Slip and Fall Lawyer in St. Louis, MO
St. Louis and Southern Illinois Personal Injury Lawyers
Call 877-51-HKLAW for a Consultation and Case Review.
Slip and Fall Lawyer St. Louis, MO. If you were injured in a slip and fall accident because a property owner did not keep their property reasonably safe, you need an experienced and knowledgeable St. Louis slip and fall lawyer like those at Halvorsen Klote. We have recovered millions of dollars in damages for our St. Louis clients. Businesses have an obligation to make sure their property is safe for patrons and customers, and when they fail in that duty they are responsible for paying you financial compensation. If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident, call your Illinois and Missouri slip and fall lawyer at 866-382-4167 or contact us online today.
Falls are the leading cause of emergency room visits in the United States, and slip and fall accidents account for about 1 million, or 12 percent of those visits. While it can be hard to know who exactly is liable for your slip and fall and how to go about receiving compensation, the slip and fall lawyers at Halvorsen Klote will help you navigate the complex legal process and secure the compensation you are entitled to. We charge no upfront fees, and if we cannot get you the recovery you need in a settlement, we will take your case to court.
Common Types of Slip and Fall Injuries in St. Louis
There are a wide array of injuries that your St. Louis slip and fall lawyer will help you receive compensation for. How much compensation you receive will depend on the severity of your injury and how much of an impact it has on your life. Common injuries you can sustain in a slip and fall accident are:
- Broken bones, most commonly:
- Hip
- Wrist
- Ankle
- Skull
- Soft tissue injuries, such as:
- Sprains
- Ligament or tendon tears
- Muscle strains
- Head injuries, including traumatic brain injuries
- Whiplash
- Shoulder dislocations
- Knee injuries, especially if you twist as you fall
- Cuts and abrasions
- Back, neck and spine injuries, including:
- Herniated, slipped, fragmented or bulging discs
- Spinal cord injuries
Some injuries are more serious than others, and how severe they are will impact your compensation. A spinal cord injury or traumatic brain injury may leave you in a wheelchair for the rest of your life, while a sprained wrist may require a quick trip to a St. Louis emergency room and a week off work. Whatever the scope of the impact your injury had on your life, your St. Louis slip and fall lawyer at Halvorsen Klote will ensure that you receive a full recovery. You deserve to be compensated for all of your damages including medical expenses past and future, any lost wages or future earning potential and any pain and suffering or mental anguish you experienced as a result of your slip and fall.
How a St. Louis Slip and Fall Lawyer Can Help
No one expects to suddenly become injured, and most people have never had to deal with making an injury claim before. An experienced St. Louis personal injury lawyer like those at Halvorsen Klote will be able to step in and provide dedicated representation to get you the maximum compensation you deserve. When you hire us, we will:
- Perform a full investigation into your claim, including obtaining security footage, locating eyewitnesses and developing a legal strategy to prove negligence
- Listen to what you have to say, so we can convey to the insurance company the full extent of your damages
- Handle all documentation and communication with the liable party and insurance company, so you can focus on healing
- Fight back when the liable party and insurance company try to say your injuries aren't their fault, or otherwise try to devalue your claim
- Keep you updated and involved at all times, and provide you with sound legal counsel while leaving the ultimate decisions about your claim to you
- Negotiate on your behalf for the best possible settlement
- Take your claim to trial if we cannot secure fair compensation in a settlement
Whether your injuries were minor and you just want the liable party to be fair, or you suffered permanent disability and need financial security, call Halvorsen Klote today at 877-51-HKLAW to find out more about what we can do for your claim.
Who Is Liable for My Slip and Fall Injuries in St. Louis?
In both Missouri and Illinois, the relevant law is called "Premises Liability." In Illinois, 740 Illinois Compiled Statute 130 states that property owners or managers owe a "duty" of "reasonable care... regarding the state of the premises." In Missouri, Revised Statute 537.348 states that landowners are liable for slip and fall injuries when there is a "negligent failure to guard or warn against a dangerous condition" that the owner "knew or should have known to be dangerous." In short, in both states, if you sustain a slip and fall injury because of loose wiring, black ice, a bulging area of the floor, or any other dangerous condition that the property owner failed to either repair or warn of, you can file a claim for negligence and premises liability. Conclusively demonstrating negligence is a difficult task, and requires the skill of a talented Missouri or Illinois slip and fall lawyer.
