Table of Contents
- Actions You Need to Take After Being Involved in a Slip and Fall Accident
- What You Will Need To File Your Claim For A Slip And Fall
- How Are Slip and Fall Claims Settled?
- Home Depot Injury Settlements
- Contacting a Personal Injury Attorney
When shopping at Home Depot, or any other home improvement store, it is possible to suffer from a slip and fall accident. There are a number of hazards around such a store that can cause slip and fall accidents.
There may be spilled liquids or products left haphazardly among the aisles.
All of these things can lead to slip and fall accidents that may result in severe injury to yourself or your loved ones. If you are the victim of a slip and fall accident at a home improvement store, there are a few things you should keep in mind.
Actions You Need to Take After Being Involved in a Slip and Fall Accident
When involved in a slip and fall accident, there are certain actions you will want to take. First and foremost, you need to report the accident when it happens to the appropriate store personnel.
If you are unable to report the accident due to the nature of your injuries, you should call the store as soon as you are able to in order to ensure a report was filled out.
Before contacting the store again or the store’s insurance company, you will want to make sure you gather all of the medical bills you have incurred so far, as well as calculate any wages lost due to time missed from work as a result of your injuries.
For more information on being involved in a slip and fall accident, visit What You Need to Know When You Slip and Fall At Work
What You Will Need To File Your Claim For A Slip And Fall
You will need to get all your documentation in order to pursue a slip and fall claim against Home Depot, or any other establishment. Be sure to gather up all your supporting evidence, such as:
- Photos of the accident scene
- Photos of the injuries
- The accident report or reports – such as those filled out by the store or by the police, medical bills, proof of missed work and lost wages, and witness statements.
To get your claim started, you will need to send a demand letter to the store and/or their insurer. In that letter, you will need to indicate what happened, how it happened, when it happened, your damages, and why you believe the store is liable for your losses. You must provide supporting documentation for your case, so be sure to send copies of any accident report, medical bills, medical records, and proof of missed work and lost wages.
You should itemize your damages and then total up the list, indicating the total amount you are asking to settle the claim. Always leave a little leeway because the insurance company will want to negotiate. If you provide enough evidence to show that the store's negligence contributed to your fall, they will be more likely to try to negotiate a settlement before the claim escalates to court.
Enlist the help of a personal injury lawyer. Personal injury claims that are filed after a slip and fall accident can be challenging. Personal injury attorneys who handle slip and fall cases are familiar with the state laws and understand the process. They have strong negotiation skills, so they will be able to negotiate with the insurance company and they will focus on getting you a fair settlement.
Personal injury lawyers work on a contingency basis, which means that you will not have to pay your lawyer anything upfront. Instead, your attorney will not be paid until you win your case. When you get a judgment or a settlement, your attorney will recover the percentage that was agreed upon when you retained their services. The improvement store and their insurer will have legal representation, so you should have someone to stand up for your rights.
For more information on how to write an accident report visit, How Do You Write a Slip and Fall Accident Report?
How Are Slip and Fall Claims Settled?
If you slipped in a store and decide to file a personal injury claim, you could receive a settlement. Some factors that determine settlements in slip and fall claims are:
- Negligence
- Liability
- The freedom of fault from you, the plaintiff
Most injury settlements take into consideration pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment and reputation. The damages that you could receive in a settlement could cover any lost wages, medical bills, loss of future earnings and any household help related to your injuries.
Your personal injury attorney will be able to let you know when the right time to settle your claim against the store.
Home Depot Injury Settlements
Every year large corporations like Home Depot cause accidents to customers often by slips and falls caused by hazards that shouldn’t have been present in the store. When a complaint by a customer is filed which has involved an injury these large corporations believe that they only have to pay a minimum amount to settle the complaint by a customer.
The first thing the Home Depot will do is find out if the complainant has legal representation because those injured customers who don’t have legal representation are usually seen as easy targets for claim denial or lowball offers. It is unwise to pursue a personal injury claim with a large corporation like Home Depot as they have their lawyers at hand ready to dispute your claim.
If you hire a personal injury lawyer it will help you get the settlement you deserve. The benefits of hiring a personal injury lawyer are:
- your claim will be processed quickly;
- greater chance of getting the maximum in compensation that reflects the financial hardship caused by the accident;
- you will be relieved of the stress of filing a claim on your own.
If your personal injury lawyer wins a successful personal injury claim against Home Depot you may be awarded the following:
- the cost of your medical bills;
- any medical expenses in the future;
- lost wages from missed work;
- future earnings lost;
- a calculation for pain and suffering;
- a calculation for mental anguish caused by the accident;
- compensation for permanent disabilities;
- loss of enjoyment of life;
- loss of consortium.
Contacting a Personal Injury Attorney
Instead of dealing with the insurance company yourself and trying to handle such a claim on your own, it may be in your best interests to contact a personal injury attorney.
Even if the insurance company is willing to work with you and pay out a claim, chances are that they will not pay you the full amount you are entitled to. Rather, they will try to pay you as little as possible.
When you have a personal injury attorney representing you, on the other hand, you can be sure your best interests are kept in mind during a settlement, such as:
- Money for pain and suffering
- Compensation for any wages lost due to time missed from work
- Compensation for medical expenses
If you suffer a slip and fall at Home Depot, or any other store, you could suffer a variety of injuries. These injuries could vary in severity. Some of these injuries could be life-altering and lead to injuries that are disabling. Injuries may be:
- Bumps and bruises
- Soft tissue injuries
- Whiplash
- Broken bones
- Back and neck injuries
- Spinal injuries
- Paralysis
- Traumatic brain injury
These injuries can lead to a variety of damages. Some of these damages include medical bills. Medical bills include:
- Physician visits
- Hospital bills
- X-rays and scans
- Prescriptions
- Medical devices
- Physical therapy
- Chiropractic visits
Other damages may include missed work and lost wages, so you need to maintain thorough documentation to support your claim.
Here are some of the damages that are more commonly claimed in a slip and fall accident:
- Future medical expenses
- Missed work and lost wages
- Future loss of earnings
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Permanent disabilities
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
A personal injury lawyer will help you review the details of your case and determine which damages you suffered in the slip and fall in a store. Documentation and evidence are a necessity for a successful slip and fall injury case, so be sure to get all the evidence that you can to prove where you fell, why you fell, and how you were injured. Establish medical care right away, so you can show that your injuries were directly caused by your slip and fall in the store.
You should maintain documentation to support your claim. Get photos of the accident scene and establish medical care. You should keep medical bills and medical records. Maintain documentation that indicates missed work and lost wages.
*The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Home Depot, or any other party, you may not be entitled to any compensation.
