Injuries Due to Poor Lighting and Obstructions

Common Locations for Poor Lighting and Obstruction Accidents

The locations for slip-and-fall accidents caused by poor lighting and obstructions can include:

• Parking lots
• Stairwells
• Walkways
• Crosswalks
• Sidewalks
• Skywalks
• Pedestrian promenades
• Retail stores
• Shopping complexes
• Businesses
• Apartment complexes
• Parking garages
• Hotel lobbies 
• Hotel, casino, and convention center corridors
• Theaters
• Cinemas
• Bars and nightclubs
• Swimming pools
• Hallways
• Construction/renovation work areas

Types of Injuries and Their Impact

The extent of injuries someone experiences in a low lighting or obstruction accident depends on where the accident occurred. For example, someone who slips and falls down a flight of concrete stairs in a parking garage would generally have more severe injuries compared to someone else who tripped over a cracked sidewalk and fell. 

Some of the injuries one could experience in these types of accidents include:

• Scrapes
• Bruises
• Abrasions
• Sprained ankles and wrists
• Muscle strains and sprains
• Torn ligaments and tendons
• Eye strain and fatigue
• Fractures and broken bones
• Spinal cord injuries
• Head, neck, and shoulder injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
• Facial injuries
• Hand injuries
• Knee injuries
• Internal injuries
• Organ damage
• Wrongful death

Whether someone’s injuries are minor or more severe, they do have long-term impacts, such as:

• Medical bills: Having the injuries medically treated will result in treatment costs, which could include prescriptions, hospital stays, surgical procedures, medical devices, and rehabilitation costs. 
• Lost wages: If someone is not able to work or has to work at a reduced capacity, they are losing earnings they would have otherwise made if not for their injuries. 
• Pain and suffering: Being injured is not a pleasant experience, and there will be pain, discomfort, and suffering until the body heals. 
• Neurological damage: In cases of TBIs, there could be permanent neurological damage that could affect cognitive abilities, decision-making, and memory recall. Some people could also experience seizures.
• Emotional distress: Some people can become emotionally distressed out of worry about how their injuries are going to impact their life and livelihood. 
• Chronic pain: Certain injuries could result in chronic pain that will never fully disappear.
• Mental health issues: Some people could develop depression, anxiety, PTSD, or other mental health issues, and require ongoing mental health treatment. 
• Reduce quality of life: Severe injuries could alter one’s quality of life, so they are no longer able to enjoy the activities and hobbies they used to enjoy prior to the accident. 

Liability and Negligence: Who Is Responsible?

Determining liability for slip-and-fall accidents due to poor lighting and obstructions often falls under premises liability laws. Premises liability means that property owners have a duty of care (responsibility) to ensure their properties are kept reasonably safe and free from hazards. 

They also have a duty of care to warn guests of any potential dangers or hazards on the property. For example, putting up slippery floor signs when floors are wet, or posting warnings at the pool when lifeguards are not on duty. 

Additionally, premises liability laws include situations where the property owner should have known about a potential danger. For instance, they skipped performing property inspections, even though they knew doing so could result in hazardous situations for their guests. 

In regard to inadequate lighting and obstructions, property owners have a duty of care to ensure walkways, stairwells, and other areas are sufficiently illuminated so that guests can clearly see any obstructions or potential hazards. If the property owner fails to do so, they could be held liable for injuries one experiences from an accident. 

In order to establish property owner liability, you would need to gather sufficient evidence to show their negligence. Some of the various types of evidence you can use to build your case include:

• Pictures and videos: Taking pictures and videos of the low lighting or obstruction, and where you were injured, can help establish negligence. 
• Witness statements: If there were others present during your accident, obtaining their contact details and getting a statement could benefit your case when others can corroborate the events that took place and resulted in your injuries.
• Incident/accident reports: It is vital to file an incident or accident report after being injured. This report can further substantiate that the property owner is liable for your injuries. 
• Medical reports: Having copies of your medical care, treatment, and diagnosis from the hospital or doctor can also help prove negligence. 

