Wisconsin Slip And Fall Lawyer

In Wisconsin, the summers are generally hot and wet, while the winters are snowy and windy. While this weather pattern is one that residents here are well familiar with and prepared for, the moisture from a Wisconsin storm can find its way onto hard surface floors, creating a risk of a slip-and-fall accident.

Slips and falls are the most common type of accident involved in a premises liability claim. The term premises liability refers to the legal responsibility of commercial, residential, or public property owners or managers to ensure that their property is free of hazards that can cause injuries to guests.

If a slip and fall accident injured you, you can seek compensation for the financial and emotional costs of your injury by filing a premises liability claim against a relevant property liability insurance policy filed against the property owner or manager.

A Wisconsin slip and fall attorney from Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers can explain this process and tell you about the services our legal team can provide to assist you with your claim.

Why Choose Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers to Help You With Your Slip and Fall Claim?

The award-winning legal team at Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers has decades of experience assisting those injured as they attempt to navigate the personal injury claims process. We are committed to taking the time needed to help our clients every step of the way as they seek to recover the compensation they need. We have developed a reputation for excellence, with thousands of satisfied clients and hundreds of five-star reviews.

Because the team at Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers understands the importance of our clients having local representation that is just a short drive away, we are pleased to have offices in ten communities throughout the state, including:

• Hudson
• Eau Claire
• La Crosse
• Wausau
• Superior
• Rice Lake
• New Richmond
• River Falls
• Green Bay
• Milwaukee

We look forward to meeting you and evaluating your case for free at the nearest Wisconsin location.

We Can Tell You How Much Your Slip and Fall Claim Is Worth

According to the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI), more than one million people in the U.S. seek emergency medical treatment after incurring an injury in a slip and fall accident each year.

The types of injuries that result from this type of accident can include:

• Minor scrapes and bruises.
• Soft tissue damage.
• Broken bones.
• Even catastrophic injuries to the brain or spinal cord.

Just as slip and fall accident injuries can vary widely, the amount of compensation available for a slip and fall claim also varies according to.

• The amount of the property owner or manager’s insurance. Insurance pays nearly all slip and fall claims. These claims may tap into homeowners policies, property owner policies, or even business policies. These policies come with limits, which is the maximum compensation the insurer will pay.

• The severity of your injury. More severe injuries generally result in more expenses for medical treatment, more lost time from work while recovering, and even more psychological impacts such as pain and suffering or emotional distress.
• The presence of permanent injuries. Some injuries never completely heal and can result in chronic pain, the need for continued medical treatment throughout the sufferer’s life, and even disabilities that will permanently impair the sufferer’s ability to earn an income.
• Your patience during settlement negotiations. If you have the documentation and evidence to prove that your injury was caused by the property owner or manager’s negligent use or maintenance of the property, it will not be difficult to obtain a settlement offer from the at-fault party’s insurance provider. However, whether that settlement provides enough money to compensate you for your expenses fully and impacts is often a different story. Claimants who are patient with the process and allow their attorney to negotiate on their behalf may receive a much larger settlement than those eager to accept the first offer.

How Slip and Fall Accidents Occur in Wisconsin

As mentioned, Wisconsin’s wet weather is a common cause of slippery floors in homes and businesses that can lead to a slip-and-fall accident. According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the state sees 35 to 40 winter weather events each year, and snow, ice, or liquid on hard floors, sidewalks, and walkways is one of the most common causes of slip and fall accidents.

Freezing and melting water in surface cracks on asphalt parking lots lead to potholes, which can also cause slip-and-fall accidents.

Other common causes of this type of accident include:

• Improperly designed or damaged staircases or poor lighting in stairwells.

• Store displays that protrude into walkways.
• Food, beverages, or debris cluttering the floor.
• Electrical cords extended across store aisles.

The Types of Injuries a Slip and Fall Can Cause

Slip and fall accidents are often considered minor events or even frivolous claims. However, it is important to understand that falls- one half of a slip and fall accident- are one of the leading causes of accidental death and among the most common causes of traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries.

