The steps are Tri level I have photos of the incident and also the Hospital bills and shoes that I had on at the time. This happened April 11 2015 Bally's was notified of the fall.
I'm sorry to hear about your injuries. You should consult with an experienced NJ personal injury attorney immediately. Most offer a free consultation. The attorney will gather all necessary facts to determine whether you have a good case. Be aware, too, that there is a deadline for you to to take action. Good luck.
So what did Bally's do or didnot do that caused the fall? To sue them you gave to show they breached their duty of care to you... You have not provided any facts to suggest they have any fault...
I agree with my colleagues and would be interested to know what caused you to fall. Was there a substance on the floor? Was the floor slippery? You should speak with an experienced personal injury attorney for an assessment of your potential claim.
Karim K ArzadiCar / Auto Accident LawyerPerth Amboy, NJNJ licensed ·
All my colleagues are right. You've had some unfortunate injuries and should see a personal injury lawyer in your area. When you do, you must be able to tell her or him what you think or know caused you to fall. In the meantime don't discuss the accident on the internet, Twitter or Facebook or any social media and do not talk to anyone from Bally's or its insurance company. Go see a lawyer who can evaluate your case. Most personal injury lawyers in NJ offer free initial consultations and do not take a fee unless and until you recover money and the amount they can receive is strictly regulated by the New Jersey supreme Court. See a lawyer soon. You have absolutely nothing to lose.
I'm sorry to learn about your injuries. I suggest that you contact a South Jersey lawyer for a free consultation as soon as possible to discuss the details of what caused you to fall and what injuries you sustained and medical treatment you underwent. A lawyer will need to show that some defect or safety hazard on the property caused you to fall (for example, if the stairs somehow violate construction codes, that could be a safety hazard.)
Slip and fall claims are challenging, so you want to choose an attorney with plenty of experience handling cases like these. You can use the Find a Lawyer tool here on to research attorneys who have high rankings and who get results in these kinds of cases. You mentioned that you have photos, which is good because they could provide valuable evidence. Even though this happened fairly recently, I suggest you begin looking for a lawyer as soon as possible so that he or she can begin investigating. Also, please make sure that you're getting any medical care you need to get better. Good luck!
You have received many responses to your questions from very competent attorneys. I also saw your responses about what caused you to fall. I have yet to see anyone indicate that you should call them so that they could open a file on your behalf.
My firm is located in Atlantic County so we routinely receive inquiries about claims against the casinos. As you have heard, just because you were hurt at the Casino does not mean you are entitled to money damages. You have to prove that the stairs were in a dangerous condition at the time of your fall.
If there was nothing on the stairs that caused you to slip, like liquid, and there was nothing obviously wrong with the stairs, like a large crack or hole, then you are talking about more of an inherently dangerous condition of the stairs. That sort of claim requires an expert to opine that the stairs were not built to code. Hiring an expert to go to the scene, take measurements and photographs and then write an opinion about the stairs is very expensive. Many attorneys, taking this type of case on a full contingency, would have pay the expenses out of their own firm funds in advance and recover the expenses at the time of settlement.
Additionally, your health insurance may potentially have a lien, or right to reimbursement for the bills that they paid. If you have Medicare, State aid, Obamacare or another type of health insurance where you pay into the plan (ERISA qualified) you will have to pay back the medical expenses they paid related to your fall IF you recover money for your injuries.
It is important for every attorney to take the extent of the injuries and expenses into consideration before taking every case. You are the person that was injured so you should be the one who receives compensation for your injuries. If the attorney knows that he or she has to spend close to $30,000.00 to bring a case on your behalf, your injuries should be worth upwards of $100,000.00. Again that's because you are the one that should recover money damages for your injuries. If the attorney is simply paying experts that, in the end, does not help you.
That's great that you knew enough to notify Bally's about your fall. That would alert them to keep the video of the fall, if there is one and if they were alerted in time. It is also very smart for you to save your shoes and discontinuing wearing them. You should keep them in a safe place where they can stay in the condition that they were at the time of the fall. Keep track of all of the medical providers you treat with and any documents that you receive or send and money you spend. Should the extent of your injuries worsen you will have mostly everything in place to bring a successful claim.
You should also send a letter to Bally's alerting them to save any video or other evidence that would help you in establishing your claim against them. You also want to notify them to keep the area in the same condition that it was at the time of your fall or if they intend to modify it to notify you first so that you can hire an expert to come in and inspect, photograph, measure and test the area in question. This is called a Spoliation Letter.
Finally as someone else has probably indicated, the Statute of Limitations in New Jersey is 2 years. This means that you have 2 years from the date that you were injured to file a law suit for your injuries. If a law suit is not filed on your behalf by April 10, 2017, you will be forever barred for recovering money for your injuries.
Unfortunately, considering the cause of your fall and extent of your injuries at this time, our firm would not be in a position to represent you. You should certainly consider keeping up with your search for an attorney. I hope you found this information helpful.