Duluth Slip and Fall Lawyers
The last thing anyone wants to do is to slip and fall. You might suffer from a few bruises and cuts, but you fear that you will fall onto something or in such a way that you sustain extensive damage.
You could slip or trip and fall in a store, on a sidewalk, in a friend’s home or anywhere. When you do, and another person’s negligence caused the slip or trip and fall, you may be able to recover damages. Contact the Duluth slip and fall attorneys at Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers today to discuss your legal options.
Table of Contents
- Duluth Slip and Fall Lawyers
- Common Duluth Slip or Trip and Fall Causes
- Rights of Duluth Slip or Trip and Fall Victims
- Premises Liability and Trespassing
- Fall Facts
- Fall Injuries
- The Value of A Duluth Slip or Trip and Fall Case
- Settling A Duluth Trip or Slip and Fall Case
- Duluth Slip and Fall FAQs
- Call Our Duluth Slip And Fall Attorney And We'll Take Care Of The Rest
Common Duluth Slip or Trip and Fall Causes
You could slip or trip and fall anywhere, even in your own home.
You can slip or trip and fall for many reasons, including:
- Slippery floors caused by spills, mud, sleet, snow, or because the floors are naturally slippery, such as some types of tile or glass floors.
- Stairs with broken or cracked steps or broken handrails.
- Clutter on the floor, whether in a private home or a retail establishment.
- Uneven surfaces, such as lifted and cracked sidewalks, uneven pavers or bricks, a carpet with a lump in it, or that has a lifted edge.
- Potholes in roads or walkways.
- Areas with poor lighting.
- Ladders and scaffolding in unexpected places.
- Weeds that are growing through poorly maintained sidewalks.
Rights of Duluth Slip or Trip and Fall Victims

If you tripped or slipped and fell on someone else’s property, you could have the right to recover compensation for your injuries and other damages if the property owner was negligent. For example, if you slip on an icy sidewalk while it is snowing, you most likely cannot recover damages. However, if the property owner does not clean the sidewalk within a reasonable amount of time after a snowstorm, the court could find that the property owner was negligent and award you damages.
Premises liability accidents such as slip or trip and fall accidents are often complicated cases. A Duluth slip and fall attorney can help you determine whether you have a case. Contact Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers today.
Premises Liability and Trespassing
While you could recover compensation for a property owner’s negligence if you have a right to be on the property—you were invited, or the property is a retail establishment, and you slipped and fell during normal working hours—you might have a hard time recovering damages if you were trespassing.
A trespasser enters a property uninvited and/or without permission. Thus, the property owner needn’t keep the property free of dangerous conditions or warn a trespasser of dangerous conditions (although the property owner cannot intentionally or willfully injure a trespasser). Different rules apply if the trespasser is a child.
Fall Facts
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), one out of five falls causes serious injuries, including traumatic brain injuries or broken bones. Hospitals admit over 800,000 people per year because of slip or trip and fall accidents. Of those, 300,000 are older people that suffer hip fractures. The CDC also states that falls are the number one cause of traumatic brain injuries.
If you suffer injuries from a fall, contact Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers today to discuss your legal options.
Fall Injuries
If you slip or trip and fall, you might be lucky enough to sustain minor injuries, such as a couple of cuts or bruises, but in many cases, people sustain severe or even catastrophic injuries.
Some of the injuries you might sustain include:
- Bumps, bruises, scratches, and cuts.
- Road rash and scrapes.
- Simple and/or compound fractures.
- Face and eye injuries.
- Head, neck, and shoulder injuries.
- Traumatic brain injuries.
- Back and spinal cord injuries.
- Internal injuries.
- Strain, sprains, pulled muscles, torn muscles, and other soft tissue injuries.
In addition to the initial injuries, you could also suffer from secondary injuries, such as infections from open wounds. The open wounds could happen during the initial incident but could also be because of surgery to repair accident injuries.
Fall injuries, including secondary injuries, could exacerbate existing conditions and injuries. The negligent party may also share in the responsibility for exacerbating those conditions and injuries since you would not have had that extra pain and suffering if not for the defendant’s negligence.
Additionally, your initial and secondary injuries could lead to the amputation of a digit or limb or could lead to excessive scarring and/or disfigurement that could prevent you from gainful employment.
The Value of A Duluth Slip or Trip and Fall Case

The amount of damages you might recover after a trip or slip and fall accident depends on the severity of your injuries. You could recover economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Special damages, often referred to as economic damages, have a monetary value. The court orders the defendant to pay these in an attempt to make you whole again.
