Slip and fall accidents are one of the most common forms of injury handled by personal injury lawyers, as these accidents can result in serious injuries. Even common slip and fall accident injuries include brain injuries and spinal injuries.
Such serious injuries often come with significant medical bills and life-altering implications. It takes an experienced personal injury lawyer to help recover fair compensation when someone’s negligence leads to a slip and fall injury.
What is a slip and fall accident?
Slip and fall accidents are a specific type of personal injury accident. An accident is considered to be a slip and fall accident when the victim slips on a clear safety hazard and ends up falling as a result.
When such an incident occurs in a public place, the property or business owner can be found guilty of negligence for failing to keep their premises safe. In fact, slip and fall cases are so common that many personal injury lawyers specialize in them specifically.
Most Common Injuries After a Slip and Fall Accident
Some of the most common injuries to result from a slip and fall accident include the following:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal Injuries
- Broken and fractured bones
- Concussions
- Neck Injuries
- Cuts and lacerations
- Face injuries
- Joint injuries
Some slip and fall injuries can leave a person with severe, permanent damage, and in some cases, they can even be fatal.
Even when the accident and resulting injury aren’t severe, the victim may experience long-term physical damage. For example, injuries to the knees, ankles, elbows, or shoulders often lead to long-term chronic pain and reduced mobility.
Factors that Impact the Severity of a Slip and Fall Injury
No two slip and fall accidents are the same. The type of injury suffered in a slip and fall accident can depend on many personal and environmental factors. The victim’s age and health can play a role in the type of injury they sustain. For instance, an elderly individual is more likely to suffer a broken bone after a fall than a younger person.
The circumstances that lead to the slip and fall accident will also impact the type of injury. An unsafe staircase, for example, can cause a person to end up falling down a flight of stairs, likely leading to more significant injuries than a fall onto a carpeted floor would cause.
However, personal injury lawyers who handle slip and fall cases tend to see the same types of injuries at the center of their claims. That’s because, regardless of accident-specific factors, falling endangers the brain and the spine, and injury to these body parts can have catastrophic consequences.
Gaining Compensation After a Slip and Fall Accident
A wet floor in a hotel lobby or an icy sidewalk outside a cafe can easily lead to a slip and fall accident. Property owners have a legal responsibility to keep their property free of safety hazards like these, and should they fail to do so, a personal injury lawyer can build a case proving negligence.
Once a lawyer proves the property owner’s negligence was the direct cause of the accident, the owner can be held responsible for the damage done. From there, the lawyer will identify a target compensation goal based on items including medical bills and lost wages, and they’ll finish things by negotiating a settlement with the property owner’s insurance company.
Slip and fall accidents often lead to serious injuries and high medical costs, and the injured shouldn’t have to bear the burden of someone else’s negligence. If you’ve been injured in such an accident in Southern Missouri, a slip and fall accident lawyer at Privette Law Office can help you recover compensation. Call today to schedule a consultation with an experienced Missouri slip and fall accident lawyer.