Shows sometimes poke fun at people suing a store or workplace following a slip and fall. However, the truth is that a slip and fall can be extremely deadly, especially under the right circumstances. Just about everyone has fallen in their life, and often the only injuries that result from it are a couple of bruises and pain that goes away after a few days. Unfortunately, other people aren’t so lucky, and a slip and fall can result in sprained ankles or muscles, broken bones, traumatic brain injuries like concussions, and more.
You can be entitled to workers’ compensation when you slip and fall while on the job. Likewise, you can be entitled to compensation for a personal injury lawsuit if the incident happened on a premise like a store and due to that premise’s negligence. However, to receive compensation, sometimes, you may need to hire a lawyer. We’ll explore four questions to ask before hiring an attorney.
- How Serious Are Your Injuries?
While you’re entitled to compensation following a slip and fall due to another party’s negligence, how strongly you should pursue a case may depend upon your injuries. For example, if a slip and fall involved an overnight stay at the emergency room, but the next day everything was fine, hiring an attorney may not make sense. In small cases, the other party’s insurance company can quickly settle. While you can gain more compensation with an attorney, a slip-and-fall case can drag out to a year or more.
- Is the Other Party Willing to Settle or Negotiate?
Sometimes, insurance companies will try to refuse to give victims personal injury settlements or give them their workers’ compensation. Additionally, they may give extremely unrealistic settlement offers that don’t cover a person’s medical expenses, let alone expenses like lost wages, pain and suffering, etc. However, this isn’t always the case, and an insurance company or employer will be more than willing to work with you.
- Do You Have Any Specific Goals in Mind?
Following a slip and fall, some people just want to receive their worker’s compensation or settlement and put the event behind them. However, it’s okay to have a specific goal in mind, such as wanting a certain level of compensation (or exploring options) or forcing the business or property to improve its conditions. When you have specific goals in mind, an attorney can help you achieve them.
- Are You Doing Your Research on Attorneys?
Lastly, if you’ve decided that hiring an attorney is the way to go, you’ll want to ensure you’re doing the proper research. Things to consider when hiring an attorney can include the following:
- How much experience do they have (and how many years)
- If they specialize in cases like slip-and-falls
- If they have any references or reviews from satisfied clients
- If they’re willing to go to court
- If they have worked on similar cases to yours
- How much time do they have to assist you and your case
When you need a slip and fall accident lawyer in Queens, NY, reach out to Polsky, Shouldice & Rosen, P.C today!
