Slip and Fall Attorney in Prestonsburg

According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, unintentional falls are the leading cause of nonfatal injuries across all age groups 25 and up. Each year, more than 800,000 people are hospitalized due to a fall injury. Parking lots and sidewalks that are not maintained and repaired when necessary can become hazards for unsuspecting guests. Victims can suffer long-term injuries such as hip fractures and head injuries. In fact, the majority of traumatic brain injuries are caused by falls.

Property owners and businesses have a duty to keep their parking lots reasonably safe and to warn guests of any dangers. This requires regular inspections, the cleaning up of hazards, and repairs/maintenance when necessary. Common reasons for parking lot slip and fall injuries include: accidents occur include:

• Spills
• Debris
• Pavement defects
• Ice
• Poor lighting
• Wheel stops

In many cases, multiple parties could be found negligent in slip & fall accidents. Responsible parties may include:

• Lot owner
• Businesses that use the lot
• Apartment complex owners
• The government

Under Kentucky law, a person injured in a slip and fall accident must satisfy the following two elements to have a valid claim:

1. The owner had actual knowledge of the dangerous condition or should have reasonably known through the use of due care that the dangerous condition existed; and

2. The injured victim was unaware of the dangerous condition.

To prove that a property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition, your attorney may present evidence that the dangerous condition had existed for such a long period of time that it should have been discovered by the owner of the property if he or she had exercised reasonable care in inspecting the premises.

For instance, your lawyer may present evidence that a department store’s employees were in the immediate vicinity of the dangerous condition and should have noticed and removed the hazard. Your attorney may also present evidence that the store was understaffed, and therefore, the store owner failed to satisfy the duty to maintain a property free from hazards.

Sam’s Club is a membership-only retail store owned by Wal-Mart that offers a wide array of products often sold in bulk. Sam’s Club has 6 different stores scattered throughout Kentucky in Nicholasville, Lexington, Jeffersontown, Louisville, Florence, and Elizabethtown.

Whether you head to the store on New Circle Rd. N.E. or you prefer to shop at the store on Preston Highway, all Sam’s Club locations are usually packed with people during peak times and making your way through the store can be difficult. Additionally, Sam’s Club stores can be dangerous because of stacks of merchandise and employees moving around on heavy machinery.

Sam’s Club is a membership-only retail store owned by Wal-Mart that offers a wide array of products sold in bulk. Sam’s Club has 6 different stores scattered throughout Kentucky in Nicholasville, Lexington, Jeffersontown, Louisville, Florence, and Elizabethtown.

Whether you head to the store on New Circle Rd. N.E. or you prefer to shop at the store on Preston Highway, all Sam’s Club locations are usually packed with people during peak times and making your way through the store can be difficult. Additionally, Sam’s Club stores can be dangerous because of stacks of merchandise and employees moving around on heavy machinery.

• Michigan, $5,280,000 Verdict - A 54-year-old man tripped over the tongue of a trailer hitch that was unmarked while carrying a purchase of bulk paper towels at Sam’s Club in Michigan. He suffered a severe spinal cord injury that caused his hands to shake, ending his career as a heart surgeon. The jury returned a $5.28 million verdict and found Sam’s Club 75% responsible for the accident, meaning the plaintiff took home $3.96 million.
• New Jersey: $1,000,000 Verdict – Patricia N. was shopping at Sam’s Club in New Jersey when she was struck by another customer’s flatbed cart. The other customer had a cart stacked by a Sam’s Club employee with chicken wings and the stacks were high enough that the customer could not see over them in front of the cart. Patricia was confined to a wheelchair after the accident and she was awarded $6,000 per month for the expected duration of her life, totaling a verdict of $1 million.
• Florida: $789,000 Verdict – An elderly Sam’s Club shopper fell to the ground when an empty pallet cart bumped into her. The fall led to a fractured wrist and an aggravation of a prior back injury, both of which required surgery. A jury awards the woman $789,000 but finds her 2% liable for the accident meaning she took home $773,220.
• Texas, $290,000 Verdict - A 77-year-old woman fell on the ridge of an entry ramp to that was 5/8 of an inch higher than the parking lot. Evidence indicated that Sam's employees knew the surface was not level and had taken no action to rectify the situation. The jury awarded plaintiff $185,000 in compensatory damages and awarded plaintiff's husband $105,000.

Prior verdicts do not guarantee future success so contact Morgan & Morgan for a free, no-obligation case consultation today.

Insurance companies for property owners frequently attempt to avoid liability by claiming that the victim could have somehow walked around the dangerous condition, but failed to do so. Soon after an accident, insurance companies have been known to ask victims leading questions so that they inadvertently make confessions that can be used to limit the insurance company’s liability if a lawsuit is filed.

For example, insurance companies often try to argue that the “open and obvious doctrine” applies by claiming that the injured person was not watching where he or she was walking or in some other way failed to exercise due care. Under the open and obvious doctrine, a property owner is not liable for injuries if the existence of the dangerous condition was obvious, yet the injured person voluntarily walked into it.

Before giving any statements to an insurance company, it is important that you first speak to a lawyer who can advise you of your rights under Kentucky law.

• Allen City
• Martin
• Wheelwright
• Betsy Layne
• Dwale
• Wayland
• Auxier
• McDowell
• Maytown
• All other surrounding Floyd County commmunities.