Who Is Liable for Your Injury?

You've slipped and injured yourself while at a local retail store in your neighborhood. You now have hospital bills, costs for pain medication, and bills for ongoing physical therapy--not to mention that you have had to take time off work to recover from your injury. If you find yourself in this situation, you may be wondering who is liable for these costs. Do you have to just pay them on your own and let it go? Or could the store you were injured at be held responsible? There are many factors that go into answering this question, and it is strongly advised that you speak with an attorney who specializes in personal injury in Austin, TX. However, this article may help to give you a basic idea of whether or not you could hold the business liable for the injury.

Was the Property Unsafe?

Think about the situation and circumstances that led to your injury. Was your fall caused by unsafe circumstances in the store? Was there a broken step that you tripped on, a slippery floor, or an uneven walking surface that caused you to stumble? If so, then the store may be liable for your injury.

Business owners have a responsibility to keep their property safe for patrons to visit. This includes repairing any damaged parts of the building, quickly cleaning up spills, and maintaining the exterior walkways in bad weather. If the business has failed to properly maintain their property, leading to an unsafe environment for you as their patron, then they should be held liable for their negligent behavior.

You should make sure to write down the circumstances that led to your injury and, if possible, take pictures of the damaged or unsafe area where the injury occurred. This could help you in your personal injury case.

Was a Warning Posted?

Once you know that the property was unsafe, the next step is to try to recall whether or not any kind of warning was posted about the unsafe area. Was there a "Wet Floor" sign posted? Was there caution tape that blocked off the uneven walking surface? If it was clearly posted that the area was unsafe, and you chose to ignore the cautionary signs, then the company may not be liable for your injury. This is especially true if you bypassed things like caution tape and stepped into a dangerous area knowing that it was unsafe.

However, simply having a sign posted may not entirely protect the company from liability. In some circumstances, they can still be held responsible for your injury, so it's important that you speak to an attorney for advice on the matter.

Were You Careful?

The final question you need to answer is whether or not you could possibly be held responsible for your own injury. If you were behaving in an unsafe manner, then it can be difficult to prove that your own actions were not the direct cause of your injury, regardless of the other circumstances. For example, if you were sprinting through the store and slipped in an area with a clear "Wet Floor" sign, it can be postulated that your injury would not have occurred if you had been behaving in a safer manner.

It's important that you are completely honest with your attorney when discussing this matter and all other circumstances surrounding your injury. They must have all of the information available to them if they are going to be able to give you the best outcome possible. So if you were injured on a commercial property, consider the above questions carefully and take all of the relevant information to an attorney who practices personal injury in Austin, TX.

Source : articlesbase.com