Slip and fall accidents are sudden and surprising and can initiate a long, painful journey that can take months to years to complete. Recovering from a slip and fall injury often interrupts daily life, preventing individuals from doing the things they once loved and enjoyed. Because of the types of injuries that occur because of these accidents, it is not uncommon that more severe slip and fall injuries have lasting life-long effects.
Getting the needed care to recover is vital for moving forward, but the cost is often a deterrent for individuals who need it most. If a personal injury has left you or a loved one looking for answers, contact an experienced slip and fall lawyer in Georgia today. Joel Thrift Law diligently seeks the compensation injured Georgians need to regain their health and find their way back into life.
Understanding Slip and Fall Accidents
Property owners and managers are responsible for preventing harmful incidents by ensuring a safe environment for individuals accessing their property. A fall may be classified as a slip and fall incident when the fall could have been prevented. Data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on slip and fall accidents are sobering reminders of the cost and extent of their damages.
- Emergency room visits and care are the result of approximately three million falls annually.
- The most common cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is falling.
- For individuals aged 55 and older, slip and fall incidents were the primary factor leading to workers’ compensation claims.
- Falls lead to over 800,000 hospitalizations annually.
Falls can happen anywhere and are caused by uneven floors, unmarked wet areas, poor lighting, broken stairs, or cracked and uneven sidewalks. Going to work, the grocery store, or running around town for daily business should not lead to injuries from a slip and fall accident.
Choosing the Right Sip and Fall Injury Lawyers Matters
For over a decade, Joel Thrift has focused on helping individuals during their most profound moments of crisis, choosing to represent individual clients instead of corporations. Your injuries and recovery matter to the team at Joel Thrift Law. A slip and fall injury produces a ripple effect, touching the lives of those around the individual and creating a palpable disruption in daily life.
Each client we serve arrives with questions about the future and how to gain the compensation needed to ensure essential help for recovery. We aim to provide the answers to those questions, serving as the calming source in a sea of uncertainty. Injuries are frightening because they have the ability to change life as it once was into something unrecognizable.
We are here to fit the puzzle pieces together, offering devotion, compassion, and a drive to improve the quality of life for injured clients. Our experience and the network we have developed allow us to pull from a vast network of resources if there is a question we cannot answer. When someone requires the guidance of slip and fall injury attorneys in Georgia, we want to be the first that comes to mind.
What a Georgia Slip and Fall Attorney Can Do for You
Individuals are often perplexed about what to do after a slip and fall accident. They still require medical treatment, the bills for services are coming due, and the injuries and costs would never have occurred had negligence not played a part in the incident. Our slip and fall accident attorney knows where to begin to get you where you need to be for financial recovery.
Secure Vital Documentation
Proving negligence requires essential documentation to support the claim of injury in a slip and fall accident. With our client’s help, we bring the elements of the event together to paint a picture as evidence. What does that look like for our clients?
- We work with you to gather medical documentation, such as billing statements, doctors’ notes, therapy records, imaging pictures, or any information that clearly represents the client’s damages.
- We compile pictures of the accident scene to recreate a visual story of why the slip and fall accident occurred.
- We research whether a business, agency, or company has a history of negligence resulting in other premises liability actions against them because of neglected dangerous conditions.
- We may document the events of an accident through a compilation of witness testimony that relays the circumstances of an incident through their perspective.
- When injuries are life-changing, we speak with friends and family who have witnessed the profound transformation in health.
Slip and fall injury attorneys recreate the events causing the client’s injuries, removing the doubt the insurance industry would like to create surrounding the duty of care an individual is owed.
Mediate Between Insurance Adjusters and Clients
Injury victims often feel rushed to settle or that their claims are not taken seriously. The frustration that often accompanies the work that goes into reaching a settlement can leave individuals settling only to have the process over. Even when an insurance company seems helpful and eager to offer compensation, it could be a way to avoid paying you what your injuries have genuinely cost you.
The insurance industry is a business, but our clients are people with needs that must be met. We will tirelessly work, never backing down from the pressures of insurance companies to settle a claim unfairly. We fight for our clients to secure the best outcome in compensation, but ultimately, we provide the tools a client needs to make the decisions that best suit their needs so no one ever feels pushed to make uncomfortable choices.
Negotiate for a Fair Settlement or Pursue Legal Action
Negotiation is a tremendous skill that can always be employed for the best outcome of a client. Slip and fall injury attorneys should continuously strive to make things easier for their clients. Each business pays insurance premiums to cover liability incidents such as slip and fall accidents, and Joel Thrift Law will work to communicate with insurance companies to maximize your settlement and meet your recovery needs.