Comparative Negligence
Both Missouri and Illinois have what's called a "comparative negligence" law, meaning that a plaintiff can be found partially responsible for their personal injury. In any settlement or trial, a defendant will try to blame you for as much of the fault as possible. If they're successful, the full amount of compensation you receive will be substantially lowered. For example, if a jury finds that you should be compensated $50,000 for all of your damages, but that you were 20% responsible for the accident, the amount of compensation you receive will be $40,000. That's why it is important to have a skilled Missouri or Illinois slip and fall lawyer in your corner to help minimize the amount of fault placed on you for the accident. To place as much of the blame for your slip and fall injury on you, defendants will commonly try to say that:
- The dangerous condition on the property should have been obvious to you
- You were not paying sufficient attention to your surroundings, for example you were looking at your phone
- You were on a part of the property where visitors or patrons are not allowed
- Reasonable steps were taken to protect visitors, for example a "wet floor" sign by a puddle
- You were wearing inappropriate or dangerous footwear
St. Louis Insurance companies have a lot of experience trying to pin the blame for slip and fall accidents on the plaintiffs. But an expert Halvorsen Klote St. Louis slip and fall lawyer will help secure the full compensation that you deserve.
If your slip and fall accident happened at work, you may be entitled to a workers' compensation claim. Slip and falls are the leading cause of workers' compensation claims. Your Halvorsen Klote slip and fall lawyer will help you maximize your recovery for your workplace accident through your workers’ compensation claim and possible third-party negligence claims.
What Causes Slip and Fall Accidents in St. Louis?
There are many different property conditions that can contribute to a slip and fall accident. You may be able to file a slip and fall claim if you were injured because of:
- Icy or snowy sidewalks, parking lots or storefronts
- Wet surfaces, for example if something was spilled, recently mopped or cleaned with a slippery product
- Broken parts of a building, for example broken handrails, loose floorboards or holes in the floor
- Poorly constructed buildings, for example uneven or excessively steep flooring
- Stray or loose cords or wiring
Halvorsen Klote has over a decade of experience investigating claims and proving how a property owner or manager caused your injuries. If you were injured because of an unsafe property condition, don't hesitate to call us at 866-382-4167.
How Much Is My Slip and Fall Claim Worth in St. Louis?
The value of your claim depends on a variety of factors, including the financial losses you suffered because of your injuries, the effect the injuries had on your life and whether you were partially at fault for your injuries. The compensation you receive for any injury claim typically falls into two categories: economic damages and non-economic damages:
Economic Damages
Economic damages compensate you for the monetary damages you have suffered because of your slip and fall. They include:
- Medical expenses — You are owed compensation for all of your medical expenses related to your slip and fall accident, including:
- Emergency room visits or urgent care
- Doctors' appointments
- Tests
- Surgeries
- Medications
- Physical therapy or chiropractic appointments
- Assistive devices such as crutches or a wheelchair
- Lost wages or lost earning capacity — If you had to miss time off work while you were recovering from your injuries, you deserve to have that money repaid to you, even if you had paid time off or sick leave available. If your injuries result in permanent disability that doesn't allow you to earn a living as you used to, you are entitled to a recovery for the money you would have earned had you not been injured.
- Out-of-pocket expenses — You also need to be compensated for any money you spent because of your injuries. That can include parking and gas costs when going to doctors' appointments, having to hire help for household chores or having to send your kids to a daycare if you were unable to care for them while recovering.
It's important to keep detailed records and receipts of all of your receipts and bills, so we can demand a full recovery for all of your economic damages.
Non-Economic Damages
These refer to the ways your life has been affected that are harder to put a monetary value on. Typically, slip and fall lawyers look for compensation for:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Inconvenience
- Physical impairment
- Disability
- Disfigurement
- Loss of ability to enjoy life
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of society
If you're used to tearing up your local softball league, and now have to miss the season, you deserve to be compensated for that. Typically, non-economic damages are calculated by multiplying your economic damages by a number between 1.5 and 5. The more your injuries affected you, the higher the number. So if your economic damages are $20,000, and your lawyer decides on a multiplier of three, your total compensation would be $60,000.
To prove non-economic damages, you can keep a journal of how your injuries affect your daily life, and we can take deposition of family and friends who know about your life before and after the slip and fall.
Contact Your St. Louis Slip and Fall Lawyer Today | Halvorsen Klote
Any injury can bring about anything from mild inconvenience to lifelong complications. When you are injured because of somebody else's negligence, it leads to confusion and anger, especially when the negligent party does not want to pay you the compensation you deserve. A Halvorsen Klote St. Louis slip and fall lawyer understands how insurance companies try to get out of paying you fair compensation, and we know how to win over a St. Louis judge and jury if we ever have to take your case to trial. If you've been injured in a slip and fall accident, do not hesitate to reach out to us today by calling 866-382-4167 or contacting us online.
Joel Halvorsen
Attorney at Law
Joel Halvorsen and his partner Greg Klote founded the Halvorsen Klote law firm on the principle that injured people and their families should have access to the same quality legal representation as large insurance companies.
Greg Klote
Attorney at Law
Greg Klote is a partner and founder of Halvorsen Klote.
Greg has successfully fought for people who were injured through no fault of their own. He became a lawyer to help make a difference in the lives of those who have been wronged and treated unfairly.
