When we enter a business or visit a property, we expect that the property owner has taken reasonable measures to ensure that no safety hazards exist on the property that could cause significant harm to lawful visitors. According to the Center For Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), there were 24.8 million emergency room and urgent care visits for unintentional injuries in a single recent year. When these injuries are preventable and occur due to a property owner’s negligence, the injury victim shouldn’t have to bear the undue burden of financial hardship on top of the painful injuries.
If you’ve been injured in Everett, you need an Everett personal injury attorney on your side fighting for your compensation while you focus on getting well.
Call the premises liability lawyers in Everett at Wells Trumbull. We are ready to take on your case with the same dedication we would for a family member. Contact us today for a free consulation.
Why Choose Wells Trumbull After Your Premises Accident in Everett?
The Everett premises liability attorneys at Wells Trumbull uphold the belief that getting to know our clients and witnessing the impacts of their injuries on their lives helps us become more compassionate advocates and make the most compelling case to present to insurers or a jury. We get results by caring about our clients and showing that concern to a jury. Your attorney from Wells Trumbull will do the following:
- Offer a free case consultation and contingency-based payment so you owe nothing until we win your case
- Put decades of legal history behind your claim—founding attorney, Ben Wells, has practiced injury law since 1989 and Joshua Trumbull has nearly two decades of experience in Washington law
- Use the collaborative efforts of a legal team devoted to injury law for creative solutions and a wealth of tools and resources
- Provide the individual attention of a premises liability attorney in Everett dedicated to achieving the best possible results in your case
- Create a personalized strategy for obtaining the maximum compensation available to you rather than a cookie-cutter approach
We take a results-oriented approach to every claim, always aiming for a large out-of-court settlement, but also preparing for court should a lawsuit become necessary to gain your compensation. Our Everett premises liability attorneys have recent notable results including a $3 million jury award in Snohomish County for a client who fell while on the job in a nursing home and $1.2 million for a client who experienced a slip-and-fall accident in an icy parking lot.
Common Types of Premises Accident Claims in Washington
Residents and visitors in Everett lead busy lives. They expect to be able to accomplish errands and daily routines without suffering serious preventable injuries. Unfortunately, some days begin in a typical way and unexpectedly end in the hospital due to someone else’s failure to address known safety hazards. Common causes of premises liability claims in Everett include the following:
- Slip-and-fall accidents
- Trip-and-fall accidents
- Dog bites
- Pool injuries
- Fire
- Assault due to insufficient security
- Construction site accidents
- Elevator accidents
- Escalator injuries
- Balcony collapse
- Amusement park injuries
- Inadequate property maintenance
- Struck-by accidents (falling shelves, falling limbs)
Property owners owe a duty of care to those lawfully on the property whether it’s a customer in a convenience store or restaurant or a delivery person placing a package on a front porch.
What Types of Injuries Occur in Premises Accidents?
Whether it’s injuries from a fall, or burns from an apartment fire, injury victims in premises accidents experience frustration in addition to their pain because they know their injury was preventable if only an individual or business had taken reasonable actions. Common injuries in Washington premises accidents include the following:
- Fractures, including of the hip
- Back injuries
- Neck injuries
- Knee injuries
- Head injuries and traumatic brain injuries
- Burns
- Dog bite wounds
- Near drownings
- Spinal cord injuries
- Soft tissue injuries such as sprains
- Bruises and lacerations
- Facial and dental injuries
When a painful injury occurs, it’s common to feel helpless; however, there are purposeful actions you can take at the scene to help your physical and financial recovery later, such as using your phone to take photos of the cause of the injury and taking down the contact information of eyewitnesses.
What Is “Duty of Care” in Premises Accidents?
When a property owner or manager becomes aware of any hazard on their property, they have a legal duty of care to promptly address the hazard with warning signs and repairs or corrections. For example, if a grocery store owner has a leaky ice cream freezer that keeps leaving a puddle on the floor, they must place warning signs in the area and arrange a repair as soon as possible. Failing to take the measures that a reasonable person would under the same circumstances leaves the store owner liable for the financial consequences to the victim—known as “damages” in a personal injury case.
Proving a property owner’s liability requires demonstrating evidence of the following:
- The property owner had a duty of care to take reasonable measures to prevent harm to the victim and others lawfully on their property
- They breached this duty through negligent actions
- Their breach of duty caused the victim’s injuries
- The injury victim suffered significant economic and non-economic damages from the injury
Depending on the nature and severity of the injury, a victim’s damages could be a single missed paycheck and an emergency room bill, or life-altering injuries with permanent disability. If an injury victim dies from injuries sustained on someone else’s property, a wrongful death claim brings additional damages to close family members.
Common Damages in Everett Premises Liability Claims
Injuries are expensive as well as painful and traumatic. A successful claim premises liability claim in Everett brings victims compensation for some or all of the following damages:
- Medical expenses
- Future medical costs
- Lost wages
- Future income loss
- Diminished future earning capacity due to disability
- Pain and suffering
- Other non-economic damage that applies in unique cases such as disfigurement compensation or compensation for loss of pleasure in life
Your Everett premises liability lawyer from Wells Trumbull will carefully calculate your damages to maximize the compensation available to you and assertively negotiate for the largest possible settlement. If the insurance company’s settlement offer isn’t acceptable, your lawyer will file a lawsuit and seek damages in court.
Call Wells Trumbull, Your Premises Liability Lawyers in Everett
Compensation for premises liability claims comes from the at-fault property owner’s insurance. Insurance companies are not on your side, even if they sound compassionate on the phone. Often, they reach out to injury victims with a fast settlement offer that’s substantially less than they are entitled to. Before you accept a lowball settlement, reach out to the premises liability lawyers at Wells Trumbull today for a free consultation so we can begin strategizing the best way forward for your case.