Slip and Fall Lawyer Towson, MD
If you’ve been injured after taking a tumble on someone else’s property, it’s time to speak with an experienced slip and fall lawyer Towson, MD residents trust. Scheduling a consultation with the Maryland legal team at Seigel & Rouhana, LLC won’t obligate you to file legal action nor will it obligate you to work with our firm. Consultations are designed to help potential clients explore their legal options. This initial meeting also gives us a chance to listen to your story so that we can advise you about whether you have grounds to file legal action.
We are passionate about helping those who have been harmed as a result of another’s illegal action (or inaction) obtain any compensation to which they may be entitled. If you’ve slipped, fallen, and been injured on another’s property, you may be able to hold that party accountable for the costs related to your injury by either pursuing an insurance claim or filing a lawsuit. A Towson, MD slip and fall lawyer at our firm will be able to advise you during your consultation, so that you can make an informed decision about how best to proceed.
If I Was Hurt After Falling on Another’s Property, Can I Sue?
Property owners owe certain duties to others under the law. Especially if you are invited onto another’s property, either explicitly (a private homeowner extended you a party invitation) or implicitly (a big box store opened its doors to commercial shoppers), the law insists that you have a reasonable right to remain safe while on that property. If a property owner owes someone on their property a so-called “duty of care” under the law and neglects that duty, they may be held liable if that turn of events results in harm. For example, if a store owner fails to salt the walk immediately leading to their door and a customer slips on an icy patch and breaks a bone, that customer can sue because the store owner failed to uphold their duty of care to reasonably protect patrons from icy sidewalks. Every case is different, but the law generally allows individuals to sue when they are harmed after slipping and falling on another’s property.
What if I Was Hurt While I Was Working?
If you slipped and fell while you were engaged in work-related activity, you may be in a position to file a personal injury claim and/or you may be in a position to file a workers’ compensation claim. The ins and outs of your options will depend upon a couple of factors. First, a Towson, MD slip and fall lawyer at our firm will need to determine whether you’re eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. Generally speaking, you’re probably covered by workers’ compensation insurance if you’ve been classified as a part-time employee or a full-time employee by the company you work for. Conversely, if you’ve been properly classified as an independent contractor, you won’t be eligible for these benefits. Instead, you’ll need to explore whether filing a personal injury claim is appropriate for your circumstances. If you’ve been misclassified as an independent contractor because you do the work of an employee, you may be entitled to workers’ comp benefits, even though it seems (on face) that you’re ineligible for this form of compensation.
If you’re eligible for workers’ compensation benefits and you were engaged in work-related activity when you suffered injury, you should be entitled to receive this compensation even if you were partially or totally to blame for slipping and falling. The only major exceptions to this rule come into play when workers are intoxicated on the job, get injured after starting fights, or purposefully try to hurt themselves in an effort to commit workers’ compensation fraud. The question then becomes, are you also permitted to file a personal injury claim related to your injuries? An experienced Towson, MD slip and fall lawyer can clarify the answer to this question for you in a consultation setting.
When workers are not eligible to collect workers’ compensation benefits in the wake of sustaining an injury, their primary opportunity for legal recourse is the personal injury claims process. Eligibility for workers’ compensation doesn’t – as a matter of course – keep eligible workers from filing personal injury claims related to their harm. However, the workers’ compensation system does place limitations on which parties eligible workers are permitted to file civil action against. Specifically, if you’re eligible for workers’ compensation, you can sue anyone other than your employer that may be held legally liable for the harm you’ve suffered. You can’t sue your employer because the workers’ compensation system limits the legal responsibility that employers that pay into the system can assume for work-related illness and injury. However, you can work with the experienced Maryland legal team at Seigel & Rouhana, LLC to sue other parties that negligently, recklessly, or intentionally caused your harm.
Legal Assistance Is Available
Slip and fall accidents may result in serious injuries. Some individuals are hesitant to explore their legal accidents in the wake of slip or trip and fall accidents because they either assume that such accidents are their own fault or they believe there is nothing that can be done to hold property owners accountable for hazards that result in harm. However, it’s important not to make assumptions about whether or not you have grounds to file legal action and/or pursue an insurance claim before you seek legal advice. If someone else caused your harm as a result of negligent, reckless, or intentional choices, you shouldn’t be saddled with the monetary costs of your recovery. If you’ve fallen on someone else’s property and sustained injury as a result of that fall, please contact the Towson, MD slip and fall lawyer team at our firm today for assistance.