Slip And Fall Injuries: Causes, Risks, And Taking Action
In reality, slip and fall injuries have serious consequences.
Falls cause more than 8 million emergency room visits each year.
For people over the age of 65, one out of three will suffer a slip and fall injury.
If you have been injured from slipping and falling, you may be eligible for compensation if the accident was caused by someone else's negligence.
Causes Injuries from a slip and fall come from a multitude of causes.
For example, poor lighting can prevent you from seeing obstacles on the ground.
A change in flooring or even torn carpeting can cause a trip hazard.
Other causes of trip, slip, and fall injuries are:
- Wet floors
- Broken or cracked sidewalks
- Ice and snow
- Potholes
Next, you have to prove that the accident was the fault of the property owner and not because of your carelessness.
To do so, you have to prove that the condition of the property presented an unreasonable risk and that the owner or possessor of the property knew about the risk.
Unreasonable Risk The property presents an unreasonable risk if one or more of these conditions are true:
- The property owner knew about the condition, but failed to fix it.
- The owner or possessor made the dangerous condition.
- The dangerous condition existed for so long that a reasonable person would have known about it and fixed it.
Finally, the risk should be such that the injured person could not have known it existed.
Accidents on Commercial Properties If you had an accident on a commercial property, the company was negligent if:
- The company was the cause of the dangerous condition.
Examples of dangerous condition are spills, worn spots, slippery floors, or items underfoot. - The company knew about the dangerous condition but did nothing about it.
- The company should have known about the condition because the condition was such that a reasonable person would have known about the condition and repaired it.
- The dangerous condition was under the landlord's control.
- The cost or difficulty in repairing the condition was reasonable.
- It was foreseeable that a serious injury could occur from the condition.
- The landlord's negligent failure to repair the condition caused the slip and fall injury.
Most personal injury lawyers offer a free initial consultation.
So if you have been injured in a slip and fall accident, don't hesitate to find out how to stand up for your rights.