Michigan Slip and Fall Attorney

Property owners and possessors in Michigan have a duty to maintain their premises at all times and keep them in a reasonably safe condition for the benefit of property visitors. If you suffered an injury on someone else's property, you can hold the property owner or their insurance company liable for your injuries and other losses.

Dealing with insurance companies is extremely difficult on your own. Therefore, have a skilled Michigan slip and fall attorney advocate for you at every stage of your case.

The legal team at Michigan Injury Lawyers has the knowledge and experience to aggressively advocate for your legal interests and pursue the monetary recovery you deserve for your accident-related losses.

We can file a personal injury claim on your behalf with the property owner's insurance company and pursue a favorable settlement offer from them. Moreover, if the insurance company does not offer you a fair value for your personal injury case, we can litigate your case in the Michigan court system and maximize the monetary recovery you receive.

Please contact our office today for a free case evaluation and legal consultation with a Michigan slip and fall lawyer.

If you recently sustained injuries in a Michigan slip and fall accident, you want the best possible team of attorneys advocating for you and representing your legal rights and interests.

The skilled Michigan slip and fall attorneys at Michigan Injury Lawyers can handle every aspect of your case, from gathering documents to filing a personal injury claim with the insurance company to litigating your case in court.

Unlike many personal injury law firms, our lawyers are unafraid to threaten the insurance company with litigation and take your case to a civil jury trial, binding arbitration proceeding, or other litigation hearing. Our lawyers can also evaluate your unique circumstances and decide on the best course of action for your case.

Let us pursue and recover the fair monetary damages you need for all your slip and fall injuries and losses.

How Much is My Michigan Slip and Fall Case Worth?

The types and amounts of monetary damages you can recover in your Michigan slip and fall injury case depend upon various factors, including the accident circumstances, the body part or parts you suffered injuries to, the medical treatment you underwent, and the total cost of your medical treatment.

Some slip and fall accident victims suffer such severe injuries that they experience pain for the rest of their lives. They may also need to attend ongoing medical treatment or undergo a follow-up surgery. This treatment can lead to mounting medical bills and other costs.

First, a slip and fall accident victim can recover monetary compensation for all of the medical expenses they incurred related to their accident. Those medical expenses should cover the costs of doctor visits, physical therapy appointments, and medical procedures, such as surgery to correct a bone fracture.

In addition, if a medical provider determines that you suffered a permanent injury in your accident, you might recover your anticipated medical costs, including the price of a future medical procedure or physical therapy.

Many slip and fall accident victims also have to miss time from work to recover from their injuries and attend medical appointments. These accident victims can recover lost income compensation for the money they lost. Additionally, if a worker has to switch jobs and take a pay cut because of their injuries, they can make a successful claim for loss of earning capacity.

In addition to these economic damages, victims of slip and fall accidents may recover monetary compensation for their intangible losses.

Those monetary damages may compensate accident victims for their:

  • Mental distress
  • Inconvenience
  • Lost quality of life
  • Loss of the ability to use one or more body parts (such as from paralysis)
  • Loss of sensation in a body part
  • Past and future pain and suffering
  • Lifetime care costs
  • Permanent disability or disfigurement
  • Loss of spousal consortium and companionship

Our legal team can determine which damages you can recover as part of your slip and fall claim or lawsuit. We can also specify a ballpark figure for the total value of your slip and fall case. Our lawyers will then do everything possible to secure the favorable monetary award you deserve for your injuries and other losses.

Where do Slip and Fall Accidents Frequently Happen in Michigan?

Slip and fall accidents may occur just about anywhere on someone else's property. They can happen indoors and outdoors, on public or private premises.

Some of the most common locations for a slip and fall accident include:

  • Restaurants, bars, and grocery stores, where food or liquid may spill onto the floor easily
  • Kitchens and bathrooms in a private residence, where water may spill onto the floor
  • Driveways, sidewalks, parking lots, and parking garages that surround a premise, usually because of defective macadam or concrete that contain potholes or spalling – or because of snow or ice on the premises
  • Staircases where the property owner fails to maintain the stairs or railings in a reasonably safe condition

You are not alone if you suffered injuries in a slip and fall accident in one of these locations. Our experienced legal team can investigate the circumstances of your accident, including how your slip and fall accident likely happened and who was responsible. We can then file a claim with the property owner's insurance company or pursue litigation in the Michigan court system.

Proving a Premises Liability Claim or Lawsuit in Michigan

When it comes time to file a premises liability claim following a slip and fall accident, the first step is for us to determine how your slip and fall accident happened and who may have been responsible.

