Slip and Fall Lawyers

Slip and fall injuries may sound innocent, but the National Floor Safety Institute estimates that more than one million people make an emergency room visit due to this type of injury every year. This is a wide-ranging injury category, covering slips in the workplace, home, and in other public areas, including stores, restaurants, airports, etc. Some slip and fall accidents are truly accidents, while many of them, sadly, are preventable. It is those cases that we want to discuss here today because in preventable circumstances, you may need a slip and fall lawyer to handle your case.

Most Common Types of Slip and Fall Accidents

As stated above, this is one of the more wide-ranging personal injury categories attorneys will see, so this list is long and more than likely very familiar to most people:

• Wet floors
• Slippery floors
• Slick or icy parking lots
• Unmaintained or unrepaired sidewalks
• Unmarked changes in elevation (such as a small step or a curb)
• Broken railings
• Worn or narrow stair treads
• Insufficient lighting (inside or outside)
• Loose carpeting or flooring
• Unprotected chords in common walkways (public events, hotels, etc.)
• Floor surface changes
• Potholes
• Spills (can be food, such as a grape, or liquid, such as oil)

Where Do Slip and Fall Accidents Usually Occur?

Again, this is a long list because virtually every type of setting opens itself up to a possible slip and fall accident:

• Amusement parks
• Construction sites
• Event centers (such as a concert or sports venue)
• Hotels
• Grocery stores
• Malls
• Retail stores
• Theaters
• Restaurants
• Home

Common Slip and Fall Injuries

Because these types of accidents generally catch the individual by complete surprise, the injuries can be extremely serious, such as:

• Back injury
• Broken bones/limbs
• Joint injuries (such as a sprained knee or a broken wrist)
• Head trauma
• Neck strains and fracture

Who Is Responsible for Slip and Fall Injuries?

In some cases, this is truly just an accident that happened, but in far too many cases, the injury is as a result of a store, property, or business owner not having taken the proper precautions or having marked an area where a slip and fall accident could happen. When accidents such as this happen, it is important to determine specifically who is responsible to ensure you receive a proper settlement.

The first step is to find out who was responsible for the situation that allowed the slip and fall to take place. For instance, if you are at a supermarket and do not see a grape on the floor and step on it, resulting in a slip and fall injury, the store could be held liable. In other cases, the liable party is not so clear. For instance, if construction work is being done in that same store and you slip on water spilled on the floor that came from one of the workmen in the area, things could get a bit cloudy. Does that responsibility lie on the store owner or the construction company?

In some cases, there may be a hazard the property or store owner was not aware of or that they never fixed. This does not necessarily change the individual responsible, but it could show ignorance and neglect on the part of the party to be held liable, resulting in a larger settlement. For instance, a tile comes up over a drain in a store and someone slips and gets injured. The store owner is made aware of the problem but does nothing to fix it. At a later time, someone else falls and slips due to that same bad tile. This particular situation could result in a massive lawsuit due to the fact the business owner was aware of a hazard and chose to completely ignore it.

The second issue that needs to be looked at his overall property management, which we just briefly touched upon. Any business and/or property is expected to be maintained to a safe level. For instance, you have a neighbor that refuses to fix his or her sidewalk even though it is cracked and uneven. If that situation continues without any effort to fix the problem and a slip and fall happens, that individual could be legally liable for any and all injuries that occurred as well as pain and suffering, medical bills, lost income, etc.

Do I Need a Slip and Fall Lawyer?

If you are injured in a slip and fall injury, the safest thing you can do is call a slip and fall lawyer, especially if the call has resulted in a serious injury for a wrongful death. Even a small injury can turn into a nagging injury that requires medical attention for years. In these cases, victims need to recover medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, wrongful death damages, and/or emotion stress damages. An attorney specializing in slip and fall cases will ensure that you are getting the full settlement you or a family member deserves.

Have you or a family member recently been injured or worse in a slip and fall accident? If so, it is time for you to consult with a slip and fall lawyer. Give us a call at 855-633-0888 to discuss your case free of charge and with no obligation. Or, if you would prefer to learn more about our legal services, please click here.