Seasoned Lake City Slip and Fall Lawyer
Your slip and fall accident took half a second. Yet, the aftereffects could last years. In a situation where you’re dealing with serious injuries and lost income, you want more than a lawyer. You want an advocate with one goal: prioritizing your legal rights.
A Lake City slip and fall lawyer from Meldon Law can manage your case’s many obligations. With more than 50 years of legal experience, we’re confident in our ability to recover the best possible settlement and hold the at-fault party accountable. Call us to start your free, no-obligation case review.
How Much It Costs to Hire Our Lake City Slip and Fall Lawyers
We’re well-aware that attorneys have a reputation for being expensive. Yet, that’s not the case for Meldon Law. That’s because, since 1971, we’ve operated on a contingency-fee basis. We charge nothing upfront or out of pocket for our help. Here’s what you can expect:
- Our personal injury lawyers learn your story and the details of your case.
- We outline our goals, services, and expectations in writing.
- We explain that we take a percentage of your awarded settlement as payment.
- You get a copy of our agreement for your reference.
We aim to make recovering compensation as stress-free as possible––and that includes making our services financially accessible to those in need.
How Can a Lake City Slip and Fall Injury Lawyer From Meldon Law Help?
Our slip and fall lawyers have extensive legal knowledge and are well-versed in premises liability laws. We understand the legal principles that apply to these situations and how to chart a path toward compensation.
Here’s what you can expect when entrusting Meldon Law with your case:
We Evaluate Your Claim’s Details
Our first objective involves carefully assessing your case to determine its strength. During this time, we will examine existing evidence, review pertinent laws, and interview witnesses. Doing this helps our slip and fall attorneys identify and recommend a suitable course of action for your case.
Our Lawyers Learn the Facts of Your Fall
During the initial investigation, we will gather any evidence that supports your claim. This involves:
- Visiting the accident scene
- Consulting with field experts (such as accident reconstruction specialists)
- Reviewing accident reports
- Obtaining photographs and surveillance video, if available
These steps are vital to establishing liability and proving which party (e.g., the property owner) is responsible for your losses.
We File Your Claim and Negotiate a Settlement
Our Lake City personal injury lawyers are skilled negotiators. Not only can we calculate your damages’ cost, but we can also hold the insurance company to its obligation. Since 1971, the team at Meldon Law has recovered millions for victims of slips, trips, and falls. What’s more, we resolved many of these cases without spending a day in court.
We Handle Litigation and Everything It Entails
Although we resolve many cases through negotiations, we prepare your case for trial from the very beginning. That way, if the insurance company refuses to settle, we can file a lawsuit and not worry about missing any deadlines. While your case unfolds, our legal team draws on our courtroom experience to argue your case compellingly and seek a favorable outcome.
It’s our job to provide you with valuable support and guidance during this challenging time. Throughout our partnership, we will explain your legal options, address your questions and concerns, and keep you informed about your case’s progression.
Resolving Your Lake City Slip and Fall Case Requires Proving Negligence
Negligence is the failure to exercise reasonable care, exposing others to the risk of injury. In most slip and fall cases, proving negligence is necessary to establish liability, which consists of four elements:
- Duty of care. Duty of care refers to an obligation that most people have to prevent injuries from befalling others. For instance, all property owners have a duty of care to keep their properties safe for invited guests.
- Breach of duty. A breach of duty of care is a failure to fulfill a legal obligation owed to another. This can occur through another party’s actions or omissions. For example, a property owner who fails to clean a spill breaches their duty of care.
- Causation. Here, we connect your accident to the other party’s breach of duty. We accomplish this by using the accident report, your medical records, and eyewitness testimony. We aim to show that your accident wouldn’t have happened “but for” the other party’s breach.
- Damages. Finally, our personal injury attorneys must prove you suffered damages, including economic and non-economic losses. These can include medical bills and lost income.
