Getting Ready for Slip and Fall Season

As we enter fall and get ready for winter, there is little doubt that people will be encountering more wet and dangerous surfaces that can lead to slip and fall accidents. Early last month, a Kiewit Offshore Services worker was found dead after falling from a platform into the La Quinta Channel.

In February 2022, a woman who slipped and fell at a Brookshire Brothers grocery store on Memorial Day weekend in 2020 was awarded $1.325 million by a jury in Orange County, Texas. As common as slip and fall accidents can be, negligent property owners and their insurance companies often adamantly oppose any suggestion they are to blame for a person’s injuries and many people instead deal with accusations that they were the parties at fault for their own injuries.

How Slip and Fall Claims Work in Texas

Under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code section 16.003, a person must bring suit for a personal injury claim no later than two years from the date of an accident. This time limit is known as the statute of limitations, and there are only a few exceptions to the statute of limitations (such as when a victim is a minor), so it is important for any person who suffers slip and fall injuries to quickly retain legal counsel.

Under Subchapter A of Chapter 33 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, the concept otherwise known as comparative negligence is referred to as proportionate responsibility. This law effectively means that in any personal injury action, a person’s degree of fault for their accident can impact the amount they are able to recover.

In other words, a person who is found to have been 25 percent responsible for their slip and fall accident for which the total amount of losses was found to be $100,000 will see their award reduced by $25,000 and recover $75,000. All of this still assumes your case makes it to trial, but the truth is that many slip and fall cases instead see resolutions through settlements. 

Insurance companies are loath to the idea of paying the heavy costs of taking cases to trial, so they sometimes become more willing to settle cases as trial dates near. You will always want to have an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side to handle all negotiations with insurance companies because insurers frequently take advantage of people who do not have legal representation and individuals representing themselves usually settle their cases for much less than they would have received with the help of an attorney.

Contact a Nueces County Slip and Fall Accident Attorney

If you suffer severe injuries or your loved one dies in a slip and fall accident in Texas, you deserve justice for everything you are now going through. The Edwards Law Firm can give you a Corpus Christi slip and fall accident lawyer who will know how to do everything necessary to bolster your case and improve your chances of recovering as much financial compensation as possible. 

Our firm understands how difficult it can be for the average person to prove slip and fall injuries to the satisfaction of an insurance company and we will know how to present the strongest possible case for you. Call 361-698-7600 or contact us online to receive a free consultation. 

Sources: 

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/scaffolding-workers-body-recovered-after-fall-from-kiewit-texas-oil-rig/633278/

https://progressivegrocer.com/brookshire-brothers-pay-13m-slip-and-fall-lawsuit

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.16.htm#16.003

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.33.htm