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If you’ve slipped or tripped and fallen on someone else’s property, you may be entitled to hold them accountable for damages. An experienced Boston slip and fall lawyer at Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers can help you recover the full and fair compensation you deserve. Contact our Boston law offices at 617-391-9001 or fill out our contact form today to arrange your free consultation.
Speaking with an experienced slip and fall attorney is the first step to getting the money you need to move forward.
Injury claims based on slip and fall accidents can be notoriously difficult to prove. In order to recover compensation from a negligent property owner, you have to offer proof of negligence.
That can be hard to come by–especially if you’re recovering from an injury. The property owner might apologize profusely for your injuries.
However, when it comes time to pay your bills, your claim is handed over to an insurance company. Insurance companies have virtually limitless resources–but their overall goal is to pay accident victims the least amount possible.
An ongoing battle with the insurance company can be a daunting prospect when you’re hurt. An experienced Boston slip and fall attorney can step in and help when you need it the most. In fact, it’s possible that the skill of your Boston slip and fall lawyer could make or break your case. You need someone with experience and resources.
At Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers, we have over 100 years of combined experience. Our firm benefits from a wide range of legal experience – from the bench to both sides of the negotiating table.
When you hire us, we will:
Ready to take the next step? All you have to do is call to schedule a free consultation.
Slip and fall accidents are extremely costly. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that one in five falls causes a serious injury.
More than 800,000 Americans are hospitalized each year because of fall injuries–and the consequences are even more serious for older adults.
According to the CDC, more than 95% of all hip fractures are caused by falls. As far as accidental injuries go, falls are a leading cause of death in the U.S. In 2018, around 37,455 falls were fatal. Among non-fatal injuries, falls are the leading cause of emergency room visits in the United States each year, with around 8 million visits annually.
Property owners have a duty to maintain their property. That means fixing any known dangers in a reasonable time frame. For business owners, it also means inspecting the premises to find any hidden hazards. If the problem can’t be fixed right away, the property owner has a duty to provide adequate warning to prevent you from getting hurt.
In other words, you shouldn’t have to constantly worry about falling. Property owners, however, should be worried. If they’re negligent in maintaining their property, they can be held liable under Massachusetts premises liability laws.
Some falls are purely accidental. You might lose your balance or trip over your own feet. Others are entirely preventable if property owners would properly maintain their premises. Some of the most common causes of slip and fall accidents in Boston include:
Our slip and fall attorneys in Boston, MA, are here to evaluate the circumstances of your injury and help you understand your options for recovering the fair compensation you need. All you have to do is give us a call and tell us what happened.
Slip and fall accident injuries can be tricky to predict. Some injuries could even take days or weeks after an accident to manifest themselves.
Of course, that’s why it’s important to seek medical treatment quickly after a fall. At Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers, we’re here to help in any way we can. We’ve successfully helped clients who have suffered injuries.
This includes:
Slip and fall accident injuries are often much more serious than most people think. Some people, including the elderly, are especially vulnerable to being seriously hurt in a fall. That doesn’t let the property owner off the hook for negligent property maintenance.
If you’re interested in learning more about your legal rights after a Boston slip and fall, give our law offices a call today. We’d be happy to arrange a free consultation.
You have the right to expect to feel reasonably safe when you’re on someone else’s property. The reality is a slip and fall can happen anywhere. When the root cause is negligent property maintenance, you deserve compensation for your injuries. Our personal injury attorneys often help clients who have been hurt in falls at a Boston:
Property owners have a duty to maintain their premises–both inside and outside. You can have a legitimate claim for damages even if you’ve fallen in a parking lot or store walkway. To learn more about protecting your legal rights, call the Boston slip and fall lawyers at Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers for a free case review today.
Who Can Be Held Legally Responsible For Damages In A Massachusetts Slip And Fall Case?
All property owners are legally responsible for maintaining their property in a reasonably safe condition for lawful visitors. That means any property owner can be held responsible for your injuries as long as you weren’t trespassing.
Responsible parties may include:
You can recover compensation from a private homeowner who fails to provide adequate warning about hidden dangers on the property. As a licensee, you should expect that friends and family will take reasonable steps to keep you safe.
In reality, most homeowners’ insurance policies cover the cost of these injuries. If you have questions about holding a business owner or homeowner responsible for your slip and fall injuries, give our law offices a call today.
