Injuries you can get from falling can be anything from cuts and bruises to brain damage. The severity of your injuries will depend on risk factors like your age, whether you have preexisting health conditions, and where you fell.
If you slipped and fell because of a hazard on someone else’s property that they should have fixed or warned you about upon your arrival, you might be able to recover compensation for your fall.
Minor Injuries
Some slip and fall injuries will not warrant more than an adhesive bandage. Minor slip and fall injuries include:
- Cuts
- Scrapes
- Bruises
- Sprained ankle
- Sprained wrist
No matter how minor you think your injuries are at that moment, you should seek medical attention. For example, if you hit your head, symptoms of a concussion might not develop until hours later. Even when you suffer minor injuries, they can develop into more dangerous conditions. However, depending on the accident, you can suffer severe and even fatal injuries instantly from a fall as well.
Severe Injuries
For seniors, slipping and falling is the leading cause of death from injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other, non-fatal severe injuries you can get from falling include:
- Broken or fractured hip
- Broken or fractured arm
- Broken or fractured leg
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Concussions
- Fractured skull
- Deep cuts
- Spinal damage
If you or a loved one have been severely injured or died from a fall, you might be able to seek compensation.
Risk Factors for Falling
According to the CDC, seniors are more likely to suffer injuries from falls due to frailty that occurs in older age.
However, according to the Mayo Clinic, there are other personal risk factors for falling, which could affect someone of any age, including:
- Low blood pressure
- Poor vision
- Weakness
- Some medications
- Inadequate footwear
While a slip and fall might have been purely accidental, and not caused by a hazard, another risk factor for this kind of accident is negligence. Sometimes, people slip and fall because of hazards on someone’s property that the owner did not properly address. Some of these hazards include:
- Torn carpet or rug
- Loose or unstable flooring
- Unstable handrails
- Wet or slippery floor
- Exposed wires
- Tripping hazards
If you or a loved one has suffered injuries, or if a loved one died due to a hazard on someone else’s property, you might have a premises liability claim.
Premises Liability
When a property owner neglects to keep their property safe, and someone gets hurt because of their negligence, they will typically be required to pay for the injured person’s accident-related expenses.
As long as a person can prove the following criteria, they might be able to sue or file an insurance claim for their slip and fall:
- Duty of care: The property owner had a responsibility to keep the premises free of hazards so that guests do not get hurt.
- Breach of duty: The property owner breached their duty of care by not fixing or cleaning a hazard they knew about or should have reasonably known about.
- Causation: Their breach of duty directly led to you slipping and falling on due to the hazard.
- Damages: You suffered injuries and financial losses because of your accident.
You also had to be on the property legally to qualify for a lawsuit. So, if someone invited you to their house, and you slipped on spilled water that the owner failed to clean up or tell you about, and you suffered injuries and losses as a result, you could have a case.
Call Ben Crump Law, PLLC, Today
A slip and fall lawyer from Ben Crump Law, PLLC, might be able to help you build your case to receive compensation for any expenses and losses you suffered as a result of someone else’s negligence. Some types of compensation you might be able to recover in your case include, but are not limited to:
- Hospital bills
- Prescription medication costs
- Ongoing care costs
- Lost wages
- Lost earning potential
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Funeral and burial expenses (in wrongful death cases)
You do not have to take on a difficult legal case by yourself. A lawyer from our team can handle your case while you focus on recovering from your injuries or mourning the loss of your loved one. You should not be responsible for paying for bills related to an accident you did not cause.
We work on a contingency-fee-basis, so we do not take any money upfront. We collect our payment from a settlement amount only if we win your case. We also offer a free case evaluation ahead of time. Essentially, this means there is no risk to you by hiring us.
Call a member of our team to discuss your case at Ben Crump Law, PLLC, at 800-959-1444 today. We want to help you get the justice and compensation you deserve.
