be able to hold the landlord responsible in the same way.

This liability also extends to municipalities for sidewalks and roads that have not been properly maintained as well as government properties, such as public transit property, airport terminals, parks, and government buildings.

Many factors can contribute to slip and fall accidents as they can occur practically anywhere. From sidewalks in the city to the middle of a shopping mall, inside a neighborhood restaurant, or outside someone’s home in their driveway.

There is an expected duty of care as it relates to the property owner to anyone on their property.

• Maintain premises in a safe condition.
• Take reasonable measures to avert known hazards that could harm others.
• Rectify hazards.
• Provide warnings.
• Ensure the general safety of the premises.

When these expectations are not fulfilled, there is a high risk of a slip and fall accident.

Proceeding in a slip and fall case with a request for maximum compensation is important because it reinforces your legal rights.

You may have medical bills and other expenses tied to your injury. These can be covered by the compensation you receive from a slip and fall case win, covering hospital visits, surgeries, and rehabilitation.

You can also access compensation for pain and suffering. This is the emotional and physical pain a victim experiences from an accident.

Lastly, there is lost income. If you have been rendered unable to work because of the injuries sustained from a slip and fall, you can receive compensation to cover those losses.

The role of an experienced slip and fall lawyer is to ensure your rights are respected and that you receive any compensation you are rightfully owed.

To have one of our personal injury lawyers handle your slip and fall case starts with evaluating the details.

In your free consultation with one of our experts, please bring with you any evidence of the accident, including notes you’ve made of what happened and any other information. We can provide an understanding of what to expect with filing a slip and fall claim, and how we intend to move forward.

This takes the pressure off you and lets you focus on recuperating and healing while manage administrating the claim.

Let your case be handled by an experienced slip and fall lawyer in Toronto at Joshua Goldberg Law.

There is a limited set of time to file a slip and fall claim. The statute of limitations in Ontario for most slip and fall injuries is two years. That said, if it’s related to an injury sustained from contact with snow or ice, you must file within 60 days of the accident.

From the side of the injury victim, it’s important to document the circumstances surrounding a slip and fall accident.

Note site conditions, weather, and other details. Take pictures of the site of the accident as well as the injuries. Also, seek out witness statements from individuals who were there and who can support your version of events.

Ensure you’ve reported the incident to the property owner. They should take a record of the incident.

Also, file any necessary reports with relevant insurance companies or authorities prior to filing a slip and fall case. This further strengthens the request for a legal investigation, establishes a record of the incident, and supports a claim for compensation.

Medical records in a slip and fall case are important for the following reasons:

• They verify that you are injured and the extent of the injuries.
• They establish that you are trying to recover and following doctor recommendations.
• They establish a timeline of treatment that further supports your desire to heal.

Ensure you receive prompt medical attention in the event of a fall. Fall injuries include broken bones, fractures, carpal tunnel syndrome, spinal injuries, soft tissue injuries, and back injuries. A medical professional can confirm what’s going on and provide treatment early.

Some slip and fall accidents leave the victim in severe chronic pain or suffering from migraines, sleep disorders, and internal organ injuries.

If you’re elderly or disabled, the risk of complications from a fall accident or even death increases by a lot.

Medical records are a must in preparing your case and establishing the seriousness of the consequences experienced from a slip and fall.

In Ontario, the Occupiers’ Liability Act is recognized and used to determine fault in a slip and fall accident.

Occupiers’ Liability Act is a federal law that states the person or entity responsible for the management of the premises must take reasonable precautions to ensure the people who enter that premises are able to do so safely and without risk of injury.

This Act is why there are ”Wet Floor” signs in stores and public spaces. It’s about taking reasonable precautions to warn of hazards that are present and/or to remove the hazards that you can.

That said, if you experience a slip and fall, even with a sign disclaiming danger, you may still have a claim under the law.

To prove liability, what it comes down to is the evidence.

This is where medical reports and documents noting your injury come into play. Any evidence from the event that you’re able to preserve, do so. Take photos and videos of the scene. Reach out to witnesses. Contact a lawyer to determine what else you should acquire.

As you move into crafting your argument, to prove liability, prove negligence.

• Was a property owner aware of a hazard and did not take precautions against it?
• Were reasonable measures not taken by the property owner to ensure safety on the premises?
• Have there been prior incidents that have occurred on the same site?

The major challenges that we see in slip and fall accidents and the claims that follow relate to liability.

It may be hard emotionally to pursue a slip and fall claim, especially if it’s against a friend or family member that you don’t want to sue. That said, as a victim of a slip and fall, you are entitled to pursue what you are rightfully owed under the law.

If the injuries were sustained while trespassing or perpetrating a crime, you may not be eligible for compensation.

If you file your slip and fall case after the statute of limitation is over, you forfeit the right to pursue any compensation at that time as well.

The maximum compensation for slip and fall victims depends on the extent of the injuries.

The severity of the injuries can be minor to catastrophic. The risk of it being a catastrophic injury increases if the fall occurred on stairs or an elevated area, or if it’s an elderly person or disabled person who fell.

You also must look at what the compensation is for. This may outline medical costs, financial losses sustained due to the injury, reimbursements for pain and suffering, and lost wages. These are typically assigned a dollar amount which is then negotiated in a settlement offer or pursued in court depending on what the circumstances are.

A common defense used by property owners is that they followed the recommended procedures, arguing that they kept an area clean and clear, and that the injury should not be their responsibility as they fulfilled their legal obligations.

They may argue that an area had adequate traction but that the victim was not wearing appropriate footwear and/or behaving in a dangerous way. A property owner may argue that the victim was aware of the risks and did not exercise caution, such as if there was a ”Wet Floor” sign on display and a slip or fall still occurred.

Another defensive strategy by property owners is to downplay the severity of the injuries sustained and/or to attempt to portray the plaintiff as not having pursued the recommended course of medical treatment to recover.

There are many reasons to seek out witness statements in a slip and fall case.

First and foremost, a witness statement corroborates your evidence and will strengthen your claim’s credibility.

Furthermore, a witness statement can share details you missed during the incident and provide all parties with a fuller view of what happened on that day. Be sure to carefully seek out the most reliable witnesses you can, i.e. those that are able to provide additional meaningful detail and corroboration to what is mentioned in your claim.

Any sort of negotiation in a slip and fall case begins with the insurance adjuster for a settlement.

If you aren’t able to reach a settlement with the adjuster, legal action is taken and a defense lawyer on behalf of the insurance company is who you negotiate with.

To reach the point of being in the best possible position to negotiate with an insurance company, take these steps.

• Have them perform an investigation of the slip and fall incident.
• Gather all pertinent documents and evidence, including reports to the property manager.
• Obtain a copy of all medical records.
• Demonstrate how the financial damages of the plaintiff were calculated.

The litigation process for a fall injury claim varies as every slip and fall case is different. Some settlements can be negotiated within a matter of months while other cases may be drawn out over the course of 2-4 years.

Many slip and fall cases are settled out of the court. This is often because the manager of the property understands the evidence and is agreeing to resolve the case without going to trial, saving everyone time and money.

If you are working towards a settlement, to achieve the best outcome, you want an experienced personal injury lawyer at your side.

It’s not okay for a slip and fall victim to have to navigate the legal system without help.

Hiring a slip and fall lawyer in Toronto at Joshua Goldberg Law can help you navigate the legal process, gather evidence, negotiate a settlement, and represent you in court if/when needed to ensure you receive the compensation you are owed.

Let us be your advocate. Reach out to the experts at Joshua Goldberg Law today.