Economic damages can include:
- Medical Expenses. You could recover the costs for medical expenses you incurred because of the incident, including future medical expenses—those you incur after a settlement or a trial award. Medical expenses include the initial expenses to treat slip and fall injuries, follow-up appointments, additional surgeries, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and cognitive and other psychological therapies.
- Lost Wages. If your injuries prevent you from working, you could collect lost wages until a settlement or a trial award. You could also collect future lost wages if you are not able to work at all or you cannot make the same salary or hourly rate after a settlement or a trial award. If you lost a loved one because of a trip or slip and fall incident, you could also collect compensation to make up for the lost income because of the loss of your loved one.
- Damaged Personal Property. If the incident destroys or damages any personal property, including phones, clothing, computers, or other items on your person, the defendant may have to pay to replace or repair it.
- End-of-Life Expenses. If you lost a loved one because of a trip or slip and fall incident, you could recover funeral, burial, cremation expenses, and other expenses related to the death of your loved one. You might have probate court expenses and other administrative expenses in addition to funeral expenses.
Non-Economic Damages
General damages, often referred to as non-economic damages, do not have a monetary value since you cannot put a price on pain and suffering on these types of losses and damages. Non-economic damages may include:
Pain and Suffering. If your injuries cause long-term or permanent disabilities, you could recover compensation for the pain and suffering you experience, including emotional distress. Some injuries require physical and/or occupational therapy, which shows that you are most likely in pain.
Additionally, some people suffer from depression and anxiety because their injuries and/or long-term or permanent disabilities prevent them from working. They might also become afraid of repeating the incident and become withdrawn. Accidents often cause post-traumatic stress disorder, though that is more common in traumatic vehicle accidents. Often cognitive and other psychological therapy helps with feelings of helplessness, anxiety, and depression. The defendant may bear the responsibility of emotional therapies, since you would not have these issues if not for the defendant’s negligence.
Loss of Quality of Life. Some injuries cause long-term or permanent disabilities that might require you to take medications or use ambulatory aids for the rest of your life. Others cause amputation, a permanent limp, or other issues that decrease the quality of your life.
Loss of Companionship and/or Consortium. Sometimes accident injuries cause disabilities that prevent you from enjoying time with your family. If you cannot take part in family activities and events, including something as minor as sitting at the dining room table for dinner with your family, you could recover compensation for loss of companionship.
Additionally, if you can no longer have a physical relationship with your spouse, you could recover compensation for loss of consortium.
Loss of Use. Some trip and slip or fall accidents could cause you to lose the use of a body part, such as a hand or foot. And some could cause the loss of use of bodily functions, such as your eyesight or bladder function. These injuries could be direct or indirect. You might damage the body part or function in the incident, and doctors might not have the ability to repair the damaged body part or function.
In other cases, an injury could cause the loss of use. For example, a traumatic brain injury could cause you to lose the use of a leg or your bladder. You could receive compensation for these types of injuries, especially if doctors believe they are long-term or permanent.
Disfigurement and Excessive Scarring. If you fall on a rough surface, you could sustain road rash that might scar. Burns can also cause disfigurement and excessive scarring, especially if doctors remove the skin from another part of your body for a graft. If the excessive scarring or disfigurement is visible or it impedes your ability to work, you could receive extra compensation for these injuries.
Inconvenience. Some people do their own shopping, house cleaning, home repair and maintenance, lawn maintenance, and other chores. Some disabilities you might sustain in a trip or slip and fall incident could prevent you from doing these chores, which means that you have to hire someone to do them for you.
Should you have to hire someone to do the chores you usually do, you could recover compensation to reimburse you for the money you now have to pay someone to do these things for you.
Settling A Duluth Trip or Slip and Fall Case
Always retain an attorney when you
seek compensation because:
- Insurance companies are for-profit businesses, which means that they may be mostly concerned with their bottom lines. Every claim they pay out means less money in their executives’ pockets.
- Insurance companies may protect their interests over yours, even if you are trying to recover damages from your own insurance company. It does not make a difference that you were loyal for many years or that you paid your premiums on time.
- Most insurance representatives will use several tricks in an attempt to deny your claim or offer you a pittance. One of the most well-known tricks is to twist your words to use what you say against you; thus, laying the blame for the accident or incident at your feet. This gives the insurance company a reason to deny your claim or make an offer that might not even cover your medical expenses.
- The attorneys for the insurance companies know that the average person does not know personal injury laws and insurance regulations. They can use this against you by convincing you that the compensation they offer is the highest amount they can “legally” pay.
- Most people who use an attorney recover up to three times more compensation than those who do not retain an attorney.
Additionally, the insurance company also knows that you are more likely to abandon settlement negotiations sooner and go to litigation if you have an attorney. Insurance companies do not like to go to court because of the increased risk of paying a significant amount more than a fair and reasonable amount you might have settled for.
