Salamati Law offers effective legal representation to Los Angeles residents who have been injured in a slip and fall accident in office and commercial buildings. Whether your accident resulted from a dimly lit stairwell, debris-cluttered walkways, or a wet floor, these incidents can produce serious and life-altering injuries—sometimes resulting in lasting disability. Los Angeles personal injury attorney Sean Salamati brings more than 20 years of expertise handling premises liability claims involving both residential and commercial settings and fights tirelessly to ensure business and property owners are held fully accountable for their negligence.
Our firm collaborates with medical experts, accident reconstruction specialists and investigators who may be called upon to provide testimony that speaks to both liability and the nature of injuries sustained. Maximize the value of your claim and secure the compensation to which you’re rightfully entitled, by working with a slip and fall lawyer Los Angeles residents have come to trust.
Fall accidents in California office buildings
Los Angeles County is home to scores of office complexes, skyscrapers and imposing commercial buildings, including the Wilshire Grand Center, the Aon Center, US Bank Tower and the Ronald Reagan State Building, among others. While most owners, management companies and landlords of office building make reasonable efforts to keep their premises and parking lots safe for employees and invited guests, there are countless others that breach this important duty of care.
Careless maintenance and gross negligence are huge safety issues given the high traffic rate in commercial and office buildings, where falls are a principal cause of disabling injury.
Common causes of falls in office and commercial buildings
Few people consider the slip and fall hazards lurking at their local bank or accountant’s workplace. According to the US Department of Commerce, slips, trips and falls are not only prevalent in office environments, office workers are 2.5 times more likely than non-office workers to sustain serious harm by falling. Some of the most common culprits for office building falls include:
- Uneven pavement in parking lots
- Parking lot potholes
- Wet/slippery floors from spills or recent cleaning
- Missing handrails
- Objects in hallways/walkways
- Loose carpeting or tiles
- Inadequate lighting
- Faulty escalators or elevators
- Broken or damaged stairs
- Electrical cords or wires cluttering the floor
Establishing liability
Occupied by hundreds of workers and the site of heavy pedestrian traffic, large office buildings are ripe for fall-related accidents. The question in these premises liability claims usually boils down to whether the property owner or super was aware of a dangerous condition, failed to conduct routine maintenance inspections and repairs, or failed to give notice about a known hazard. Unfortunately, the burden of proving negligence in slip and fall injury claims is left to the victim, underscoring the need for a skilled and results-driven personal injury lawyer. The Salamati Law Firm is here for you and your family when you need a tenacious legal advocate to protect your interests.
Holding negligent parties accountable
Attorney Sean Salamati has gleaned valuable experience litigating against commercial establishments, devising effective strategies that produce favorable slip and fall settlements. While physical injuries, medical bills and lost wages are easy to demonstrate, how do you pinpoint liable parties?
Personal injury claims involving commercial settings and office buildings may have a number of potential defendants such as:
- Building owners
- Building management company
- Building security company
- Building landlords
- Third-party contractors
The Salamati Firm will investigate the circumstances and events that led up to your slip and fall accident, obtaining surveillance camera footage, eyewitness testimony and building maintenance records to establish negligent parties. Our clients come from all over the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area and include employees, customers and invited clients of office buildings and commercial establishments.
Properties that are open to the public for commercial purposes owe visitors the highest standard of care. When they fail to meet this obligation and injury or death results, victims have a right to seek fair compensation.
What factors will influence a slip and fall settlement?
There are several variables that will affect the dollar amount placed on your office building slip and fall claim. While every case is different, these are the key factors considered:
- Type of injury suffered: hard injuries such as concussions, traumatic brain injuries, broken bones and fractures are easily documented and tend to net more money than soft tissue injuries like muscle strains
- Medical costs for treatment, including surgeries, doctor visits, ambulatory equipment and prescription medications
- If medical treatment was provided by non-M.D. healthcare providers
- Length of the recovery period
- Amount of lost income
- Reduced capacity to earn
- Permanent injury: scars, disfigurement, loss of mobility
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
You can still seek damages even if you were partly to blame for your injuries. We have successfully negotiated insurance settlements and tried cases where plaintiffs were partially responsible for fall-related accidents in commercial buildings.
California time limits for filing a claim
Fall-related accidents in office buildings make up a large portion of personal injury and worker’s compensation claims. If you were injured in such an accident, there are steps you can take to protect your rights. Keep in mind that California statute of limitations is two years for bringing a civil claim.
- Report your accident to the building manager or landlord
- Seek immediate medical attention
- Follow your doctor‘s instructions
- Document the accident scene by taking photos or video
- Write down all the details leading up to the accident
- Get contact information of eyewitnesses
- Speak to a premises liability lawyer
Partner with an experienced LA slip and fall attorney
If you’ve suffered a slip and fall injury in a commercial building or office complex, you want an attorney who is knowledgeable and adept at winning complex claims. Contact a skilled slip and fall lawyer in Los Angeles from Salamati Law for a free case review.
Additional Resources on Slip and Fall Accidents:
- OSHA, Slips, Trips and Falls https://www.osha.gov/dte/grant_materials/fy07/sh-16625-07/slipstripsfalls.ppt
- National Floor Safety Institute, Slip & Fall Quick Facts https://nfsi.org/nfsi-research/quick-facts/
- US Department of Commerce, Workplace Safety: Office Safety http://hr.commerce.gov/Employees/WorkLifeIssues/DEV01_006467
