New Haven Slip and Fall Lawyer

Top-Rated Slip and Fall Attorney in New Haven

Slipping and falling can cause severe injury, which can affect your ability to work and your quality of life. If you experienced this type of injury and believe it’s due to negligence, you might be entitled to compensation. Proving this type of case can be a challenge, so it’s a good idea to hire a New Haven slip and fall lawyer to help you determine how to proceed.

Every year, many people are hospitalized due to fall-related injuries. A New Haven personal injury lawyer has experience with these types of cases and understands how to help. At Balzano & Tropiano, we bring 50 years of combined legal experience that has helped us secure millions of dollars for our clients.* Our firm’s integrity and our progressive pursuit have been an effective combination in our approach to practicing law.

Who Is Responsible?

Property owners in New Haven are responsible for securing the safety of their property for visitors. This is known as “premises liability”, and it holds property owners accountable for the state of their property. An unsafe property might have:

• Torn carpeting. Torn or frayed carpets or unsecured rugs can create a tripping hazard.
• Different types of flooring that change abruptly. Commercial establishments should place signs up to warn customers if an abrupt flooring change could cause a slip and fall.
• Bad lighting. Bad lighting can cause people to trip even when the conditions are otherwise reasonable.
• Narrow or broken stairs. Stairs must be up-to-code and maintained in a safe condition, including the railings.
• Wet and slippery floors. Spills should be cleaned immediately, and wet floors should be warned against using cautionary signage.
• Broken sidewalks. Not all slip and fall accidents occur indoors. Broken sidewalks can create a tripping hazard outside, as well.
• Unkempt sidewalks with unremoved ice or snow. Property owners must remove snow and ice from their sidewalks within a reasonable period following a storm. Municipal authorities may be responsible for maintaining some sidewalks during the winter.
• Potholes. Like broken sidewalks, potholes can cause tripping hazards outdoors in commercial parking lots.

In order to seek a claim, you must have sustained an injury due to poorly kept property. Even a minor injury might entitle you to a claim, but it must be a result of the property owner’s negligence.

Common Types of Slip and Fall Injuries

The types of injuries incurred during slip and fall accidents vary significantly depending on factors like the circumstances surrounding the fall and the person’s age. Common injuries can include those listed below:

• Broken bones
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Facial disfigurement
• Spinal cord injuries
• Cuts, scrapes, and bruises

Keep track of any medical bills or out-of-pocket expenses associated with treating the injuries you sustained from your slip and fall accident. The extent of your injuries and your medical bills are vital to proving liability in your slip and fall case.

Burden of Proof

The plaintiff must be able to prove that their injury occurred because of the property owner’s neglect. This can be a tricky thing to do, but a well-seasoned New Haven slip and fall attorney understands the evidence that you need. Proving negligence usually requires the elements listed below:

• A duty of care. Showing that the property owner had a duty of care to prevent the harm from taking
• A breach of duty. Providing evidence that the property owner breached their duty because they didn’t take enough care of the
• Causation. Evidence that the injury was a direct result of the property owner’s breach of duty.
• Damages. A list of damages that details the injured person’s financial loss, like medical bills and loss of wages.

Your attorney can gather evidence to prove these four elements of a premises liability claim.

Identifying the Responsible Party

In some cases, it’s easy to identify who should be held liable for a slip and fall accident. This would be true if a customer slipped and fell on a property owned by a business operator, for example. However, things can get a little more complicated. The defendants in slip and fall cases can include responsible parties like those listed below:

• Property owners or landlords
• Tenants or business owners who control a premises
• Property management companies

In cases that occur on commercial properties, there may be multiple entities responsible for injuries. Everyone from business owners to property owners to employees might hold some share of the responsibility.

In cases that occur on residential rental properties, landlords, tenants, and third parties may all be held liable. If you want to hold a landlord responsible for an injury as a tenant, you must show that:

• The landlord had control over the condition that caused the accident.
• Repairing the condition would have been reasonably affordable and easy.
• The accident was a foreseeable consequence of not addressing the condition.
• The landlord’s failure to take action caused the injury.

If the injury occurred in a person’s home that they own, the property owner’s home insurance policy may pay for any damages that resulted from it.

In Connecticut, you can still pursue compensation if you were deemed partially at fault for the accident that caused your injury under the state’s modified comparative negligence statute. You can file a claim as long as you were deemed to be less than 51% at fault for the accident, but your compensation is subject to being reduced by your percentage of fault.

Understanding Connecticut Visitor Classifications

The duty of care owed to visitors in Connecticut varies depending on how they are classified. There are three types of visitors, each of which is owed a different duty of care. The various types of visitors are defined below:

• Invitees. Invitees are owed the highest duty of care. This category of visitors includes people like shoppers, customers, or clients. Commercial property owners have several duties to invitees. They must actively inspect their premises to find hidden dangers or safety violations, maintain and repair any hazardous conditions promptly, and warn visitors of hazards that can’t be fixed immediately.
• Licensees. Licensees are people who are allowed onto a property for their own purposes. Delivery workers compensation and social guests both fall into this category. A property owner’s duty of care to licensees is slightly lower. There is no obligation to inspect for hidden hazards, but owners must warn licensees about any known dangers that they couldn’t reasonably be expected to discover.
• Trespassers. Trespassers have minimal legal protection in Connecticut. These people enter properties without permission, and property owners do not have an obligation to keep their premises safe for them or warn them of hazards. However, they are still forbidden from intentionally setting traps to injure trespassers or acting recklessly to cause them harm.

