Did you or a loved one get injured from a fall? Check out these 3 slip and fall questions we are commonly asked, then call our Boise lawyers.
1. Can I sue a city or county for my injuries from a sidewalk or curb in Idaho?
We represented someone recently, a man in Boise, who stepped on a grate on a sidewalk. It collapsed. He then injured himself pretty significantly. The big question in that case is, does the county, city or whoever is responsible for maintaining that sidewalk ( in this case, it was the Ada County Highway District), do they have notice that there’s a problem, or have their policies not been sufficient to address an issue like this?
What you need to determine is if county employees – or ACHD, or whoever you believe is at fault – were on notice that there was a problem that needed to be fixed. If they were on notice of it, and then they don’t do anything about it – put up warnings or cones, or fix the problem, preferably – then they are responsible for their own negligence. If they aren’t on notice, then that becomes a different issue and you’re going to have a hard time proving that they were negligent. These are important matters to address early in a case to figure out if they were on notice and what you can prove. Those are questions that we’d be happy to answer for you, if you want to give us a call, and these are important issues to resolve early in a case.
2. What should I do if I fall due to a faulty handrail in Idaho?
What should you do in a slip and fall case due to a faulty handrail? We have recently represented someone in this exact case. He was walking down a new staircase, and the handrail fell, and he fell and needed shoulder surgery. He actually ended up needing two shoulder surgeries. The big question is did the company who put in the handrail, or did the owner of the handrail know, that it was faulty, or, in this case, did the people who had installed the handrail do it properly? In this case, it was a steel handrail, it was tack welded – tack welding is just a temporary fix – and it didn’t meet the OSHA and building code guidelines for the kind of weight a handrail needs to support.
In a handrail case, the question is did either the owner of the building know about it and not do anything about it? If so, the owner is probably at fault. Did the installer install the handrail properly, according to OSHA and building code guidelines? If they didn’t then they’re going to be responsible. If you have any questions about a handrail case or slip and fall case, please give us a call. We’re happy to talk to you about it.
3. How long is it going to take to resolve my slip and fall accident injury claim in Idaho?
How long does it typically take to resolve a slip and fall claim in Idaho? We can’t give you a definite answer on this question because we’ve represented lots of people in different kinds of fall cases. “It depends” is the answer. If a case is really solid, like the case we had in which a client fell on a run over a tethered line that was put across a sidewalk by a contractor and broke both wrists, then you might expect an earlier resolution.
In a case, though, where someone might have a traumatic brain injury or some injury that isn’t resolved and we need to wait and see, things can take time. We’re not going to resolve a case unless we know what their medical situation is at the end because some people do have permanent injuries. We need to know what that permanent injury is. Some people get better six months after their fall. We need to wait until that six months is up and to determine what we think the case is valued at.
The easy answer is that it depends, but it can take anywhere from say six months to say a couple of years because maybe you end up going through a trial to prove your case. The easy answer, the most obvious answer, is it can take any amount of time to resolve a slip-and-fall case. If you have any questions about slip and fall cases in Idaho, please give us a call because we want to talk to you about it.
Were you or a loved one severely injured in a trip and fall in Boise and have questions? Check out these 3 slip and fall questions, then contact experienced Boise Slip and Fall Lawyers at Hepworth Holzer today for a free legal consultation and case evaluation.
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