But I Cannot Afford a Duluth Slip and Fall Attorney
Our initial case evaluation is free. We also work on a contingency basis, which means that you do not pay attorneys’ fees unless we win your case. Even if we have to go to trial and lose, you would not be on the hook for attorneys’ fees.
When you come in for your initial case evaluation, we will go over the potential expenses for a trip or slip and fall case. We do not hide any expenses and will let you know the cost of depositions, expert witnesses, investigators, filing fees, and anything else.
Duluth Slip and Fall FAQs
Q: Why should I hire a Duluth Slip and Fall Lawyer?
A: When you hire a Duluth slip and fall lawyer, you immediately boost the chances of a favorable outcome in your case. From the moment you hire us, you know an experienced legal professional is handling your case.
Here are some other top reasons to hire a Duluth personal injury lawyer:
- Prepare a compelling case: An experienced lawyer can collect and organize evidence to support your claim and maximize your settlement.
- Keep track of key deadlines: Meeting critical deadlines will keep your case on schedule to secure a fruitful outcome.
- Handle intimidation tactics: A lawyer is skilled in handling employers, property owners, and insurance companies who resort to unethical tactics to pressure injured people.
- Negotiate on your behalf: A skilled lawyer can quickly negotiate the settlement you deserve with minimal stress or hassle.
- Receive legal support throughout your case: You can count on your lawyer to support you from start to finish as your case moves forward.
The best way to learn about the benefits of hiring a slip and fall lawyer is to schedule a complimentary consultation with an award-winning personal injury law firm in Duluth.
Q: What are the most common causes of slip and fall accidents?
A: Two of the most common causes of slip and fall accidents in Duluth are wet floors and trip hazards. However, many other variables contribute to slips and falls.
Most slip and fall accidents occur due to one or more of the following conditions:
- Excess Cleaning Residue: The cleaning process may make floors more slippery, primarily from using the wrong tools or cleaning solutions.
- Loose Throw Rugs: While they might be easy on the eyes, loose throw rugs can cause people to slip. Non-skid rugs are a safer alternative.
- Cluttered or Dirty Walkways: Slipping is more likely to occur in hallways, aisles, and stairwells littered with dust and debris.
- Spills and Puddles: Duluth’s snowy and icy weather can cause moisture to accumulate on floors as people enter and exit buildings.
- Dim Lighting: Poor lighting prevents people from seeing moisture on floors or wet floor signage that might be in place.
- Uneven Flooring: Floorboards become loose and warped over time, eventually leading to an uneven surface that can be a trip hazard.
- Missing Hand Rails: When supportive hand railings are not present, people are more likely to slip and fall - especially on slick stairs.
Q: What types of injuries are linked to slip and fall accidents?
A: Slip and fall accidents can cause injury to bones, internal organs, nerves, and soft tissue. Falls can lead to partial or complete paralysis and even death in rare cases.
Some of the most common types of injuries include the following:
- Wrist Sprains: When people extend their arms to cushion their bodies during a fall, the impact may cause sprains or fractures to the wrists.
- Broken Bones: Falls often result in fractured and broken bones in the legs and arms. Falls can also lead to broken collarbones and hips.
- Concussions: Head injuries such as concussions are among the most severe injuries a fall can cause. Other brain injuries may also occur.
- Back Injuries: A fall can cause vertebrae in the back and neck to fracture. Slipped or bulging discs may also develop due to a fall.
Q: How do I know if I have a strong case?
A: One of our experienced personal injury lawyers can listen to your story to see whether you have a strong case. While you may feel that you deserve compensation, it is difficult to determine if you have a solid claim without extensive legal analysis. A lawyer has the skills needed to evaluate your claim and determine if you have sufficient evidence to prove that another party’s negligence caused your injuries.
Q: Can I get workers’ comp benefits if I slip and fall at work?
A: Yes. If you slip and fall at your place of employment, you may file a workers’ compensation claim. Report your injuries to your employer as quickly as possible. While Minnesota Statutes may allow up to 180 days to report a Workers’ Compensation claim, report your injury to your employer immediately, then call us for help filing the claim.
If you are among the many Duluth residents who travel to other sites to perform job-related duties, you might also be able to file a third-party claim.
For instance, if you are subcontracted as a painter on a construction site and slip on a wet floor upon arriving at the job site, you might sue the owner of the job site if the property owner’s negligence caused your injuries. An experienced slip and fall lawyer can guide you on this type of scenario to ensure you recover compensation from all parties responsible for your injuries.
Q: Do I need an attorney to handle my slip and fall case?
