Slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere—from grocery stores and restaurants to office buildings and apartment complexes. When property owners fail to maintain safe conditions, innocent people suffer serious injuries that can impact their lives for months or even years. If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall accident in Hackensack or anywhere in New Jersey, you have the right to seek compensation from the negligent property owner. At Luis Martinez Law, we specialize in premises liability cases and have a proven track record of holding property owners accountable for dangerous conditions that cause preventable injuries. Our experienced legal team understands New Jersey’s complex premises liability laws and will fight tirelessly to secure the maximum compensation you deserve for your medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other damages.
Contact us today for a free consultation and let us help you pursue the justice and compensation you deserve.
Many slip and fall victims wonder whether they really need a lawyer or if they can handle their claim directly with the property owner’s insurance company. While minor injuries from simple falls might be resolved without legal help, most slip and fall cases benefit significantly from experienced legal representation. Property owners and their insurance companies typically have teams of lawyers working to deny or minimize your claim by arguing you were at fault, your injuries aren’t serious, or the dangerous condition didn’t exist. Without a skilled attorney on your side, you may struggle to prove liability, document your injuries properly, or negotiate for fair compensation.
A qualified slip and fall lawyer brings invaluable expertise to your case by thoroughly investigating the accident scene, gathering photographic and video evidence, identifying witnesses, consulting with safety experts, reviewing property maintenance records, and building a compelling case that demonstrates the property owner’s negligence. Your attorney will handle all negotiations with insurance adjusters who are trained to devalue claims, accurately calculate the full extent of your damages including future medical needs, and take your case to trial if the insurance company refuses to offer fair compensation. Most importantly, slip and fall attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless they successfully recover money for you, making professional legal representation accessible when you need it most.
At Luis Martinez Law, we represent clients injured in all types of slip and fall accidents throughout Hackensack and New Jersey. Premises liability cases can occur in virtually any location where property owners fail to maintain safe conditions or warn visitors about known hazards.
Our firm successfully handles slip and fall cases involving:
Regardless of where your slip and fall accident occurred, our legal team has the experience and resources to investigate thoroughly, identify all liable parties, and build a compelling case for compensation. We work with safety experts, review surveillance footage, examine maintenance records, and gather witness statements to prove the property owner’s negligence caused your injuries and resulting damages.
Slip and fall accidents often result in serious injuries that require extensive medical treatment and can impact your ability to work and enjoy daily activities. While people sometimes dismiss falls as minor incidents, the reality is that landing on hard surfaces can cause significant trauma to multiple body parts. The four most common types of slip and fall injuries include fractures and broken bones, head and brain injuries, back and spinal injuries, and soft tissue damage. Understanding these common injuries helps victims recognize the full scope of their damages and ensures they seek appropriate medical care and legal compensation for both immediate and long-term consequences.
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When falling, people instinctively extend their arms to break the fall, frequently resulting in wrist, arm, and shoulder fractures. Hip fractures are particularly common among elderly slip and fall victims and often require surgery, extended hospitalization, and lengthy rehabilitation. Ankle and leg fractures also occur regularly when feet twist or catch during a fall. Depending on severity, broken bones may require casting, surgical intervention with pins or plates, physical therapy, and can result in permanent limitations or chronic pain even after healing.
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Striking your head during a fall can cause traumatic brain injuries ranging from mild concussions to severe brain damage. Even seemingly minor head injuries can result in serious complications including memory problems, difficulty concentrating, mood changes, persistent headaches, and cognitive impairment. Severe traumatic brain injuries may cause permanent disability, personality changes, and require lifelong medical care and support, dramatically impacting victims’ quality of life and their families’ wellbeing.
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The impact of falling can compress vertebrae, herniate discs, and damage the delicate spinal cord, leading to chronic back pain, limited mobility, and in severe cases, partial or complete paralysis. Spinal injuries often require extensive imaging, specialist consultations, possible surgery, ongoing pain management, and physical therapy. Many victims experience permanent restrictions on lifting, bending, and other physical activities, significantly affecting their employment options and daily independence.
