When your stop for a burger and fries at Wendy’s ends in a slip and fall accident, the resulting injuries can prove costly. Not only do you face a stream of medical expenses to treat your injuries, but you also might miss time at work, meaning you will also lose the income you need for standard living expenses.
Many people blame a slip and fall on their own clumsiness, but the chances are, your slip and fall occurred because the floor was slippery or uneven or because of cracked pavement or inadequate lighting in the parking lot. In many slip and fall cases, negligence of the property owner where the accident occurred caused it. If this holds true for your slip and fall at Wendy’s, you deserve compensation from the restaurant.
A Ben Crump Law, PLLC injury lawyer for slip and fall accidents at Wendy’s can help you recover damages from your injury. Call us today at (800) 647-3113 for a free consultation.
Causes of Slips and Fall Accidents at Wendy’s
Almost endless opportunities for a slip and fall exist at Wendy’s, as with other fast-food restaurants. Employees and patrons alike whiz around the parking lot and dining area, abruptly picking up, setting down, and moving around with drinks and food. If something spills, it presents a hazard. If an employee mops it up, the wet floor presents a hazard.
As common and understandable as these occurrences may be, restaurant managers and employees can and should prevent potential accidents. When they fail to do so, the restaurant should bear the liability for the injured party’s damages.
Some of the most common causes of slip and fall accidents include:
- Loose runners, rugs, or mats
- Safety code violations
- Spilled drinks, water, grease, or food
- Potholes in parking lots
- Unmarked curbs in parking lots
- Bad plumbing
- Poorly maintained staircase rails or steps
- Uneven flooring or tiles
- Poor lighting
Many of these risks exist at Wendy’s, and when workers or management fail to protect you from these risks, they should pay for the consequences of your injury.
Wendy’s Owes You a Duty of Care
Various industry regulations and state laws require Wendy’s to keep their restaurants clean and free from safety hazards. The staff is legally bound to exercise a duty of care to prevent accidents like slips and falls from occurring on the property.
This duty of care involves maintaining the restaurant’s condition to keep it safe, monitoring the dining room, bathrooms, kitchen, and parking lot for potential hazards, repairing problematic areas within a reasonable amount of time, and warning property occupants of a hazard that remains unresolved.
With this duty, you have already met one requirement of your personal injury case against Wendy’s. In order for a court to consider awarding you compensation for your injuries, the law also requires that you prove the following:
- Wendy’s failed to fulfill its duty of care.
- This violation of duty caused your slip and fall accident.
- You suffered physical, economic, and psychological damages.
Courts and insurance companies expect you to deliver arguments and evidence to support your claims. For this reason, many slip and fall accident victims choose to hire a lawyer to represent them in this type of legal action.
Investigating Your Slip and Fall Accident at Wendy’s
Ben Crump Law, PLLC takes a systematic approach to slip and fall cases like yours. Our lawyers begin to build your case with a foundation of evidence they gather from an investigation of your accident.
We will leave no stone unturned when unearthing the various types of proof that Wendy’s negligence caused your slip and fall accident and that you suffered injuries that cost you economically and non-economically. Some of the sources for the evidence we will seek include:
- The scene of your slip and fall at Wendy’s
- Video footage from surveillance cameras on the property
- Interviews with witnesses
- Photos you took of the scene and your injuries
- Wendy’s accident report
- Your medical records related to your slip and fall injuries
- Wage statements from your employer
We will also coordinate with experts who can document their analysis of how your injuries will cost you in terms of your physical and mental health, as well as your ability to work, and other damages. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the total medical cost for slip and fall accidents in 2015 was $50 billion.
Working with the Insurance Company
Using evidence we gather in our investigation, our lawyers will create a demand letter that lists all your losses and their economic values. We will present this demand letter to the Wendy’s insurer, who will most likely respond with a counteroffer.
At this point, our lawyers will sit down to negotiate a fair settlement. If the insurance company refuses to agree to a fair amount, our firm will not hesitate to file a civil lawsuit on your behalf and take the matter to trial for a jury to decide.
Types of Damages You Might Recover
Every slip and fall accident case is different. The amount you receive in a settlement or court award will likely differ from the amount another victim of a Wendy’s slip and fall accident receives. Your compensation will depend on your injuries, their severity, and how they impact you today and into the future.
To give you a general idea of the types of damages you might recover, consider the following broad categories:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages and benefits
- Pain and suffering
Your lawyer can more specifically outline the value of your case once they review the evidence.
An Injury Lawyer for Slip and Fall Accidents at Wendy’s Can Help You
You lose nothing by calling our firm after your slip and fall accident. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay us no legal fees unless and until we win a settlement or court award on your behalf.
By not acting swiftly, however, you do stand to lose time—something you definitely cannot afford to lose. Your state enforces a statute of limitations that restricts the amount of time you have following your accident in which to take legal action against Wendy’s. The sooner you hire a lawyer to begin your pursuit of compensation, the more time you give them to build your case and meet this deadline.
Call us today for a free case review at (800) 647-3113. A Ben Crump Law, PLLC injury lawyer for slip and fall accidents at Wendy’s stands eager to fight for the compensation you deserve.
