I have been a “sidewalk injury lawyer”, or a personal injury lawyer who handles sidewalk injury claims, for many years. While in Portland, the City bureaucracy can control how you repair or replace your sidewalk. The homeowner and or the business owner adjacent to the sidewalk is legally responsible for defects in the sidewalk which results in an injury to a pedestrian.
With any Gresham, Oregon sidewalk injury its best to discuss the severity of the sidewalk defect with an experienced personal injury lawyer.
Sidewalk Injury Lawyer’s Opinion About Yard Debris
Each fall season, people get serious injuries on sidewalks from fall debris such as a fractured hip, broken arm or broken leg. This is because the home owner either doesn’t understand or care that it is their responsibility to sweep or rake up leaves on their sidewalk and/or property. It is not the city’s job to clean up these leaves.
Just last weekend a neighbor of mine decided to rake his leaves along with the yard debris into the street. He did this without any concern that this could be a safety hazard for cars and pedestrians. I informed his wife that it was dangerous and unlawful to do such an act. If someone was to receive an injury from his actions, he would be liable and therefore could lose a lot more than just money, but also his home.
When you rake your leaves into the street, it is the same as throwing garbage or other items that could create a safety hazard. Instead of raking them into the street, use a composts or even using the green yard debris barrels we all received from the City of Portland.
Sidewalk Injuries: Who is at fault?
Oftentimes people who suffer injuries due to slip-and-fall accidents fail to seek compensation because they blame themselves for being clumsy. The fact is, more often than not, these accidents are due to the negligence of another party.
We tend to think of markets, malls and other public places as the venue of most slip-and-fall mishaps, however many people are injured in private homes as well, and have a perfect right to file a claim against the home owner’s insurance carrier.
Often the insurance company try to avoid settlement by blaming the victim. One important issue in a slip and fall case is how long the condition that injured you was there. You have a strong slip and fall injury case if you can show that the owner of the property of the property manager knew of the condition and failed to make the property safe.
Slip-and-fall injuries are just one of the many types of harm that a Portland accident lawyer like Todd Peterson can help you with. Please feel free to consult with me, at no cost to you, if you have been injured in a fall, whether in a public place or private homes. But be sure to do so in a timely manner as waiting too long may cost you the settlement you deserve.
Sidewalk slip and fall and homeowners
I have handled ‘trip and fall’ or ‘slip and fall’ cases including one where an unfortunate client fractured her arm after tripping on a hose which was extended across a sidewalk at a prison. With the summer season around the corner, it will be likely that emergency rooms in Oregon and Washington states will be seeing more and more of these kind of injuries. Recoveries for broken arm and leg cases can often be high but depends upon the unique facts of each injury fall accident case.
Every homeowner and business is liable if the owner or adult person in charge leaves a hose or other clutter on their sidewalk and they will be responsible for medical bills and pain and suffering money. Clutter may include garden hoses, children’s toys, basketballs, pieces of wood, bikes, skateboards, and/or lawn tools.
In Gresham, Oregon sidewalks are a public route of pedestrian travel and the law in Portland makes the homeowner liable for injuries caused by lack of periodic upkeep and clutter.
When owning a home, there comes great responsibility. A homeowner must understand that if someone is injured through neglect like leaving a hose strewn across a sidewalk or children’s toys cluttering up a sidewalk that they could end up paying for the injured parties. Gresham, Oregon is a city that prides themselves with great upkeep of our neighborhoods. It’s a wonder why some homeowners take such a casual approach to the great financial risk they are setting themselves up for by failing to keep our community clean.
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