If you’ve slipped and fallen in a Los Angeles office building due to the negligence of another party, you may be facing medical bills, pain and suffering, and financial instability. Whether your fall resulted from a dimly lit stairwell, debris-cluttered walkway, defective elevator, or a wet floor, these accidents can create serious and life-altering injuries—sometimes resulting in permanent disability.
Salamati Law offers effective and skilled legal representation to Los Angeles residents injured in slip and fall accidents in office and commercial buildings. Our record of success includes millions of dollars obtained on behalf of people who have sustained severe injuries. An experienced Los Angeles office building slip and fall lawyer will fight for your right to recover full and fair compensation for the losses you have suffered. Schedule a free consultation today.
Slip and Fall Accidents in California Office Buildings
Los Angeles County is home to scores of office complexes, skyscrapers, and large 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 buildings make reasonable efforts to keep their premises and parking lots safe for employees and invited guests, there are some 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 Slip and Falls in Office Buildings
Hazardous conditions in office buildings are found in lobbies, atriums, office floors, concourses, elevators, cafeterias, and adjacent structures such as parking ramps.
Some of the most common causes of office slip and falls include the following:
- Wet floors—Whether due to recent mopping, leaky ceilings, or rain tracked in from outside, wet and slick surfaces can turn an office floor, atrium, or entrance into a dangerous area for employees and visitors.
- Obstacles—Objects, such as boxes or office equipment, stacked in hallways or electrical cords stretched across areas with foot traffic create dangerous tripping hazards.
- Maintenance flaws—Include torn carpets, broken stairs and railings, and faulty escalators and elevators.
- Poor lighting—Hazards such as loose carpeting or tiles are made worse by poor lighting.
If you have been injured in a slip and fall on commercial property, you need a legal team that can uncover evidence of negligence from building owners and other parties. Salamati Law has earned a reputation as a firm that knows how to find the facts—and get results.
Establishing Liability in Office Building Slip and Falls
Occupied by hundreds of workers and the site of heavy pedestrian traffic, large office buildings are the site for many 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 block off or 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 and identify the slip and fall hazards in the office that caused your injuries.
Holding Negligent Parties Accountable
Large office buildings, with heavy pedestrian traffic, are often the site for many fall-related accidents. The question in premises liability claims usually boils down to whether the property owner or the maintenance company was aware of a dangerous condition, failed to conduct routine inspections and repairs, or failed to block off or warn about a known hazard.
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. Salamati Law is here for you and your family when you need a tenacious legal advocate to protect your interests and identify the slip and fall hazards in the office that caused your injuries.
Who Can Be Held Liable?
Salamati Law employs effective strategies that produce favorable settlements in slip and fall claims and other cases involving office buildings. While physical injuries, medical bills, and lost wages are easy to demonstrate, how do you determine who is liable?
There may be several potential defendants, including the following:
- Building owners
- Building management company
- Building security company
- Building landlords
- Third-party contractors
We aggressively investigate the circumstances that led to your slip and fall injury. We will also obtain evidence such as surveillance camera footage, eyewitness testimony, and building maintenance records to determine the causes of your accident and to identify negligent parties.
Potential Compensation in an Office Building Slip and Fall Accident Case
Properties open to the public for commercial purposes owe visitors the highest standard of care. When they fail to meet this obligation, and people are seriously hurt, they have a right to seek fair compensation. If you were injured in an office building slip and fall accident, you may be entitled to compensation that includes the following:
Economic Damages
Financial losses after a serious injury can be overwhelming. Victims of slip and fall accidents may not be able to work for weeks, months, years—even a lifetime.
Victims can pursue compensation for all their economic losses from an accident caused by negligence, including medical bills, lost wages, future lost wages, travel costs to and from medical appointments, and any renovations to the home to accommodate limitations caused by the accident.
Non-economic Damages
Non-economic damages include pain and suffering and can refer to physical pain, emotional suffering, or psychological distress after an accident. Examples include insomnia, psychological trauma, depression, loss of enjoyment of life, and other damages, which recognize the mental and physical challenges that can hamper anything from participating in hobbies and social activities to being employed.
What if the Fall Was Partly My Fault?
You can still seek damages even if you were partly to blame for your injuries. We have successfully negotiated slip and fall insurance settlements where plaintiffs were partially responsible for slip and fall accidents. California is a pure comparative negligence state, so even if you were 99 percent at fault for your accident, you can still recover financial compensation for your injuries. The total amount of damages you incurred will be reduced in proportion to your share of the fault for the accident. For example, if you suffered $2 Million in damages from a slip and fall in the parking lot of an office building and it is determined that you were 90 percent at fault, you would be awarded 10 percent of $2 Million, which is $200,000. In other words, even if you were mostly responsible for your accident, it can still pay to file a claim.
What to Do if You Were Hurt in a Slip and Fall Accident
If you were injured in a fall-related accident in an office building, there are steps you can take to protect your rights, which include the following:
- Report your accident to the building manager or landlord. This creates documentation of the accident’s date, time, location, and nature.
- Seek immediate medical attention. It is essential to see a healthcare provider immediately, even if your injuries don’t seem severe. Many serious injuries have delayed onset symptoms. Further, if you delay treatment, the insurance can claim that some other event caused your injury or that it’s not that serious.
- Follow your doctor’s instructions. This is important for your health and well-being and the strength of your legal claim. You don’t want to engage in activities that make it seem like your injuries are less severe than reported. The defendant may very well hire a private investigator to follow you. If you severely injured your leg and the defendant presents evidence that you were in the gym two days later, your credibility – and the value of your claim – could take a serious hit.
- Document the accident scene by taking photos or video. As soon as the property owner is notified of your accident, they will have every incentive to fix, remove, block off, or warn about the dangerous condition that caused you to fall. While part of their incentive is to ensure that no one else is injured, many property owners do this to remove evidence. You can protect yourself from this tactic by immediately documenting the accident scene with pictures and videos.
- Get contact information of eyewitnesses. Keep in mind that people move or change phone numbers, so obtain multiple sources of contact information, such as their email address, for each eyewitness.
Finally, speak to a lawyer knowledgeable in California premises liability law. This may be the most critical step you can take to protect your rights in the aftermath of an office slip and fall accident.
The defense will do everything possible to limit or even deny compensation. With a skilled lawyer, you can level the playing field and give yourself the best possible chance of obtaining a fair settlement or jury award. The statute of limitations is generally two years from the accident now, so it’s important to take action.
Turn to a Leader in California Personal Injury Law
If you have suffered a slip and fall injury in a commercial building or office complex, you want an attorney who is knowledgeable and adept at negotiating large settlements or going to trial if necessary. Contact a skilled Los Angeles slip and fall lawyer at Salamati Law for a free, no-obligation consultation. Since we work on a contingency basis, there are no legal fees unless we win compensation.