A: Yes. Your chances of receiving the compensation you deserve are much higher if you hire a lawyer. Unless you are an experienced Duluth lawyer, it is easy to be overwhelmed by Minnesota’s complex slip and fall laws.
Here are some other reasons why it makes sense to hire our slip and fall lawyers to handle your case:
- A legal case is too expensive for many people. When Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers handle your case, we cover many costs you may not foresee.
- You are likely to encounter obstacles gathering evidence on your own. Doctors, witnesses, and police officers are more responsive to lawyers.
- Your lack of legal experience is likely to hurt you. Even if you have a great case, you will likely not match up to skilled opposing lawyers.
In addition to these factors, you need to consider your time and health. Building a compelling case requires time, effort, and energy. If you are incapacitated or busy with rehab, you may lack the physical fitness to build a solid case. When you hire Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, they will conduct the research and legal legwork. This assistance allows you to focus on your recovery and daily responsibilities.
Q: What is a legal consultation, and how can I prepare for one?
A: A legal consultation is an initial meeting with a lawyer who could potentially handle your slip and fall case. Some law firms offer complimentary consultations, while others may charge a modest fee. You can expect an initial legal consultation to last 30 to 60 minutes, though some consultations may be longer or shorter in length.
There are two key reasons to participate in a legal consultation:
- To determine whether you feel comfortable hiring a law firm to handle your slip and fall claim; and
- To determine whether you may be eligible to receive compensation for the injuries sustained during your slip and fall accident.
To prepare for a legal consultation, you should organize the details surrounding your fall and make a list of any questions you have. First, list your most important questions in case you run short on time during your consultation. This strategy will allow you to maximize your time with a prospective lawyer.
While each consultation is different, here is what you can expect during your meeting:
- You share your story: The firm may ask you to provide a summary of the events and conditions surrounding your slip and fall accident.
- The lawyer reviews your case: Based upon the details you share about your fall, the lawyer will determine if you have a solid legal claim.
- Review payment terms: If the lawyer handles cases on a contingency fee basis, you will not have to worry about paying up-front costs.
- Sign an agreement: If the lawyer determines you have a solid claim and you feel comfortable hiring them, you then sign an agreement.
Q: When is the optimal time to call a slip and fall lawyer in Duluth?
A: Reach out to a lawyer as soon as possible following your accident while the circumstances and factors contributing to your fall are fresh in your mind. When you wait longer to contact a lawyer, it will be harder to reconstruct the conditions of your fall. In general, seek treatment for your injuries then call a slip and fall lawyer.
Q: How much does it cost to hire a Duluth slip and fall lawyer?
A: You do not have to pay any up-front costs when you hire a slip and fall attorney from Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers. In contrast to other law offices, we will take your slip and fall case on a contingency basis. This payment structure means you won’t have to pay an advance payment or retainer fee. Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers will cover the cost of any expenses during your case and will receive a percentage of your settlement once we resolve your case.
Here are the benefits of working with our lawyers on a contingency fee basis:
- You don’t have to make any advance payments. This delayed payment can be a huge relief, especially if you cannot work due to your injuries.
- Your odds of receiving compensation are high. Lawyers working on a contingency fee basis often won’t take cases that look weak.
- If you lose your case, you will not owe any money. Your lawyer assumes the financial risk upfront.
Q: How do I hire a Duluth Slip and Fall Lawyer?
A: At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we make it easy for you to get the legal support you deserve. In just three simple steps, you can rest easy knowing one of our experienced slip and fall attorneys is fighting for your rights.
Here are the steps to follow:
- Step one: Contact us for your complimentary consultation. You can reach us by telephone or use our secure online chat.
- Step two: Tell us your story. We will review the details of your slip and fall accident to determine whether you are entitled to compensation.
- Step three: Review and sign an agreement. If we determine you have a valid case, we will prepare an agreement to sign and immediately start working on your claim.
Our Duluth office is conveniently located at 306 West Superior Street in Suite 606, and you can come here to speak with us. We can also visit you at home if you have a medical condition that prevents you from traveling to our location. To explore these options, simply call us.
Connecting with our legal team is a crucial step to receiving the compensation you deserve. We look forward to serving as your slip and fall lawyer in Duluth.
Call Our Duluth Slip And Fall Attorney And We'll Take Care Of The Rest

You have enough on your plate as you attempt to put your life back together after an injury. The last thing you need to do is spend your time and energy fighting with the insurance companies.
We can level the playing field and make things right for you. Call 218-217-0698 or contact us via email to schedule your free consultation. You will owe no attorney fees until we recover compensation for you.
Duluth Office
306 West Superior Street, Suite 606Duluth, MN 55802
Phone: 218-217-0698