Accidents often happen when you least expect it. Even walking through a store, business, or residence, unseen hazards can sometimes result in an accident and injuries to yourself or loved ones.  This area of the law is sometimes referred to as “premises liability.”  The bottom line is that although property owners have a legal obligation to exercise reasonable care in maintaining the safety of their premises and/or warning others of dangerous conditions, these obligations are unfortunately not always complied with. 

In general, if dangerous conditions exist at a business or residential property, the property owner or management has an obligation to either correct the condition or at least warn others of it.  These legal obligations are especially important for businesses that invite the public to their premises and that cater to individuals and families—families that trust that a safe environment will be provided for them.

There are any number of ways that innocent people can be injured due to dangerous premises conditions.  For example, we have recently helped clients involved in accidents caused by the following dangerous conditions:

• Liquid from a spill negligently left on a grocery store floor
• Poorly designed and constructed apartment stairway
• Negligently installed flooring in a swimming pool area
• Oil slick left in front of the front door of a day care
• Precariously shelved store merchandise, which then fell on a store customer
• Hotel exercise room with inadequate warnings for children, and inadequate safety devices on its exercise equipment

In some cases, the injuries resulting from premises liability cases are severe and life-threatening.  In other cases, the accident victims are able to walk away with more minor injuries.  If you have been injured in an accident, whether your injuries are severe or minor, we can help.

People often find that after an accident, their whole world has been turned upside down.  They may not be able to work. They may not know where to turn for proper medical treatment.  When we begin representing clients in these types of cases, we immediately provide a number of services to them. First, we explain the entire process to them and answer any questions they may have.  We quickly determine the appropriate insurance company or companies to contact, and then handle all communications with them, so that the client doesn’t have to.  We can also arrange for the client to be treated by a doctor who specializes in treating people hurt in accidents

Accident victims sometimes mistakenly believe that if they are not “seriously” injured, their claim is not worth pursuing, and that they should not even seek medical treatment.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Even accidents which appear relatively minor at first can cause real injuries.  Because of this, it’s important to be examined by a doctor following an accident.  There is an old saying that when you have good health, you have everything—when you have lost it, you have nothing. 

It’s also important to seek medical attention sooner rather than later.  According to a recent Reader’s Digest article entitled “New Weapons Against Pain,” the Federal Agency for Health Care Policy and Research and its doctors have determined that pain builds the longer it goes untreated, because repetition of impulses through nerve fibers causes the nerves to “learn to feel more pain.”

In working to obtain a fair and honest settlement for our clients, we analyze every type of recovery that may apply under Texas law.  It’s our goal to obtain the best recovery possible for the client, one that provides for future medical needs as well as past medical expenses, past and future pain, suffering and mental anguish, and lost earnings.  Where applicable, we also address recovery for items such as loss of consortium, permanent impairment, disfigurement and wrongful death.

After an accident, there are a number of things you need to know to protect yourself and your family.  To read about the nine most important things, click here .

For more information on these and other personal injury issues, click here .

If we can help you in any way, or answer any questions you may have, please don’t hesitate to call us. Whether you need a slip and fall accident attorney, or you've been in some other type of accident, I can evaluate your case, explain your rights and options, and help you obtain fair compensation. Whether you’re in Austin or anywhere else in Central Texas and need a slip and fall attorney, we’re here to help.

Call or Email Stephen Johnson for a free initial consultation about your personal injury case.

The Law Offices of Stephen Johnson, PC
100 Congress Avenue
Suite 2000
Austin, Texas 78701
Phone: (512) 473-9991
Fax: (888) 373-3515