Riverside Slip and Fall Accident Lawyers

French and Italian eateries, nightclubs, bars, and other public venues in Downtown Riverside are extremely popular with both locals and tourists alike. However, these venues are common locations for slip and fall accidents.

When a person slips, falls, and hits the ground with significant force, they will likely suffer severe and often permanent injuries. Unlike motor vehicle occupants, slip-and-fall accident victims do not have an outer covering surrounding them when they fall and hit the ground. Instead, they experience direct exposure to their surrounding environment, often leading to debilitating injuries that require ongoing medical treatment and require accident victims to take significant time off work.

Owners of both business and private property in Riverside must maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition at all times for the benefit of their property visitors. When property owners fail to exercise reasonable care regarding property maintenance—and a slip and fall incident occurs—the property owner and their insurance company may be legally responsible for paying monetary damages to the accident victim.

If you or someone you love recently sustained injuries in a slip and fall on someone else’s property, you should seek experienced legal representation as soon as possible. Slip and falls can lead to surprisingly serious injuries and complex legal issues, so take action today by finding the right legal team to handle your claim.

The Riverside slip and fall accident attorneys at Bentley & More LLP can help you determine if you can legally file a claim or lawsuit against a negligent property owner for your injuries. We can review your accident’s circumstances, incident reports, and other documentation to determine your claim-filing eligibility. If you are eligible to take legal action against the property owner or their insurance company, we can assist you with every step of the process and work towards maximizing your total monetary compensation award.

Our legal team has recovered millions of dollars for our clients, some of whom were victims of severe slip and fall accidents. We primarily handle catastrophic slip-and-fall cases, and we have the resources and experience to take referrals from other firms. Bentley & More LLP regularly accepts injury referrals and can handle challenging matters that other firms might not take on.

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Where Do Slip and Fall Accidents Happen in Riverside?

Slip and fall accidents in the Riverside area can occur both indoors and outdoors. Indoor slip and fall accidents are especially common at nightclubs, bars, grocery stores, and restaurants, where food and liquid may spill onto the floor quickly. Accidents may also occur on staircases when property owners fail to properly maintain carpeting and flooring materials.

On the other hand, outdoor slip-and-fall accidents are common on sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, and garages.

You should understand your legal rights, options, and obligations if you suffered injuries in a slip-and-fall accident at one of these locations. The experienced Riverside slip-and-fall accident lawyers at Bentley & More LLP can discuss your legal options and help you take a successful course of action. We can assist you with filing your personal injury claim and, if necessary, a lawsuit against the responsible property owner.

Who Can We Hold Responsible for Your Riverside Slip and Fall Accident?

Property owners, supervisors, and managers may be responsible for slip-and-fall accidents and injuries on their business premises. When a slip and fall occurs on private premises, the homeowner can be liable for any resulting injuries.

In most instances, business insurance policies and homeowner policies provide coverage to property owners when a person slips, falls, and injures themselves on the property.

At other times, a person may slip and fall on a sidewalk or in a parking lot or garage a municipality owns. In that situation, the accident victim can file a claim with the insurer for the municipality or take legal action against the municipality directly. Municipalities include cities, counties, and other governmental entities. However, strict—and extremely short—notice requirements often apply when dealing with municipalities. Therefore, you should seek prompt legal representation in your case as quickly as possible after your accident.

The experienced Riverside slip and fall attorneys at Bentley & More LLP can take the necessary and prompt legal action against all potentially responsible parties for your accident. We can then negotiate with insurance company representatives on your behalf and work to maximize your total monetary damages.

What Is a Property Owner’s Legal Duty of Care?

Premises owners owe a high duty of care to their property visitors. The duty of care that a property owner owes to others depends upon a visitor’s status on the property at a given point in time.

Three primary classifications for property visitors exist, business invitees, licensees, and trespassers.

A business invitee is someone who is present on another person or entity’s land for a business purpose.

For example, a business invitee may be a restaurant or bar patron, a shopper at a mall or outlet center, or a grocery store patron. Property owners owe these individuals a very high legal duty of care. Specifically, property owners and their representatives must maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition at all times, warn visitors about known hazards or defects on their properties or repair those defective conditions promptly.

Moreover, property owners have a duty to regularly inspect their premises for potentially unknown hazards that might exist. If they encounter a risk during their inspection, they have a similar commitment to promptly warn about or repair the condition.

