Slip & Fall Lawyers in Wichita

Handling Slip, Trip & Fall Cases

Unfortunately, people fall and sustain injuries every day. Just because someone falls on someone else’s property, doesn’t mean that the property owner has to pay for the medical bills and other damages associated with the fall. In fact, it is common for the injured person to presume that the medical bills will be taken care of and then, later, receive a denial of the claim from the property owner, business, or insurance carrier.

When you have a slip and fall or trip and fall type of accident on someone else’s property, the case is typically categorized as a premises liability case. The property owner is not ordinarily responsible if you get hurt on their property unless you can prove the property owner was negligent and their negligence caused your injury. These cases most frequently involve a person slipping on either a wet floor or some substance on the floor or tripping on some dangerous surface on the property.

Other times liability can be established if there is some dangerous condition on the property and the owner of the property fails to adequately warn of the dangerous condition or fails to repair the dangerous condition. These cases also can involve weather conditions and the failure of the property owner to warn or take action to remedy the dangerous condition on the property caused by bad weather.

If you were hurt on someone else’s property, contact the Witchita slip and fall lawyers at Pistotnik Law. We can help you take legal action against the liable party.

What Is Comparative Fault & Why Does It Matter?

Kansas comparative fault laws apply to these cases and it is common that the property owner will argue it was the pedestrian’s own fault for falling. Ultimately, there is a question of fact to determine how much fault rests with the property owner compared to the fault of the pedestrian. The percentage of fault on the injured person can limit or even prevent any financial recovery.

In Kansas, to be able to recover for injuries, the pedestrian’s fault must be less than 50%. This can make slip and fall or trip and fall type of cases difficult in that the facts which usually help prove the negligence of the property owner can be used against the injured person to prove his or her fault.

For example, it is common to fall when entering a store because of a wet floor when it has been raining outside. This is typically because the property owner did nothing to remedy the situation by mopping up the water, putting down extra floor mats, or placing “wet floor” signs around the area. Nevertheless, the property owner will usually argue that the person who fell should have seen that it was a wet floor and taken extra precaution to avoid falling. If the person who fell is found to be 50% or more at fault for failing to be careful, that person receives no compensation for his or her injuries.

Why Work with Pistotnik Law?

Our office has years of experience handling slip and fall and trip and fall types of cases.

When successful, the injured person can recover all damages, including:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Past and future wage loss
• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish
• Disability
• Disfigurement
• Loss of time
• Inconvenience
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of consortium and loss of spousal support

Because the damages are reduced by the percentage of comparative fault determined to be attributable to the injured person, it is extremely important to get a Wichita slip and fall attorney on your side immediately.

As always in personal injury cases, it is important not to talk to the insurance companies or give a taped recorded statement as the statement can cause damage to the case, possibly even ruin the case. This is particularly true in slip and fall and trip and fall cases.

Contact us online or call (316) 800-8000 now for a no-cost, no-obligation consultation.