It had been snowing on and off for several days at the time of this Central Oregon slip and fall incident. Our client had just returned home to her Bend, Oregon, apartment complex after a day at work. She was walking along an outdoor pathway from the parking lot to her building when things got messy. Quite unfortunately for our client, the apartment complex’s management had decided not to sand or put deicer on the pathway along which she was walking, leaving it slippery very difficult to navigate. To make matters worse, fresh snow had fallen on the pathway obscuring the treacherous black ice that lay beneath.
Our client walked toward her apartment exercising care, but her foot slid on a patch of snow-covered ice and she fell into her stairway head-first. Her two front teeth were knocked out and she received a deep laceration on her upper lip.
This client made contact with the apartment comlex’s insurance company immediately following her accident. The insurer agreed to pay for her accident-related medical expenses, but it never did. When she couldn’t get the insurance company to live up to its word, she hired the experienced premises liability injury attorneys at Dwyer Williams Cherkoss to represent her and to secure her medical reimbursement.
Once hired as her lawyers, we immediately went to work contacting and negotiating with the insurance adjuster. We faxed over copies of the bills that needed to be paid along with the anticipated cost of future medical care that our client would need based on injuries that she sustained in this slip and fall accident.
After several rounds of negotiation, all of our client’s bills had been paid in full and we were able to secure her a settlement that fully compensated her for her pain and suffering as well as for the future cost of her medical care. Our client was happy with the ultimate outcome in this matter. Additionally, she informed our personal injury law firm that the apartment complex’s management now routinely puts sand and deicer down along all of the complex’s pathways during wintertime to avoid further slip and fall accidents like this one.
Premises liability is that area of personal injury law which concerns landowner liability for accidents and injuries that occur on their premises. In the state of Oregon, landowners have responsibilities to members of the public who come upon their land. These responsibilities differ depending on the kind of visitor you are on their premises: an invitee, a licensee, or a trespasser. Premises liability is a complex and nuanced area of personal injury law, so if you or someone you love has been injured in a slip and fall accident, you should contact an experienced and competent premises liability attorney at once. The lawyers at Dwyer Williams Cherkoss PC can help you develop and present your premises liability personal injury claims and to maximize the settlement that you are offered after being injured in a slip and fall injury. Contact us today – we can help you.