A property owner could be held negligent in different situations for failing to take the appropriate actions to reduce or prevent injury-causing accidents, such as:

• Not performing regular inspections: Property owners need to inspect their property regularly to identify potential lighting issues and obstructions that could be hazardous to guests.
• Not making necessary repairs: If a property owner identifies a potential hazard but fails to take steps to repair it promptly, they can be liable for your injuries.
• Not providing sufficient warnings: Property owners who are aware of potential hazards, yet do not post signage warning guests of the danger, could be liable. 

Recovering Your Losses After a Slip and Fall Due to Poor Lighting

The process to recover your losses after a poor lighting or obstruction accident requires following specific steps to protect your legal rights to file any injury claim for monetary compensation from the responsible party. Anytime you are involved in an accident, and are injured on someone’s property, you should:

• Report the accident to the property owner or their representative (manager).
• File an incident or accident report with the property owner or their representative. If they refuse to file a report, contact the police and file a police report instead.
• Seek medical care and treatment for your injuries, even when they seem minor. Failing to seek proper treatment could hurt your right to claim compensation later.
• Gather evidence in the form of pictures and videos showing the accident scene, contact information for witnesses, medical records, and the incident or accident report.
• Before speaking with the property owner’s insurance company, it is recommended to obtain free legal advice from one of our premises liability lawyers by scheduling a free consultation as soon as possible. 
• File your injury claim and demand for payment with the property owner’s insurance company.
• Negotiate with the insurance adjuster to secure a favorable settlement.

If you retain our legal services after your free consultation, your legal team will take care of filing your injury claim and negotiating your settlement on your behalf. 

The types of compensation you can claim include economic and non-economic losses. Economic losses are actual financial losses you experience as a result of the accident and your injuries. They include:

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Personal property damages
• Disability impacts
• Funeral expenses

In situations where you are visiting Las Vegas on vacation or business, and your injuries require you to remain in town longer, you can also claim any related travel and lodging expenses as part of your economic losses. 

Non-economic damages are losses that do not have an actual dollar amount. However, you are still entitled to see monetary compensation for these types of losses, such as:

• Pain and suffering
• Loss of consortium
• Loss of companionship
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Disfiguration
• Emotional distress 
• Mental anguish

In the event the insurance company refuses to settle, and the case proceeds to trial, a third type of damage the judge could award is punitive damages. Punitive damages are very rare and only awarded in cases where the property owner was grossly reckless, malicious, or egregious in their actions and behaviors, resulting in injuries. This type of compensation is meant to punish the property owner and serve as a deterrent to other property owners behaving in a similar manner. 

How a Personal Injury Attorney Can Help

Filing a personal injury claim due to inadequate lighting or obstructions can be complex and seem overwhelming when you attempt to do it yourself. If you are visiting Las Vegas, you have to try to manage your injury claim after leaving town, which makes things even more challenging. 

Property owners and insurance adjusters will also take advantage of the situation because you do not have legal representation. They will act like they are concerned about your best interests. However, while they may show genuine concern about your injuries, their objective is to get you to settle for the least amount of compensation possible. 

Many people are often shocked when they accept an insurance settlement without consulting with a personal injury attorney first and find out later that they were actually entitled to a much larger settlement. 

Seeking legal representation after a slip-and-fall accident due to poor lighting and obstructions is always your best course of action. It costs nothing to get a free case evaluation and consultation while learning about your legal rights. The lawyer you speak with will provide solid legal advice on how best to proceed with your case. 

Should you decide to hire our law firm, we provide the following to ensure you receive a favorable settlement:

• We conduct a detailed investigation into your injury case.
• We gather the necessary evidence to show the property owner was negligent.
• We file all insurance claims and legal paperwork on your behalf.
• We negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf, and are aware of all the tactics they attempt to use.
• If the insurance company refuses to settle, we take your case to trial and aggressively litigate your case in front of a judge and jury.

At Adam S. Kutner, Injury Attorneys, we have over three decades of experience helping people receive the compensation they deserve when they have been injured due to another’s negligence. Get your free case evaluation and consultation before speaking to the insurance company.

Speak to a premises liability lawyer today.

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