Chattanooga Slip and Fall Injuries

People seem to think that if they fall on someone else’s property, it is automatically the property owner’s fault. However, for that to be true, they must prove that the property owner did something wrong or failed to do something that they were supposed to do in order to prove negligence. Contacting a distinguished slip and fall lawyer who can help you collect relevant evidence and witnesses may be vital to obtaining a desirable outcome in your case.

Common Slip and Fall Injuries

Common Chattanooga slip and fall injuries usually occur to arms and legs. It is common for attorneys to see damaged knees, broken legs, broken ankles, sprained ankles, broken elbows, broken shoulders, broken rotator cuffs and broken feet in local slip and fall cases. It is not unlikely for the client to have broken wrists and arms after a fall. Head injuries, concussions or a traumatic brain injury are less common. When attorneys deal with head injuries, they are typically sustained from someone hitting their head on the ground or something hard after a fall.

Unique Aspects of Chattanooga Cases

There is a bit of a prejudice from people in evaluating slip and fall cases about whether or not the person could have prevented their own fall. A judge, jury or witness may think the individual should have seen what they slipped on or what they have tripped over, and wonder whether they were paying attention.

What sets Chattanooga slip and fall injuries apart is that everybody is endangered when there are problems on the property. Everybody who comes through a business is in danger if a person or business does not keep their floors clean, keep their walkway safe, or their stairs safe and in compliance with the law. Everybody is in danger to the same degree with these dangerous conditions. Perfectly healthy people, can receive severe injuries, and there is no seatbelt, there is no expert there to protect the person.

Role of a Lawyer

One of the first things that a lawyer will look for in cases involving Chattanooga slip and fall injuries is notice. Notice means whether or not the property owner knew that there was a problem on their property. If it cannot prove that they knew about it, a lawyer will try to prove that they should have been aware. One issue in cases where somebody slips on a slippery substance on the floor is the inability to prove how long the substance has been there, who put it there and whether the owner should have known about it or somebody who works for the owner.

One of the biggest mistakes to avoid is not paying attention to the details as soon as something like this happens. Many clients who do not know what color the substance was they slipped in or how many steps there were when they fell down, they do not know who was there and who helped them up. Paying attention to those details, taking photographs, not washing their clothes if the person has slipped in something and it is on the person’s clothes, things of that nature are important and time is of the essence.