As a slip and fall accident victim, it is the responsibility of you and your personal injury attorney to provide evidence that proves your injuries. This ranges from evidence gathered at the accident scene to proof of your injuries, such as medical statements.
The following are common types of vital evidence used to strengthen slip and fall claims:
Witnesses to your slip and fall can provide valuable details that corroborate your story. Because your employer will have their own account of the events, it is best to have access to neutral witnesses whose accounts can serve as valuable evidence. Speak to anyone who witnessed your accident and ask for their name and contact information if you need to talk to them later for their testimony.
In many businesses, it is part of their policy to write a report anytime someone is injured. You may have even been asked to fill out an incident report requesting information about the accident, such as what happened and if you were injured. If your slip and fall occurred in a business, store, or restaurant, you might be able to ask a supervisor or manager for a copy of your report for your records.
Many people and businesses have security cameras or other surveillance devices on site. These devices may have captured the incident. If you can obtain a copy of the video recording, you may be able to use it to strengthen your claim. Look around for any nearby cameras that may have recorded your accident and try to get a copy of the footage.
Photos of the scene of the accident can give others a better understanding of how your accident occurred and prove that the property owner was not properly maintaining their premises. You should take photos of the area clearly showing whatever caused your slip and fall. Ensure you do this quickly afterward before the scene is cleaned up or otherwise taken care of and the evidence is gone.
Even if you don’t think you are seriously injured, you should seek medical attention soon after your slip and fall. Your injuries could be more severe than you think. Also, by seeking medical attention, you are creating a tangible record of the severity of your injuries. You can use copies of your medical reports to prove the severity of your injuries and invoices to keep track of the medical expenses you have incurred because of your accident.
In addition to your medical records, keeping a detailed record of your daily losses and experiences following your slip and fall accident is beneficial. You should keep track of paperwork that proves losses like travel costs, times you’ve missed work, and your daily pain and suffering. This record will aid in developing your slip and fall claim and can be used to calculate the value of your claim.
What seems like a simple fall could dramatically impact your life. When someone else is to blame, you’re entitled to reimbursement for all past and future costs associated with the injury. You also have the right to compensation for your pain and suffering. At Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers, our Boston slip and fall accident lawyers know what it takes to get the full compensation you need.
We’ll fight to recover compensation for the following:
In the rare case that a slip and fall accident is fatal, we can also help you recover damages for the wrongful death of your loved one.
Slip and fall claims can get messy without solid proof. You might file a claim only to have the insurance company turn around and blame you for being clumsy. Don’t panic if this happens–insurance companies routinely use the “blame the victim” strategy to avoid paying what’s fair.
Understanding the law is key to protecting your rights. Massachusetts follows a modified comparative negligence law. That means you can recover financial compensation as long as you weren’t mostly responsible. In other words, if you’re found to be 51% responsible, your recovery will be barred entirely.
Is comparative negligence an issue in your slip and fall case? Call an experienced Boston slip and fall attorney in Boston who can work to minimize your role in the accident.
Every state imposes time limits on accident victims’ right to sue for damages. This is called the statute of limitations. In Massachusetts, the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit is three years.
In some cases, time could be even more limited. If your slip and fall happened on government property, you only have 30 days to notify the city of Boston that you plan to ask for compensation.
If you were injured in a slip and fall accident, you already have a lot on your plate. An experienced slip and fall accident lawyer at Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers can handle all of the legal aspects of your injury claim to fight for the compensation you deserve. Our highly skilled legal team includes legal professionals like Attorney Matthieu J. Parenteau, a Boston personal injury lawyer who has dedicated his career to helping people injured by the negligence of others and has recovered millions of dollars in resolutions for his clients and senior partner and trial lawyer Bradley M. Henry who has over thirty years of experience in civil litigation and has handled some of New England’s highest-profile cases, including personal injury.
For a free consultation, fill out our contact form whenever you’re ready or give us a call at 617-391-9001. We work on a contingency basis, which means you only pay attorneys’ fees if we recover compensation for your family.
Attorneys at Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP have been recognized and honored by several of the top legal associations, including SuperLawyers, National Trial Lawyers Association, and Best Lawyers.
Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP is a highly successful personal injury law firm serving Massachusetts since 2011.
There are no fees or costs unless we win your case!