In general, property owners must follow a high legal standard, especially with regard to individuals who visit their properties.

A property may include:

  • Schools
  • Rental properties
  • Nightclubs
  • Retail stores
  • Restaurants
  • Single-family residences
  • Offices

The duty of care that a property owner or manager owes to a property visitor depends upon that visitor's status on the premises at a given time.

One classification of property visitors is a trespasser. A trespasser is someone present on the premises without the owner's knowledge. With respect to trespassers, a property owner may not need to make the premises safe or warn about dangerous defects or conditions on the premises. However, an exception might exist if the property owner is aware of the trespasser's regular presence, such as with a young child.

In contrast to a trespasser, a licensee has the property owner/possessor’s permission to be on the premises at a given time. Common examples of licensees include individuals who attend a church service, salespeople, neighbors, and property canvassers.

Other property visitors are business invitees present on the premises to serve a business purpose, such as shoppers at a mall, store, or supermarket.

Premises owners/possessors owe licensees and invitees a much higher duty of care than they do trespassers on their premises. Specifically, premises owners have a duty to warn about or correct known dangerous conditions within a reasonable amount of time.

In the case of business invitees, the property owner must regularly inspect their premises for previously unknown hazards. If they come across a hazard during their inspection, they must promptly warn about or correct it.

To show that a premises owner was negligent for causing an accident, you will need to demonstrate that:

  • They owed you a legal duty of care that they subsequently violated. (For example, despite being aware of a property defect, the property owner might not have remedied it or warned about it within a reasonable timeframe.)
  • As a direct result of this breach, your slip and fall accident occurred 
  • You suffered at least one physical injury due to your slip and fall accident. 

To prove the necessary medical nexus in your case, we can retain a healthcare provider who can testify as a witness. A healthcare provider can also establish that one or more of your injuries are permanent and unlikely to improve with time.

Our legal team can make sure that your case satisfies the necessary legal elements of your claim, making you eligible to recover monetary compensation and damages for your injuries.

Common Slip and Fall Injuries in Michigan

The injuries that a slip and fall accident victim sustains often depend on various circumstances, including the specific circumstances surrounding their fall accident, the location of the accident, and the body parts affected in the accident. In general, if an individual hits a hard surface, such as macadam or concrete, they are more likely to suffer severe injuries than if they fall on a softer surface.

Injuries that slip and fall accident victims may suffer in Michigan include:

Our legal team can begin gathering your medical records and bills early on in the process. Once you complete your medical treatment or know the future treatment you need, we can submit a settlement demand package to the property owner's insurance company and begin pursuing the fair settlement compensation you deserve.

Fighting the Insurance Company after a Slip and Fall Accident in Michigan

Following a slip and fall accident in Michigan, we can negotiate with a property owner's insurance company for favorable settlement compensation.

Insurance companies do not have an incentive to fairly compensate you for your accident-related injuries. Instead, they want to keep as much of their money as possible.

To accomplish this goal, insurance companies and their adjusters will often undervalue slip and fall accident claims – especially early on in the settlement negotiation process. The insurance company might argue that you somehow caused or contributed to your accident, that the defective property condition was open and obvious, that you wore improper footwear, or that you did not pay attention to your surroundings.

In addition, the insurance company might argue that your injuries were not severe, or the slip and fall accident did not cause your pre-existing or unrelated injuries.

Our legal team understands the tricks and tactics that insurance companies regularly use to try and avoid paying out favorable settlement compensation to accident victims.

Our legal team can retain an expert to testify on your behalf and point to your medical records that show that your accident caused your injuries. We can also threaten the insurance company with litigation if they refuse to compensate you fairly for your injuries and losses.

What to do Following a Michigan Slip and Fall Accident

Following a slip and fall accident in Michigan, there are several essential steps that you can take to streamline your case.

Those steps include:

  • Insisting that the property owner or manager prepare an incident report detailing the occurrence
  • Retaining copies of all medical treatment records, medical bills, incident reports, photographs of your injuries, and photographs of the occurrence scene (that may show defects on the ground or floor)
  • Speaking with a knowledgeable Michigan slip and fall lawyer as quickly as possible about your legal options

Contact a Michigan Slip and Fall Lawyer Right Away

At Michigan Injury Lawyers, our legal team welcomes the opportunity to fight for your legal rights and pursue the maximum monetary compensation you deserve to recover in your slip and fall case.

For a free case evaluation and legal consultation with an experienced Michigan personal injury lawyer, please call us at (313) 438-4357 or contact us online to learn more.