In addition to business invitees, licensees—or social guests—are another classification of property visitors. A licensee typically visits another person’s home or residence for a non-business purpose. Premises owners owe their social guests a similar duty of care as they do owe to a business invitee. Specifically, a property owner must either warn about or correct defective, known dangers on the property within a reasonable timeframe.

Finally, trespassers are individuals present on someone else’s land without permission from the owner. In most situations, a premises owner does not owe a trespasser a legal duty of care unless that trespasser is known to frequent the property regularly. In that instance, the property owner may owe the trespasser some legal duty.

Remembering that a property visitor’s status on the premises may change over time is also essential. For example, a person who enters a store or other business premises during regular hours will likely constitute a business invitee. However, if they remain in the establishment after it closes, they will probably be a trespasser, assuming they were present without the owner’s permission.

When a property owner violates their duty of care to a visitor, and a slip and fall accident occurs, the property owner may be legally liable for the resulting injuries and losses. The experienced Riverside slip and fall accident lawyers at Bentley & More LLP can determine if the property owner violated their legal duty of care in your case. If a breach occurred, we can help you file a claim with the property owner’s insurance company and begin moving your case forward.

What are Slip and Fall Injuries in Riverside?

When a slip-and-fall accident victim hits the ground with a significant amount of force, they are likely to suffer severe and sometimes permanent injuries. Severe injuries are widespread when accident victims land on their head, neck, or back during their fall.

Some of the most common injuries that result from slip and fall accidents include:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Hip fractures
• Other broken bones
• Rib injuries
• Internal organ damage or bleeding
• Soft tissue tears
• Spinal cord injuries
• Paralysis injuries

If you suffered injuries in a recent slip and fall, you should report the incident to a property manager or supervisor. You should also insist upon receiving a copy of the written report.

Next, you should seek same-day medical treatment at a hospital emergency facility. When you arrive at the emergency room, a medical provider can review your symptoms with you, perform imaging studies (like head scans, MRIs, and X-rays), and recommend future medical care if you need it.

While you focus on treating your injuries, the experienced Riverside slip and fall attorneys at Bentley & More LLP can begin handling the legal aspects of your personal injury claim. Specifically, we can start to gather your medical records, medical bills, investigation documents, photographs, and other potential evidence to use when proving your case. Once you have finished your medical treatment, we can file a claim with the property owner’s insurance company on your behalf and start negotiating a fair settlement.

Slip and Fall Monetary Damages

Slip and fall accident victims who sustain permanent injuries are often left with mounting medical bills and other out-of-pocket expenses. Fortunately, accident victims who can prove the legal elements of their claim are eligible for various monetary damages.

Those damages may include compensation for:

• Lost income
• Loss of earning capacity
• Related past and future medical expenses
• Long-term care costs
• Past and future pain and suffering
• Inconvenience
• Mental distress
• Loss of life enjoyment
• Loss of spousal companionship
• Loss of the ability to use a body part

Our legal team can help you maximize these damages and obtain a fair settlement offer or litigation result.

Call a Slip and Fall Accident Attorney in Riverside Today

Greg Bentley &  Keith More, Slip and Fall Lawyers

The law does not give you unlimited time to file a legal claim. Slip and fall accidents are a type of personal injury case, so the California personal injury statute of limitations applies.

Under this statute, accident victims have two years from their accident date to file a lawsuit seeking monetary damages. The statutory deadline is stringent and applies in almost all circumstances. Therefore, if you do not file a timely lawsuit for your slip and fall injuries, you will not be eligible to pursue or recover any monetary compensation for your accident-related losses. Reach out to a Riverside personal injury lawyer.

At Bentley & More LLP, our experienced legal team can take the actions necessary to safeguard your right to monetary recovery. We will file your claim or lawsuit in a timely manner, negotiate on your behalf, and represent you at all court proceedings if your matter must go to trial. Our legal team has the knowledge and experience necessary to maximize your compensation and ensure you become whole again after your slip and fall accident.

Sometimes people think their case is straightforward and they don’t need a lawyer. Remember this, insurance companies are often large and have vast resources. Those companies employ teams of adjusters and lawyers whose interests do not align with yours. It’s in your best interest to employ the help of an experienced attorney who knows how to deal with an insurance company.

For a free case evaluation and legal consultation with a Riverside slip and fall accident lawyer, please call us at (949) 870-3800 or contact us online.

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Bentley & More LLP – Riverside Office

Phone: (949) 870-3800