Slip & Falls Attorney in Atlanta, Georgia

Everybody stumbles from time to time. When the culprit is your shoelace, you can generally brush the dirt off your jeans, laugh at yourself, and go about your day. When, on the other hand, it’s an unmarked wet floor or a rickety staircase that causes your slip and fall, it’s time to consult with a personal injury attorney.

In law, slip and fall claims are filed when a person’s fall results in an injury and was not their fault. When such a claim is successful, the victim is awarded financial compensation to cover the resulting medical bills, wages lost from missing work, general pain and suffering, and other considerations that were caused by the accident.

Georgia’s Two-Year Time Limit

You’ve probably heard the term “statute of limitations,” but if you aren’t familiar with what it means, don’t worry — you’re not alone. Put simply, a statute of limitations refers to a time limit. In Georgia, for instance, the current statute of limitations for slip and fall lawsuits is two years — meaning that after you fall and get hurt on someone else’s property, you have a maximum of two years to file an injury lawsuit against them. The lesson here is that you don’t want to wait to get the legal process started. The sooner you talk your case over with an attorney, the better.

Determining Fault

Although determining fault in a slip and fall case may seem very straightforward to the person who was injured, proving that the other side was responsible is not always so black and white. For instance, the other side often points the finger back at the victim, claiming that they should have been more careful or more aware of their surroundings.

When it appears that both sides played a part in causing the accident, the concept of shared fault, or “comparative negligence” comes into play. In plain terms, Georgia courts review the evidence, assign a percentage of fault to each party, and use those percentages to compensate the victim appropriately. For instance, let’s say that your settlement amount is set at $20,000, but the court finds you 20% responsible for the slip and fall because you were texting while walking. Now you can collect up to 80% of that initial settlement, which in this case would be $16,000.

Falling on Public vs. Private Property

Whether you trip over your neighbor’s ill-placed lawn mower or slip on a wet floor at the grocery store, the legal priority is the same: determine who is at fault, then hold them accountable. In many cases, the responsible party is someone you know who made a careless mistake. Still, that's what their insurance is for, so you shouldn't feel guilty pursuing legal action to pay for your medical bills.

Another common scenario involves a person slipping and falling at a business, in which case the company is liable. In even rarer cases, a person may slip and fall on a public property, which means that the corresponding local, state, or even federal government entity could be held responsible. To ensure that you are pursuing the right course of action against the right person or entity, talk your case over with an attorney.

Why Make Kyle Your Slip & Fall Attorney?

No matter where or how you slipped and fell, your first priority should be getting back to full health. While you focus on recovering physically, attorney Kyle Jarzmik can help you handle the legalities. With his guidance, you can get a fair settlement for the injuries you have sustained. Please give him a call today to schedule your free case evaluation.