A slip and fall accident is a type of personal injury accident that involves a person slipping on another person’s property and suffering a severe injury by falling to the ground. The hard floor can provide little cushion for a person as they slip and fall, leading to severe injuries like broken bones, hip fractures, and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs).
Some causes of a slip and fall accident include wet floors, loose carpeting, missing stair steps, and poor lighting. If their negligent behavior results in an accident, a property owner can be held for slip and fall damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. A property owner’s negligent behavior that can leave them liable for a slip and fall accident can include not leaving out a wet floor sign, failing to fix a broken step, or recklessly leaving obstacles in walkways.
Slip and Fall Accidents Caused by Wet Floors
One of the most common causes of slip and fall accidents is a person slipping on a wet floor. These are common because a wet floor may not be obvious to someone as they walk around a school, workplace, hospital, or restaurant. Water is transparent with no discernible color that someone could see, so they could unknowingly walk over a huge water spill. This could lead to a slip and fall accident, resulting in severe injuries like back and neck injuries, broken bones, and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs).
Wet floor slip and fall accidents normally occur when a property has smooth, waxed tile floors. Water and other liquids can soak into a carpet but remain atop a smooth surface like a linoleum floor. A property’s floor can become wet if there is a liquid spill, rain tracks into a property, or the floor is mopped. Property owners must warn people about wet floors by leaving a wet floor sign. Failure to do so means a person walking around the property may not realize the floor is wet and suffer a slip and fall accident the property owner can be held liable for.
What Obstacles Can Lead to Severe Fall Injuries?
There are other obstacles in a walkway that can cause a slip and fall accident, such as trash, cords, and potholes. Just like wet floors, these obstacles can be unpredictable and result in a person losing their balance. After losing their balance, they can fall onto a hard floor which can cause severe damage to a body part and cause severe injury. Property owners must ensure their floors are clear of debris, cords, and other debris to prevent a person from slipping, tripping, and falling. Failure to do so can leave them liable in a slip and fall accident claim.
The following are some of the obstacles that can cause a slip and fall accident:
- Parking lot potholes
- Trash or debris on the floor
- Cords running across the floor
- Desks or drawers opened into a walkway
- Merchandise that fell off store shelves
- Chairs or other furniture
Slip and Fall Accidents Resulting from Improperly Maintained Walking Surfaces
Slip and fall accidents can also result from walking surfaces that are not properly maintained or constructed. A walking surface may have been constructed in an uneven fashion. An uneven walking surface can cause someone to lose their balance and fall to the ground, possibly suffering a severe injury.
As a person drags their feet across the floor as they walk, a loose floorboard, mat, or rug can come out of position and cause a person to fall to the ground. Another problem with a walking surface that can cause a slip and fall accident is a missing step. As a person walks up or down stairs, they may not notice that a step is missing. That can lead to them not stepping far enough to reach the next step and falling down the stairs.
Poor Lighting Can Cause a Slip and Fall Accident
A property can also be poorly lit and obscure possibly dangerous obstacles that can cause a slip and fall accident. A poorly lit property can prevent a person from seeing the whole picture of the area and can lead to them missing an obstacle that can cause them to slip. The obstacle may not even be that dangerous but can become so because the person couldn’t see it was there due to dark lighting. A property owner must keep their property lit properly to allow everyone who visits to be able to see in front of them to prevent a slip and fall accident.
Learn more: What To Do After A Slip and Fall Incident
Hiring a Slip and Fall Accident Lawyer to Help You Pursue Compensation for Damages
Property owners can be held liable for slip and fall accident claims if their property has hazards they do not warn people about or take steps to correct. A slip and fall accident can cause economic damages a victim can pursue compensation for, such as medical bills, lost wages, and lost earning potential. Severe injuries can also lead to non-economic damages and psychological effects that can worsen quality of life, such as loss of consortium, pain and suffering, and mental anguish.
Hiring a slip and fall accident lawyer can help with the claims process, as they have experience handling these claims. They will know what steps to take, such as damage calculation, collecting evidence, and negotiating with the at-fault party’s insurance company. Their expertise in slip and fall accident claims can help you craft a sound legal counsel plan to maximize your potential to recover compensation for damages.
Contact The Russo Firm for Help With Your Pedestrian Accident Claim
At The Russo Firm, our slip and fall accident lawyers have vast experience helping victims recover compensation for damages caused by the negligence of property owners. They owe it to people visiting their property to maintain a safe environment, and mistakes that lead to a slip and fall accident can leave them liable for damages. Our slip and fall accident lawyers can help you by using our experience to inform your legal counsel strategy and resources to invest in helping you recover compensation for damages.
Our personal injury lawyers offer free consultations to show victims of personal injury accidents like slip and fall accidents how we can help them recover compensatory damages. Contact our slip and fall accident lawyers for a free consultation today at (561) 270-0913 or leave a message on our online contact page.