However, we stand ready to file a lawsuit on behalf of our clients when negotiations are unproductive. While most claims never go to court and cases are often settled before trial, we stand by our clients until a judgment is rendered when it is necessary. We are the slip and fall accident lawyers you can count on for unwavering support.
Protecting Yourself and Your Claim After a Slip and Fall Injury
Most people are startled after a slip and fall accident, but it is vital to take proactive steps to protect yourself and an insurance claim covering the damages of a slip and fall accident. Additionally, an incident producing injuries can lead to legal action, and the actions you take following a slip and fall are crucial.
Medical Care is Always a Priority
Never refuse medical assistance, particularly when injuries are severe. It is also vital to remember that the shock and embarrassment of a slip and fall accident often falsely leads individuals to believe or pretend they are fine until the pain surfaces later. Medical documentation creates a starting point on the timeline of when the injuries occurred and the reason they happened.
Failing to receive prompt medical care or schedule an appointment with a medical provider can serve as evidence that the injuries sustained in a slip and fall accident in Georgia were not that serious. Some injuries, like traumatic brain injuries, may take days to surface, and without the proper medical documentation, it can be highly arduous to correlate the damages to the incident.
Document the Evidence
This step can be challenging when medical attention is needed immediately. When possible, note or have someone with you take inventory of the scene by taking pictures, documenting whether or not wet floors were signed appropriately, if debris from lawn maintenance was left on a sidewalk, or whether the floor or flooring required repair.
Ask for the contact information of witnesses to the accident. Their eyewitness account can be priceless because they rarely stand anything to gain from a claim. Document the name of the manager on duty and contact information. If a slip and fall accident occurs while working, report your work injury as soon as possible.
Never Admit Fault
It feels natural and sometimes appears necessary to apologize for the inconvenience a slip and fall accident creates. These innocent statements or words can demonstrate that the injured party felt a sense of responsibility for a portion or all of the incident, potentially leading to adjusters using these statements to reduce a settlement or judgment.
Contact a Slip and Fall Injury Attorney Before Giving a Permanent Statement
A statement documented in writing or recording can be harmful if words are not chosen carefully. While telling the truth is imperative, a simple statement suggesting a lack of attention or a failure to notice the slip and fall hazard may be used to place the blame on the injured individual. One of the most significant services provided by Joel Thrift Law is protecting injured parties trying to be helpful, whose statements are used against them to reduce their compensation.
Recovering Damages in a Slip and Fall Accident
Injured individuals in Georgia are allowed by law to pursue compensation through legal action for the damages they suffer that physically and emotionally impact life. Both economic and non-economic damages may be available to you. A Georgia slip and fall accident lawyer will consider all the damages.
We will work to maximize compensation for financial damages such as medical costs, lost income, and any financial losses related to your injuries. We will also respectfully evaluate the cost of damages that have resulted in emotional or psychological suffering, understanding these damages can leave some of the most impactful scars.
Many people are hesitant to speak with a slip and fall accident attorney in Georgia immediately, hoping their injuries will improve with time. Unfortunately, delaying contact with a supportive legal team can result in lost evidence or time limits preventing action. There is no intimidation factor when you work with the team at Joel Thrift Law because our job is to understand your needs and take action in a timely manner that benefits our clients.
Injuries in a Slip and Fall Accident
Health challenges resulting from a slip and fall accident cover the gamut. While some injuries heal over time, others can lead to chronic health issues. Sometimes, it is difficult to know the extent of the damages until some time has passed, which is why we caution against rushed compensation settlements to ensure your needs are met.
- Scrapes and lacerations
- Broken bones
- Back injuries
- Muscle, tendon, and ligament damage
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Death
Let us work with you to find the best outcome to help minimize long-term financial and physical damage. Health is a vital factor in life; without it, the outlook feels grim. We never want this for the people we represent and believe in a positive health journey to recovery.
Why We Offer a Free Consultation
Committing to work with a slip and fall injury lawyer without knowing if the relationship works feels risky and costly. We know you have a choice for representation in Georgia, but we want you to choose us because we fit your needs. We also want to become aware of how we can serve you in your recovery.
Joel Thrift Law takes its role in your journey seriously. We want clients to confidently know they are seen, heard, understood, and valued. The most imperative message we can share is not to wait to take action.
Georgia Slip and Fall Lawyer Ready to Serve You
We are ready to help injured Georgia residents whose lives have been impacted by a slip and fall injury. Joel Thrift Law LLC has three convenient methods of communication, and we want to hear from you. Scheduling your free consultation here allows you to reach us by email or texting, or you can reach us by phone at (404)739-5036.