About Slip and Falls

Not every law firm does slip and fall cases

They are tough cases, they can require trial work, you need an attorney to look at your case with a fine toothed comb to get to the bottom of what happened.

Our Firm has been handling slip and fall cases for over 60 years.  Mark and Michael Perenich have numerous accolades: Superlawyers, Rising Stars, Top 40 under 40, Muli-Million Dollar advocates, Top Florida Lawyers, Best in the Bay (Multiple years), AV Rated, AVVO client’s choice award, Rue’s Best Lawyers in America, AIOPA Top Trial lawyers, NTL Top 100 trial Lawyers.

Mark is the senior partner at Perenich Caulfield Avril and Noyes. You can learn more about Mark by visiting is website www.1forjustice.com

Slip and fall Injury lawyer in Clearwater (Florida)

Slip and fall cases are both painful and can cause severe injuries that may even ruin one’s life. A slip and fall case can happen due to negligence on the part of an establishment or individual in not ensuring proper caution with fluids most commonly leaking water from pipes or roof, spilled beverage, standing water on floor, spilled beverages, dropped products etc. There are a few points to remember whenever you meet with a slip and fall injury. Be sure take photos of the area if possible, or look around to see what you fell on, try to find witnesses if possible. Be sure to get medical treatment ASAP and then contact us this will ensure that we begin collecting evidence to build your case.

Points to Remember –

  • Be vigilant in documenting exactly what happened and how it happened.
  • Did you see foot tracks through the substance?
  • Was there a cause or a sign that was the most probable reason? Document whatever you can remember.
  • Find
  • Did the establishment owner or the individual responsible know about this cause or sign? If they knew then document it too.
  • Seek medical help as soon as possible and assess the severity of injury caused by the fall.

Frequently asked Questions (FAQ)

Slip and Fall Injuries

  • Q- Should I contact an attorney?

A – If the slip and fall injury has caused significant distress and pain that made visit to the doctor a necessity or/and it has made a significant impact on other areas of life like working, physical activities etc. it is imperative to have an attorney file a case for you. The initial consultation with an attorney is generally free with most of the attorneys and the attorney can evaluate your case for free. The evaluation of the incident that happened with you and its severity by an attorney will help you in taking an informed decision that whether you should proceed by building a case and asking for a claim or drop the idea.

  • Q- If my claim is genuine, in what ways I am entitled for compensation?
  • If your claim is genuine you are entitled to be compensated for any/every of these –
  1. A loss of Income – If the injury caused was significant and hampered your professional activity that resulted in less or no income.
  2. Pain, suffering and Loss of conveniences in life – If the injury caused significant pain and suffering which affected the way you live your life.
  3. Lots of care – If the injury caused significant damages in the sense that it made you partially or fully disabled.

Once an attorney evaluates your case, he/she can provide you better guidance with this.

  • Q- How much should I claim for?
  • The worth of a claim can be assessed only after one has gone through medical diagnosis and the reports of the severity of an Injury is available apart from other details of the case. A lawyer won’t be able to gauge the value of your claim or if it’s actually worth something in the first meeting. It is essential that the injury of the client is documented by legal and medical reports from a doctor. If it has been done an attorney can then possibly gauge the value of the claim that a client is entitled to.
  • Q- How much time does the processing of my case take?
  • It depends on case to case basis. The indications of injury caused due to slip and fall may take a considerable amount of time to appear in some cases. Only after the graveness of an injury is properly assessed that an attorney can be able to estimate the amount of time processing a case will take.
  • Q- If I have met with a Slip and fall injury, how much of my involvement would be required in processing the case?
  • The involvement of the client in his/her case depends on the client and if they want to provide their attorney with required assistance. Normally if you have kept a record in writing of how the incident has hampered your normal life and the cost of all the expenses pertaining to the incident, it would be sufficient. It is also advised and essential that a client organizes his/her schedule so as to accommodate the meetings with their doctor and attorney.
  • Q- Does my claim/case require me to go to the court?
  • It again depends on case-to-case basis, whether the case requires to be taken to court. Speaking statistically more number of cases are settled without taking them to court than those which are solved without involving court. Only when the claim is serious or it requires to be taken to the court as the compensation provided is not adequate or the negotiation have not yielded anything substantial, will a lawyer advise you to take the case to court. After the case has reached litigation there is still room for settlements before the proceeding of a trial began as there is apprehension of the result and the costs involved are significant. Even when it doesn’t appear that a case will be going for trial or litigation a lawyer will still make preparations that a case faces no hurdle if it goes for litigation or trial. The preparation may require discussions or interviews with you, witnesses and in some serious cases with authority in the field of accident reconstruction or actuaries.
  • Q- What would be the costs involved in hiring an attorney?
  • It depends on how a client will like to pay according to the requirement of a case. The two standard models of payment are –
  • Pay-as-proceed – This model is when a client has to foot the bill as and when the case progresses. The client signs a retainer which is meant for covering the fees and other costs involved. A retainer might not prove to be sufficient and hence the amount can’t be assessed in the beginning. A lawyer or firm can only provide the figure once details of a case are known.
  • Contingency Fee Agreement – This is a model that works on ‘sharing’ basis as in this model one doesn’t need to make any notable upfront payment and the client can pay a fixed share or percentage of the claim once it is awarded. This model doesn’t signifies that all the bills will be covered by the award once it is given, a client will be required to pay monthly for the cost involved in maintenance of the case file like court filing fee, faxing, printing, couriers etc.

A client may assess the circumstances and then make an informed choice over which payment model will suit them though in some cases the contingency fee agreement can be the only option.