Falling Due to a Faulty Handrail

Answer:

I was recently asked the question of, “What should I do if I fall as the result of a faulty handrail or some other malfunction of a facility or premises here in Mississippi where I’m visiting?” The answer is, first of all, get medical treatment. First and foremost, you want your health to be taken care of. It’s important to immediately get injuries treated and to follow the directions of the medical providers in terms of follow up and treatment. If it is indicative that there is wrongdoing or neglect, or some form of negligence that caused that injury – in the example given, a faulty handrail or perhaps some other facility defect or construction defect – it’s going to be important to get legal representation involved.

People are often uncomfortable going that route of hiring an attorney or looking at potential litigation, but it’s just a fact of life that if someone else caused that injury, the right thing, the moral thing and under the law the proper legal remedy is that the wrongdoer pay for that injury. By holding them accountable, we not only look to make that injured person whole, but also to discourage the conduct and, more importantly, and to make our community safer so an incident like that doesn’t happen again to someone else. Hiring competent legal representation— someone with experience litigating personal injury claims, particularly premises liability claims— is a good first step. From there, you’re legal counsel is going to investigate that claim, look at potential liability under the set of facts as they happen, see if there was wrongdoing involved and, if so, who is responsible for that wrongdoing and start putting together a case, putting together a claim. Often, we’ll be dealing with that responsible party’s insurance company or their adjusters, potentially leading to litigation where you have to litigate the actual liability or the amount of that claim. It’s really hard for someone who does not have legal training to do that on their own, and it’s a big, big mistake to try to do that on your own. Getting legal representation to investigate and to go from there really is the proper first step. If you have other questions about slip and fall incidents or potential premises liability claims, here at Brad Morris Law Firm, PLLC, we’re available to try to answer your questions or get you pointed in the right direction. Just reach out to us on our website or call us and we will try to get you the help that you need.