Slip and fall accidents happen to people of all ages but are especially prevalent among older Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the third-highest cause of death (behind heart disease and cancer-related illnesses) for people aged 45-64 are unintentional injuries, which includes slip and fall accidents.
When a person accidentally trips and falls in a restaurant, a store, an office, hotel, or other public property, the accident is often because a property owner failed to maintain the property in a reasonably safe manner. Perhaps a hidden hole in the grass caused a person to stumble, and the person fractured bones.
Did these types of hazardous conditions exist on the Clearwater property? Did the managers and owners of the property do nothing to fix the hazards or put up warning signs? If so, then the property owner may be held liable for serious injuries incurred by individuals at the location. The injured person could have grounds to file a personal injury lawsuit.
If you were paralyzed in a slip and fall accident recently, and your family needs legal support to recover the costs of your traumatic injuries, then you may seek to file a lawsuit against the property owner. Connect with a Clearwater paralysis traumatic brain injuries lawyer from the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine. Call us at 1-800-747-3733, and we will listen to the circumstances of your injury and see how we can help.
Injuries in Slip and Falls
A slip and fall accident can cause a myriad of physical problems, with multiple symptoms. Here are some serious injuries we have seen in slip and fall accidents:
Ripped or strained ligaments or tendons – These injuries happen when a person twists a foot on a pothole or other hazardous condition.
Slipped disc – A hard slip and fall causes an impact to the spine, and this impact causes the discs to become compressed or otherwise damaged. A severe disc injury can produce paralysis.
Fractured or broken bones – Falling onto concrete from a hazardous condition like uneven pavement can result in minor-to-major fractures of ligaments, bones, and other structural parts of the body
Concussions or TBI (traumatic brain injury) – Slipping on a wet surface due to the owner’s negligence can cause a person to lose balance and slam one’s head against a hard surface. The resulting effects could cause severe dizziness and blackouts, or even long-term traumatic brain injury.
Spinal cord whiplash injury – This might be one of the most severe injuries a person can get in a slip and fall accident. Spinal cord injuries may produce paralysis or even death.
These injuries are not your fault. You can fight for your legal right to recover damages from the at-fault parties involved in a slip and fall accident. Get in touch with a Clearwater paralysis traumatic brain injuries lawyer from the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine. Call 1-800-747-3733 today for your free case review.
Defects in a Slip and Fall
The CDC estimates that more than a quarter of U.S. senior adults suffer injuries in a slip and fall accident each year.
These injuries can appear as suddenly as the hazardous conditions in one of these accidents. Dangerous conditions in a car park garage could include crumbling staircases, poor lighting, or unseen holes in the pavement. Any one of these conditions can contribute to a person’s accident, and the owner or property manager would be held liable for such an accident.
Other conditions for a slip and fall that would qualify as dangerous or hazardous, thus contributing to the owner’s liability, can include:
- Garbage or clutter in a walkway
- Poor or faulty lighting
- Ripped or bunched up carpeting
- Loose wires or cables
- Slick, wet, or oily substances on floors
- Water or cleaning fluid spills
- Loose rugs or slippery floor mats on the floor
- Uneven pavement
- Cracked walking surfaces
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Negligence of the Property Owner
Once you and your loved ones have gathered evidence on your behalf, it is time to use that evidence against the negligent property owner or other person responsible for the negligence.
Here are four key factors in presenting evidence necessary to show that your traumatic injuries were caused by a negligent property owner or manager.
- Evidence that shows you were injured. This would be an accident report filed with the person in charge at the location of the accident. This should be a write-up that tells what happened to you at the scene of the accident. If the police are called to the scene, the police should also file a report that you need for evidence in a personal injury claim.
- Evidence that shows the scope of your injuries. After leaving the scene of the accident, you likely would be taken to an emergency room at a nearby hospital. It is here that a full medical report needs to be taken. You would then tell the staff about your injuries that occurred directly before at the slip and fall accident location.
- Evidence that shows that negligent or hazardous conditions caused your fall. Having photos and video evidence of the scene of the accident is very important in a slip and fall case.
- Evidence that the injuries were not because of your fault. Producing evidence that you were healthy and fit (at least reasonably) before your slip and fall accident will help prove that the hazardous condition was the sole reason for your accident.
Some states, including Florida, employ a legal doctrine of comparative negligence that is used in personal injury claims. In these instances, the defendant (e.g., property owner) will try to prove that the person who had a slip and fall accident fell due to their own imbalance or clumsiness. The defense will try to claim that the person should be held at least partially responsible for their own fall, and thus, argue that financial settlement funds should be lessened accordingly.
The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine Is Here to Help
All these examples above can make a slip and fall injury case complicated. Allow a Clearwater paralysis traumatic brain injuries lawyer at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine to be your support. Call our legal team at 1-800-747-3733 to find out how we can work with you on a slip and fall accident case.