Some of the other injuries in a slip and fall accident can cause include:

• Broken bones. Broken hips are a major concern for the elderly and can result from a slip and fall. Broken bones in the arms and wrists are also common with this type of accident because the sufferer outstretches their arms as an instinctive reaction to falling.
• Soft tissue injuries, including damage to the ligaments in the knee as a result of the sufferer twisting as they fall
• Deep bruises and lacerations. Often, when a slip and fall accident occurs, the victim doesn’t merely fall cleanly to the floor but becomes tangled with other objects in the area, including store displays, furniture, or other obstacles that can cause additional injuries.

A serious injury from a slip and fall accident can accept every facet of the sufferer’s life, subjecting them to the high cost of medical treatment, depriving them of the ability to work or to enjoy hobbies and activities outdoors, and can even cause changes to their personality or the relationships they have with family and friends.

We Fight the Insurance Company for the Compensation You Need

The claims process seems so simple from the outside. You slipped and fell due to a property owner or manager’s failure to keep their property safe, you filed a claim against a relevant insurance policy, and the insurance provider promptly paid the claim, right?

While the process should work that way, insurance companies want to avoid covering their insured’s liability. They want to sell policies and keep the premiums. Because paying out on claims is not their mission and making money is, they will assign a claims adjuster to the case to evaluate the claim and determine the lowest payout the claimant will settle for.

An experienced Wisconsin slip-and-fall attorney deeply understands the tactics that insurance companies often use to devalue claims and can use their knowledge of the law to counter those tactics. If the insurance company refuses to offer a settlement that fairly compensates you for the impacts and expenses of your injury, your attorney can file your claim as a legal complaint (lawsuit) in civil court in order for a judge or jury to hear the case and make decisions about liability and compensation.

To assist you throughout your claim, we:

• Provide a free case evaluation in which we listen to the details of your case and help you understand your legal options. We also can share more information about our firm and our experience with cases like yours and tell you how we would approach your case.
• Charge a contingent fee billing method so you only have to pay for our services if and when we win your case. After your free case evaluation, if you decide you want our assistance, we will enter into a contingent fee agreement with you. This legally-binding agreement will outline the services we can provide and designate a portion of the compensation received for your claim as payment for your legal team’s services.
• Determine the liable property owner or manager in your case and the insurance policies that can provide compensation for your claim.
• Determine how much your claim is worth is based on the factors described above.
• Receive settlement offers from the at-fault property owner or manager’s insurance claims adjuster and negotiate with the adjuster to get them to increase their offer.
• Ensure that you can obtain the medical treatment, you need the best opportunity for a full physical recovery.
• Explain how your claim was valued and how high the settlement offer must be to meet your needs.
• File a lawsuit if the insurer fails to compensate your claim. You must file your premises liability lawsuit in court within Wisconsin’s statute of limitations. Failing to file the claim by then will end your chance to recover compensation.
• Present your case in court.
• Receive and disburse your compensation.

What to Do After a Slip and Fall Accident

If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall accident, there are several things you should do to protect your health and the value of your premises liability claim. One of the most important actions is following your doctor’s treatment plan and attending all scheduled injury-related appointments. This not only helps you in your physical recovery but also helps create a paper trail of documentation needed to justify your claim’s value.

In addition to complying with your medical treatment, you can track your medical appointments, your level of pain from day to day, and any other negative impacts on your quality of life in a journal. You can also seek information from your employer if your injury caused you to miss work, such as your average weekly income and the number of days you missed.

Most importantly, relax and focus on your physical recovery, with the peace of mind that your legal team from Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers will take care of your claim.

Injured from a Wisconsin Slip and Fall? Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers Can Help You

Slip and fall accidents are often far more severe than most people believe them, and obtaining compensation for the expenses and impacts of your injury is difficult for those who attempt to navigate it on their own. An experienced Wisconsin slip and fall attorney can help you understand whether you can file a premises liability claim. Our team is ready to fight alongside you every step of the way. Reach out to a Wisconsin personal injury lawyer.

For your free case evaluation, call the Wisconsin Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers office closest to you:

• Hudson (main office): (715) 377-2141
• Eau Claire: (715) 835-5959
• La Crosse: (608) 315-5639
• Wausau: (715) 716-5092
• Superior: (715) 718-2969
• Rice Lake: (715) 790-1114
• New Richmond: (715) 220-4810
• River Falls: (715) 716-5869
• Green Bay: (920) 504-3655
• Milwaukee: (414) 260-2220

You can also reach us by filling out our online contact form.