People fall every day, whether it is from a slip, trip, or something else. While most of these falls result in minor injuries or no injuries at all other than wounded pride, other slip and fall accidents can be much more serious and require medical attention.
If you or a loved one was injured in a slip and fall accident that occurred due to the negligence of another party, you may be able to file a personal injury claim against the at-fault party to recover compensation for your damages.
The Abington slip and fall lawyers at the law offices of Gerald J. Noonan can help you determine if you have a case and, if so, guide you through the process of filing a claim. If necessary, we will fight for you in court. Contact us today for a free case consultation.
Types of injuries from slip and falls
Slip and falls, or trip and falls, can lead to a variety of injuries that require medical attention. A few of the different injuries that may result from a fall include:
- Head injuries: When you fall backward, you are likely to slam the back or side of your head hard on the ground. This trauma can lead to a concussion or more serious head injury.
- Back injuries: A hard fall can also injure your back, neck, and spine. These types of injuries may require surgery and/or long-term care.
- Broken bones: If you land on an outstretched arm or hit your hip hard when you fall, you may suffer a broken bone. Broken hips are especially common in the elderly.
- Spinal cord injuries: Similar to back injuries, a fall can damage your spinal cord. These types of injuries may even cause paralysis.
- Internal bleeding: A fall can also cause internal bleeding, which may require surgery to repair.
- Dislocated joints: A dislocated joint occurs when the bone pops out of the socket. This is a very painful injury that may require surgery to fix.
- Sprains, strains, and pulled muscles: Even if you do not hit the ground hard when you fall, you can still sprain or strain a muscle or ligament.
- Tendon and ligament damage: If you twist an ankle or knee when you fall, you may damage the tendons or ligaments in that joint.
- Cuts and bruises: Even a relatively minor fall can result in cuts and bruises. Anytime you fall, you are susceptible to bruising. Cuts tend to happen more often in outdoor falls, as the ground is rougher, but they can also happen indoors.
These are just a few of the potential injuries that could occur as a result of a fall. Depending on the circumstances surrounding the fall and the type of surface on which the fall occurred, the injuries could be much more severe. For example, a fall from a great height or onto a hard surface is much more likely to result in serious injuries than a fall from a standing position onto a carpeted surface.
What to do if you’ve been injured in a slip and fall accident
If you or someone you love has been injured in a slip and fall, it is important to seek medical attention as soon as possible. Even if the injuries seem minor, it is always best to err on the side of caution and have a medical professional take a look. In addition to seeking medical attention, you may also want to consider talking to a personal injury lawyer.
An Abington personal injury lawyer can help you better understand your legal options and whether or not you have a case. If you do have a case, a lawyer can help you get the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall, don’t wait to seek medical attention or legal guidance. The sooner you do, the better your chances of making a full and speedy recovery.
Slip and fall injury lawyer near me
The Abington slip and fall lawyers at the law offices of Gerald J. Noonan are here to help if you or someone you love has been injured in a slip or fall. We will review the circumstances of your case and help you determine if you have a claim. If you do, we will fight to get you the compensation you deserve. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
What can cause a slip and fall injury?
Falls can be caused by a plethora of different factors. A few ways that slip and falls or trip and fall injuries can be caused by the negligence of others include:
- Waxed or polished floors, and other slippery or sticky cleaning agents: These can cause you to lose your footing and take a fall.
- Wet floors that are not properly marked or dried: Water on the floor can cause you to slip and fall, especially if there are no “wet floor” signs posted.
- Dropped or foreign substances not cleared away: If something has been dropped on the floor and not cleaned up, like perhaps a spilled drink or a cleaning agent, you could slip and fall on it.
- Holes or cracks in the floor: These can also cause you to trip and fall, especially if they are not immediately visible.
- Loose carpeting or rugs: If the edges of a rug or carpet are not properly secured, they can curl up and cause you to trip.
- Loose floorboards: If a floorboard is not lying flat with the rest of the floor, it can trip someone.
- Inadequate lighting: If an area is not properly lit, you could trip over something that is difficult to see.
- Slippery or worn steps: Whether it is inside or outside, if the steps are not in good repair, they can cause a fall. This is especially true of cement steps, which can be worn smooth and even rounded after excessive use.
- Defective railings: If a railing isn’t secured tightly when someone grabs onto it for support, it could shake, move, or even give way, throwing off the person’s balance and leading to a fall.
- Automatic swinging doors: If someone does not see an automatic door swing open, they could walk into it and be knocked down or could be hit from behind by it after walking through.
- Automatic electrical doors: If an electrical door fails to open fast enough or shuts too quickly, it could lead to a fall.
- Uneven pavement: Sometimes pavement becomes uneven. This could be like a section of sidewalk sinking or tilting, or the elements eroding part of a piece of pavement. If a walkway or other pavement is not level, someone could trip and fall.
- Potholes: Typically caused by a combination of elements like water, traffic, and poor design or maintenance, potholes can form anywhere there is pavement. If they are not filled in, someone could trip on the hole and fall.
There are many other potential causes of slip and fall accidents, but these are some of the most common.
How does negligence work in slip and fall cases?
Negligence is often a key factor in slip and fall cases. In order for someone to be held liable for your injuries, their negligence must have played a part in causing your accident. That means that they must have breached their duty of care to you in some way. The duty of care is the legal obligation to take reasonable care to avoid foreseeable injuries to others.
For example, a business owner has a duty of care to their customers to take reasonable steps to keep them safe while they are on the premises. This means things like mopping up spills, putting up “wet floor” signs and making sure that there is adequate lighting. If the business owner does not take these reasonable steps and you are injured as a result, they could be held liable for your injuries.
Similarly, a property owner has a duty of care to their tenants and visitors to keep the property in a reasonably safe condition. This means fixing things like loose carpeting, repairing cracked sidewalks, and filling in potholes. If the property owner does not take these reasonable steps and you are injured as a result, they could be held liable for your injuries.
In order to prove that someone else’s negligence led to your slip and fall accident, you will need to show that:
- They owed you a duty of care
- They breached that duty of care
- You were injured as a result of the breach
- Your injuries led to damages (financial losses)
How an Abington slip and fall lawyer can help you recover compensation for your injuries
At the law offices of Gerald J. Noonan, our Abington slip and fall attorneys can help you recover financial compensation for your injuries by:
- Investigating your accident by securing and reviewing accident scene photos, accident/incident reports, eyewitness statements, surveillance camera footage, and medical records. Our investigation will help us determine how your accident occurred and who may have been responsible for your fall.
- Collaborating with engineering and medical experts to help us effectively and persuasively explain how the property or business owner’s negligence caused the fall that resulted in your injuries.
- Calculating the extent of your past, ongoing, and future damages caused by your accident.
- Filing claims with the responsible insurance companies and aggressively negotiating for a settlement that provides you with full compensation.
- Preparing your case for trial, if necessary, and advocating on your behalf before a judge and jury.
- In addition, our firm can help you by referring you to medical providers that will treat your injuries. We will also work to get your medical insurance to help defray the costs of your recovery. Our goal is to obtain the compensation you deserve from the negligent property or business owner.
The Law Offices of Gerald J. Noonan: Best slip and fall attorney near me
If you or a loved one was injured in an accident that involved a fall, a personal injury lawyer in Abington may be able to help you recover compensation for the damages you’ve suffered and to hold the party whose negligent actions led to your fall responsible. Contact us today for a free case consultation.