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Sprains, strains, and tears to muscles, tendons, and ligaments throughout the body are extremely common in slip and fall accidents. While often considered less serious than fractures, soft tissue injuries can cause chronic pain, reduced range of motion, and long-term disability if not properly treated. Knee injuries, shoulder damage, and back strains frequently require months of physical therapy and may prevent victims from returning to physically demanding occupations or activities they previously enjoyed.
The actions you take immediately following a slip and fall accident can significantly impact both your health recovery and your ability to pursue compensation. While you may feel embarrassed, hurt, or confused after falling, taking certain steps right away will help document the incident, preserve crucial evidence, and protect your legal rights. Whether your fall occurred in a store, restaurant, office building, or other property, following these important steps ensures you have the documentation needed to hold the property owner accountable and secure fair compensation for your injuries and losses.
Notify the property owner, manager, or business staff about your fall right away and insist they create an official incident report. Get a copy of this report for your records. If you’re in a store or business, ask to speak with a manager who can document the accident. Reporting immediately creates an official record that the accident occurred and prevents the property owner from claiming it never happened or wasn’t reported timely.
Use your phone to take photographs and videos of exactly where you fell, the hazardous condition that caused your fall, the surrounding area, and any relevant factors like poor lighting or missing warning signs. Document your visible injuries and the clothing or shoes you were wearing. This evidence is crucial because property owners often quickly fix dangerous conditions after accidents to avoid future liability, destroying evidence of what caused your fall.
Collect names and contact information from anyone who witnessed your fall or the dangerous condition that caused it. Witnesses can provide crucial testimony about what happened and confirm that the hazard existed before your accident. Ask witnesses to describe what they saw in writing if possible, as memories fade over time and witness accounts become increasingly valuable as your case progresses.
Visit an emergency room or urgent care facility as soon as possible after your fall, even if you feel your injuries are minor. Some serious injuries like concussions, internal bleeding, and fractures may not produce immediate obvious symptoms. Getting prompt medical evaluation creates documentation linking your injuries to the fall and prevents insurance companies from claiming your injuries weren’t serious or were caused by something else that occurred later.
Keep the clothing and shoes you were wearing during the fall, save all medical records and bills, maintain a journal documenting your pain levels and recovery progress, and preserve any correspondence with the property owner or their insurance company. Do not give recorded statements or sign any documents from insurance companies without consulting an attorney first, as these can be used to minimize or deny your claim.
Consult with a qualified premises liability attorney as soon as possible to protect your rights and understand your legal options. An experienced lawyer can investigate the accident scene before evidence disappears, identify all potentially liable parties, handle communications with aggressive insurance adjusters, and build a strong case for maximum compensation. Most slip and fall lawyers offer free consultations and work on contingency, meaning you pay nothing unless they recover compensation for you.
To succeed in a slip and fall claim, you must prove the property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition and failed to fix it or warn visitors. This requires showing the hazard existed long enough that a reasonable property owner should have discovered and corrected it, or that the property owner created the dangerous condition. Evidence like photographs, witness statements, maintenance records, and expert testimony help establish the property owner’s negligence and your right to compensation.
You may be entitled to compensation for all medical expenses including emergency care, surgery, hospital stays, medications, physical therapy, and future medical needs. You can also recover lost wages and reduced earning capacity if injuries prevent you from working, pain and suffering damages for physical discomfort and emotional distress, permanent disability or disfigurement compensation, and in cases of extreme negligence, punitive damages designed to punish particularly reckless property owners and deter similar conduct.
Many slip and fall victims wonder whether they really need a lawyer or if they can handle their claim directly with the property owner’s insurance company. While minor injuries from simple falls might be resolved without legal help, most slip and fall cases benefit significantly from experienced legal representation. Property owners and their insurance companies typically have teams of lawyers working to deny or minimize your claim by arguing you were at fault, your injuries aren’t serious, or the dangerous condition didn’t exist. Without a skilled attorney on your side, you may struggle to prove liability, document your injuries properly, or negotiate for fair compensation.
