Slip and Fall Personal Injury Claim
A slip and fall injury is an injury sustained when a person slips, trips, basically when a person hits the ground or floor by whatever means. Often this occurs due to an uneven floor surface, a rip or tear in a carpet, a loose and wrinkled door mat, or a wet slippery surface due to mopping or some liquid has leaked onto the floor, such as a leaking water cooler or water fountain. Often the property owner is held liable for the injury and made to pay compensation to the injured party in a court of law. Work Injury Claims There are occasions however, where the property owner is not held liable. This instance could be where a building is leased and the lessee, rather than the lessor, (the property owner), would be held liable.
The Right Representation
If you are injured in one of these cases and seek medical attention first and worry about legal advice afterwards. Unfortunately, these accidents are are often staged by people looking to get an easy payoff. This makes it all the more difficult for the legitimately injured to receive the compensation that they deserve and may lead to large medical bills in the case of a serious injury. Due to this, if you do seek legal representation, make sure you secure the services of an experienced attorney for these cases and not just a personal injury attorney.
If the injury sustained only keeps you off your feet for a day or two, it may not be worth the effort to pursue a lawsuit, unless you are merely seeking compensation to cover medical bills, unfortunately, most attorneys will not pursue a case unless it is potentially profitable and so you may be stuck with an emergency room bill.
Substantial Claims
If however, the injury sustained is substantial, preventing you from working for an extended period of time, or possibly necessitating you to change careers, you may have a substantial case. Injuries sustained from a slip and fall could range anywhere from a simple, insignificant bruise, to neurological damage from hitting your head, or even death! In a case of death from a fall, the family of the victim may be awarded compensation from the fall.
That was all in the private sector, in the workplace, slips, trips and falls, make up the majority of industrial accidents. Second only to motor vehicle accidents, slips, trips and falls account for 15% of accidental deaths. Approximately 540,000 slip and fall injuries require medical attention in The United States every year, and account for approximately 300,000 disabling injuries as well yearly. An astonishing 55 persons daily die from slip and fall accidents!
Number 1 Cause of Death in the Workplace
Slip and fall is the number one cause of injury in the home and kills more workers yearly than all other workplace injuries combined! It is the number one accident in restaurants, hotels, and other public buildings and 70% of those happen on flat level surfaces. It is the number one cause of death in the workplace and account for 57% of disabling injuries in the workplace as well, and make up 30% of all reported accidents. Workers compensation claims for these injuries amount to 1.8 billion dollars yearly making up 40% of all workers compensation claims paid. So hey, watch your step.
Avoid Falls, Trips and Slips On A Construction Site
As a building project develops and turns into a building or home the construction site itself obviously changes. With the development the risks and potential hazards change. Some of the more common problems are included below: Uneven Surfaces This is a popular one as a house or building starts to take shape and doors, windows […]