A slip and fall accident can cause you significant injury, sometimes due to the negligence of a property owner who failed to address a safety concern at their home or business. In addition to the physical pain of the injury, you may suffer from lost wages and hefty medical bills.
Hiring the right personal injury attorney in Trinity, FL can make a difference in your ability to win your legal case. A Trinity slip and fall lawyer from our firm can estimate how much money you can be compensated for in your slip and fall claim. To start working on your case, you can reach out to Distasio Law Firm for a free consultation.
Common Causes of Slip and Fall Injuries
According to the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI), more than 8 million people visit the emergency room each year to seek professional medical treatment related to slips and falls. This accounts for more than 20% of a hospital’s emergency room patients. While falls are more common in older people, individuals of all ages can suffer injuries in this scenario. Many people fall through no fault of their own.
Workplace
Slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere. Per the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a large number of slips and falls happen in the workplace. In fact, slip and fall accidents account for up to 11% of all male workplace fatalities in the United States. It is also a leading cause of missed work days for workers, which has negative ramifications for both employers and employees.
Bad training accounts for some of the workplace slip and falls. This is a common cause of slip and fall accidents in the manufacturing and construction industries. When an employer fails to provide adequate safety training for employees who work in potentially hazardous conditions, the employer could be held liable for putting their employees at risk.
Hazardous Walking Conditions
Dangerous walking conditions are the leading cause of slip and fall accidents in the United States. It is the legal responsibility of a property owner to ensure that they take the necessary steps to maintain a safe property.
Hazardous walking conditions that can lead to slip and fall accidents include:
- Uneven pavement or flooring surfaces without proper warning signage
- Loose floor mats or rugs
- Damaged carpets
- Not using barriers and signs to mark off dangerous flooring conditions
- Potholes in asphalt parking lots
- Liquid and grease spills that aren’t cleaned up
- Failing to use non-skid floor treatments when necessary
There are many steps that property owners can take to create a safer walking space. This could mean mopping up spills immediately and using appropriate warning signs. It also means maintaining their property to remove falling hazards, such as loose paving tiles and fallen tree branches.
Weather
Ice, snow, and rain can create dangerous conditions that lead to slip and falls. While property owners and government municipalities cannot prevent the weather, it is their responsibility to do what they can to keep people safe on their properties.
This can include plowing snow off the streets, using salt to melt snow on walkways and steps, and shoveling the snow off community sidewalks. If you fall because of poor weather conditions and appropriate steps haven’t been taken to create safer walkways, you could have a legal case.
Bad Shoes
Footwear accounts for about a quarter of slip and fall accidents each year. While it is easy to dismiss the risk footwear poses to your safety, you won’t have to wear stiletto high heels to experience a slip and fall because of your shoes. Faulty shoes can also be to blame. This might be a pair of sneakers or work boots that do not have the right amount of traction.
Nursing Home Negligence
Senior citizens already have an increased fall risk and face more extensive injuries during falls. A slip and fall accident can be fatal for older people, as a hip fracture or broken arm could lead to more serious complications.
In nursing homes, it is important that the facility itself is well maintained and that precautions are taken to ensure the safety of its residents. For nursing home residents at an increased risk of falls, not taking the necessary precautions to keep residents safe is a legal liability.
Establishing Fault for Your Trinity Slip and Fall Injuries
One of your attorney’s most important responsibilities after taking on your case will be establishing liability. For the vast majority of slip and fall accident claims, the property owner where the accident occurred will be found liable. Property owners owe guests and patrons a duty of care. They must maintain the safety and integrity of their premises or be held accountable for any injuries that may be caused by hazardous conditions on the property.
When Property Owners May Not Be Accountable
With that being said, there are some situations in which property owners will not be held accountable. The first is if the injury victim was trespassing or committing a crime at the time of the accident. Under Florida law, property owners only owe a duty of care to invited guests and patrons.
Property owners could also avoid being held accountable for damages if the hazardous conditions in question are considered open and obvious. An open and obvious hazard is a danger that would have been considered easily recognizable to any other reasonable person. A good example of property owners utilizing the open and obvious doctrine is the use of wet floor signs.
When restaurants, retail stores, and other places of business have wet floors, they can avoid being held accountable if someone slips and falls by placing a wet floor sign near the hazardous conditions. This makes the danger obvious, and protects them from liability. If you have questions or concerns surrounding who may be at fault for your slip and fall injury in Trinity, you can contact a knowledgeable lawyer at our firm to discuss the details of your case further.
Florida Comparative Negligence Laws
It is more common than you might think for slip and fall injury victims to share liability for their injuries. However, if you were hesitant to reach out to a Trinity slip and fall attorney for help because you thought sharing fault prevented you from being entitled to compensation, you will be pleased to learn this is not the case.
Florida follows a pure comparative negligence system. Here, sharing liability does not prevent you from recovering compensation at all. However, your injury settlement will will be reduced to reflect your portion of shared liability. For instance, if you were found 35% liable for your injuries, you could only expect to recover 65% of your injury settlement.
Sharing even a moderate amount of liability can have a dramatic impact on the final amount of your injury settlement. If you hope to get the most out of your case, it is critical to retain a legal advocate who can ensure that liability is evaluated equitably in your case.
Serious Consequences of Slip and Fall Accidents
Many people experience cuts and bruises as a result of their slip and fall. However, other injuries are possible. For example, a slip and fall can lead to:
- Broken bones
- Fractures
- Sprains
- Knee injuries
- Spinal injuries
- Nerve damage
- Traumatic brain injury
Many of the more serious slip and fall injuries on this list can take a long time to heal and require extensive medical treatment. If you’ve fallen because of someone else’s negligence, hiring a slip and fall lawyer with experience in trying and settling personal injury cases in Trinity can help you get the restitution you deserve.
How Can a Slip and Fall Attorney in Trinity Help?
An experienced slip and fall lawyer can fight to win your case through three steps. First, your attorney will help you build a legal claim by gathering all of the evidence for your case. This includes requesting medical documentation, analyzing insurance policy information, and compiling all the facts. Next, your legal team will bolster the case by securing security camera footage, police records, and witness testimony.
Finally, your attorney will negotiate your case to get the compensation you’re entitled to. Often, this negotiation takes place outside of the courtroom. However, your slip and fall attorney will take your case to trial when necessary.
If you suffer from a slip and fall accident, it is important to document the scene, seek medical attention, and call a trustworthy personal injury lawyer with experience winning slip and fall accident cases. If the accident takes place at a business, be sure to file an incident report with the company and/or the place. Then, you consider contacting Distasio Law Firm to hire a slip and fall attorney in Trinity, FL you can trust.
Get Help from a Trinity Slip and Fall Attorney
When your slip and fall injuries have had a considerable impact on your life, but you are not sure where to turn for help, reach out to Distasio Law Firm for support from a Trinity slip and fall lawyer.
Our firm proudly offers no-cost, risk-free consultations to injury victims across Trinity and surrounding cities. Claim yours when you call our office today.