One exception to this standard is an attractive nuisance. These are areas, such as a swimming pool or a trampoline, that are likely to attract children. When children come onto a property as trespassers to engage with an attractive nuisance, they are afforded protections not available to trespassing adults. Property owners must take reasonable steps to prevent children from being harmed by hazards on their properties.

What to Do After a Slip and Fall Injury

In Connecticut, falls were the leading cause of non-fatal injury, affecting 2,155.6 per 100,000 people. If you happen to slip and fall, it’s important to follow these steps:

1. Seek medical attention at a health facility, like the Yale-New Haven Hospital, so that your injury can be documented right away.
2. Report the accident to the responsible party, like the tenant or property owner.
3. Gather evidence and keep detailed records.
4. Speak to a New Haven slip and fall lawyer.

In 2023, 80,951 people went to the emergency room in Connecticut due to a fall. Take care of yourself and contact us if you believe the injury was due to negligence of the property owner.

Types of Damages Available in Slip and Fall Cases

There are several types of damages available in slip and fall cases. Property owners of all types, from homeowners to business owners, typically carry liability insurance policies that cover accident victims’ damages should they be found liable. These policies pay out for several types of damages, like those listed below:

• Economic damages. Economic damages are financial in nature. They include things like medical expenses, lost income, and other quantifiable losses.
• Non-economic damages. Non-economic damages are subjective. They include things like emotional distress, loss of enjoyment, and pain and suffering.

In some limited cases, the courts may also award punitive damages. Punitive damages are designed to punish defendants whose actions were intentional or egregiously negligent. Intentionally leaving wet floors unattended could leave a business owner facing punitive damages, for example.

Connecticut’s Statute of Limitations and Municipal Claims

The general statute of limitations under slip and fall laws in Connecticut is two years. However, there’s no reason to wait until your time is almost up to file a slip and fall claim. You should contact a lawyer as soon as possible, while the events are clear in your mind and it’s still reasonably easy to find evidence in support of your case.

An exception to the two-year statute of limitations in Connecticut is if your slip and fall accident occurred on government property. In these cases, the timeline for filing a formal notice is much shorter. You have only 90 days to file a notice of claim for issues like defective sidewalks on public property or hazards at state-run facilities.

Reasons to Hire a Slip and Fall Lawyer

Because slip and fall claims can be challenging, you should hire a slip and fall lawyer who understands these types of cases thoroughly to assist you in navigating your slip and fall claim. A qualified New Haven slip and fall attorney can provide the services listed below:

• Gather evidence
• Offer legal advice
• Gather evidence for your case
• Value your claim
• Negotiate on your behalf
• Represent you in court

Personal injury lawyers who deal with these types of cases can bring insight to your specific case, so you can overcome potential challenges. They also understand how to give you emotional support in this difficult time.

FAQs

Are Slip and Fall Cases Hard to Win?

Slip and fall cases can be hard to win because they require proof that the fall was due to negligence of the property owner. This means proving that the property owner knew about the hazard and failed to do anything about it, and proving that your injuries were a direct result of their negligence. If you work with a New Haven slip and fall lawyer, they would be able to help you figure out whether you have a case.

How Should You Negotiate a Slip and Fall Settlement?

You should trust an attorney to negotiate your slip and fall settlement. A New Haven slip and fall lawyer would understand how to effectively negotiate with insurance bad faith. Usually, it requires gathering evidence and assessing the losses to figure out an appropriate amount.

Attorneys have experience negotiating on behalf of their clients. Some of these negotiation skills include starting the negotiation high, justifying the amount with evidence, exercising patience while working with the other party, and mediating between the parties.

Do Most Slip and Fall Cases Go to Trial?

Most slip and fall cases do not end up going to trial. An attorney might send a demand letter to those at fault and/or the insurance company. Then, they file a complaint that includes the details of the injury and who might be at fault. Afterward, the case could go into pre-trial, or a settlement conference might take place, giving everyone a chance to settle outside of court. Ninety-five percent settle before heading to trial.

How Can You Get the Most Money From a Slip and Fall?

To get the most money from a slip and fall, you must prove that the property owner is liable for your injury, your injury actually occurred, and your injury is a result of the fall and not a pre-existing condition. It’s important to be realistic, honest, and pragmatic when dealing with this type of case. Over-exaggerating and greed could lead to distrust. If you have any questions on how to proceed, honestly, speak with your slip and fall lawyer.

Contact Balzano & Tropiano Today

With 50 years of combined experience, our team at Balzano and Tropiano is on a mission to provide our clients with special attention and high-quality legal representation. Schedule a free consultation by contacting our firm. We offer no upfront fees. You won’t have to pay unless we win.

*Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different.