We know that understanding negligence and its concepts can quickly get confusing. Thankfully, you don’t have to attend and graduate law school to have a successful injury case. Our team can build your case in accordance with state law and pursue the highest possible settlement.
What Damages Can a Lake City Slip and Fall Lawyer Pursue?
Damages refer to your accident-related expenses. As noted, they comprise both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include losses with bills, invoices, and receipts. Examples include:
- Medical expenses, including the cost of past and future medical care, emergency treatment, surgeries, hospital stays, medication, rehabilitation, therapy, and other related expenses
- Lost earnings, if your injury caused you to lose tips, bonuses, benefits, and commissions
- Loss of future earning capacity, if your injury prevents you from working in your preferred field or position
- Out-of-pocket expenses, such as transportation costs, in-home accommodations, and childcare services
Non-economic damages reflect subjective losses that don’t come with documentation. We learn their values by assessing various aspects of your situation, including your daily pain levels and injury’s severity. Examples of compensable non-economic damages include:
- Pain and suffering: Compensation for physical pain, discomfort, and distress experienced as a result of the injury
- Emotional distress: Damages for psychological suffering, such as anxiety, depression, trauma, or loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium: If the injury significantly affected your relationship with your spouse
- Scarring or disfigurement: Compensation for visible scars or permanent disfigurement related to the injury
These damages are not necessarily exhaustive, and you may be entitled to forms of compensation not listed here. You are encouraged to consult with a Lake City slip-and-fall attorney who can identify your damages and calculate their values.
Our Lawyers Can Seek Wrongful Death Damages
Slip and fall accidents can result in fatal injuries. If you recently lost a loved one to an accident on another party’s property, we extend our deepest, most heartfelt condolences. Compensation can’t undo your grief, but it can go a long way in helping you rebuild.
Damages in a fatal slip and fall accident claim may include:
- Loss of the decedent’s financial support, such as income and benefits, as well as loss of household services, such as child care, housekeeping, and maintenance
- Loss of the decedent’s earnings
- Emotional pain, suffering, and grief endured by the surviving family members
- Loss of companionship and protection, guidance, love, and support
- The decedent’s pain and suffering
- The decedent’s funeral, cremation, and burial expenses
You Have a Limited Time to File a Lake City Slip and Fall Lawsuit
Florida’s statute of limitations, illustrated by Florida Statutes § 95.11, notes that you generally have two years to file a lawsuit. This two-year deadline applies to both personal injury and wrongful death cases. Here are two things to know:
- If you comply with this deadline, you preserve your right to seek damages through litigation. Prompt action also allows for the collection of time-sensitive evidence, such as security camera footage.
- If you miss the filing deadline, you lose the right to secure compensation. This could leave you with few options for holding the negligent party accountable for your accident and injuries.
We encourage you to connect with our Lake City slip and fall lawyers as soon as possible. That way, we can set your case in motion and prevent any complications.
We Learn the Cause of Your Lake City Slip and Fall Accident
Our lawyers investigate the details of your fall to learn who should pay for your losses. We may find that one or more of the following factors resulted in your injuries:
- Wet or slippery floors caused by spills, leaks, waxed floors, or puddles
- Uneven surfaces, such as cracked sidewalks or potholes
- Loose, torn, or wrinkled rugs and carpeting
- A lack of warning signs, adequate barriers, or caution tape around hazardous areas
- Insufficient lighting, such as in walkways, stairwells, or parking lots
- Unmaintained or damaged stairs, handrails, or other infrastructure
Regardless of the reason for the slip and fall, you can recover damages if another party’s actions or omissions caused your injuries.
Contact Meldon Law Today for a Free Case Review
If you or a loved one was injured in a Lake City slip and fall accident, we pledge to take on your fight like it was our own. We are a force to be reckoned with, both inside and outside the courtroom. We’re a fabric of the communities we serve, and we intend to stop at nothing to recover fair compensation.
Reach out to us today for a free, no-obligation case review.
