One of the most prevalent categories of personal injury claims is slip and fall incidents. Grease on the floor can cause slips and falls among fast food workers. Similar to how individuals in the car repair business may trip over fluids. Even if you work in a secure workplace, loose tiles or ripped carpets might cause you to trip and fall.
In California, a lot of individuals are unaware of the potential financial costs of slip and fall accidents. Fortunately, these mishaps are covered by workers’ compensation insurance. The best approach to acquire the money you need to get back to your regular life after suffering an injury at work in a slip and fall accident is to work with a skilled and licensed workers’ compensation attorney in California.
A California premises liability accident is a “slip and fall” incident. Not all falls result in slip and fall liability, it is important to note. Therefore, you must demonstrate that someone else’s carelessness led to the accident to be awarded damages.
Common Causes
The following are some of the frequent reasons for slip and fall accidents:
- Spills
- Unsecured carpeting
- leaking pipes
- uneven surfaces
- scuffed rugs
- slick storefront entrances
- risky building sites
- Ground-level debris
- missing or damaged handrails
- unidentified steps
- faulty furniture
- Low illumination in places with plenty of traffic
- Construction sites not being roped off
Common Injuries
Slip-and-fall events can be dangerous and end in crippling injuries such
- Fractures
- Whiplash
- Damaged hips
- Concussions
- Either a permanent or passing paralysis
- Spinal cord damage
- Death
Your employer may be responsible for your employment injuries, including your medical bills, physical therapy costs, and surgical costs if you slipped and fell on their premises. There are a few things you should be aware of if you have a slip and fall accident at work.
How Common Slip And Fall Accidents Are
One thing you might not know is that slip and fall accidents are actually the main cause of personal injury for people of literally all ages, although those aged over 65 are more commonly affected. We can see such accidents in all age groups as being the most commonly seen injury. The only exception is the age group between 10 and 24. For such people, slip and fall stand out as the second most common injury cause.
More People Seek Treatment Than You Might Think
Every single year, there are over one million individuals who end up in the emergency room as they need treatment for injuries appearing in slip and fall incidents. If you do the math, around 3000 people visit the emergency room every single day in the US alone.
Slip And Fall Injuries Are Much More Costly Than You Might Think
An average injury suffered during a slip and fall accident ends up costing over $30,000. This is a statistic that is true in the US and it leads to the pretty horrific statistic that around $50 billion are spent every year for such injuries to be treated. And this is a statistic that applies only for the non-fatal falls.
One of the most common injuries you can expect is a bone fracture. These obviously cause really severe pain and will increase recovery time in a substantial manner. If you have a broken bone, you will not be able to go to work or take care of yourself and your home. In fact, statistics show that victims of slip and fall incidents miss an average of 11 days from work. You want to recover lost wages in your injury claim.
Trials Are Not Guaranteed
People hear that the process involves filing a lawsuit and they think this means they automatically go to trial. This is incorrect. In fact, just 3% of all personal injury cases actually go to trial. There is a huge possibility you will not end up faced with a jury trial. This is because insurance companies do all they can to settle before the trial, which is always unpredictable. Experienced attorneys can also help out a lot since they will help you to properly negotiate a good settlement.
Avoiding Slip And Falls Is Possible
Most people actually think that a slip and fall is possible at all times and cannot be avoided. In reality, most such accidents happen because of the negligence of a business or a third party individual. Most of these incidents can easily be avoided with proper safety practices in place.
Determine the Party at Fault
Determining blame is frequently essential to the result of the case in all California slip and fall cases, including incidents that occur while you are at work. This is especially true if you do not reside in a state that offers “no-fault” worker’s compensation. People usually have a responsibility to keep visitors to their property, such as offices, safe.
If your employer were at fault, you could be entitled to compensation for your losses, including medical expenses, lost earnings, and pain and suffering. On the other hand, if you caused the accident at work, neither your company nor their insurance provider would likely pay you anything.
It might be difficult to establish culpability when an accident happens. You must prove that your employer overlooked an issue or did not respond appropriately or soon enough to fix it. A sizable pool of water left standing is an excellent illustration of this. You trip and fall because you did not notice the water puddle when you arrived at work.
Report any workplace injuries and keep all records
You must immediately after your job incident get medical help for your wounds, properly examine the situation, and take pictures of the area. You could have workplace injuries in some situations that are so serious that you might not have enough time to report them and then immediately document what happened.
For instance, if you are traveling to the hospital in an ambulance, everyone may be aware of your job injuries. That does not, however, suggest that you have no accountability for the situation. To prove that the accident did occur at your place of employment and that it did so as a result of hazardous working conditions, it is imperative that you gather as much evidence as you can.
Additionally, you must complete any necessary paperwork for your workplace, such as forms. This will make it more likely that your employer will have access to all the relevant information when it comes time for you to get the pay that is due to you.
The following should be mentioned in your documentation:
- What led to the accident at work?
- Where your mishap occurred
- The time the event took place (such as time, date, etc)
- Your actions just before the slip-and-fall incident
- What kind of medical care did you receive?
- Your injuries at work as a result
- The names of the witnesses to your accident
- Declarations made by witnesses
Employer-Based Insurance
Fortunately, worker’s compensation insurance is mandated for practically all firms in California. This insurance aids in covering any losses that workers can incur as a result of an injury incurred at work. Note that this insurance protects you financially if you slip and fall at work and end up with medical expenses or missed payments as a result of the accident.
Remember, though, that the insurance company is not on your side and has several strategies at its disposal to avoid making a sizable settlement payment to you. Additionally, insurance providers in the state have a reputation for underestimating wage replacement benefits, which results in much smaller offers for claimants who are not represented by qualified lawyers.
You must fulfill certain requirements to be eligible for workers’ compensation insurance if you slip and fall at work:
- You had to be at work when the injury happened. Your chances of succeeding in a slip-and-fall lawsuit significantly decline if you were there during an unscheduled break or lunch when the workplace accident occurred.
- You must make sure that you complied with all corporate rules regarding behavior at the time of the workplace accident.
Increase Your Workers’ Compensation Case’s Strength
Deadlines are crucial if you slip and fall at work. It is advantageous to seek legal counsel as quickly as possible after the injury, but they are not the only factor. It is important to note that putting together all the information required to create a compelling slip-and-fall case can be challenging the further away you are from the event.
Evidence preservation is essential. Your shoes and the clothes you were wearing when you fell are the first two things you need to keep safe. You would be able to prove that the things you are wearing had nothing to do with the actual fall if you did this.
Most frequent reasons for slip and fall injuries
When danger is present, slip and fall injuries frequently happen. It is crucial to be informed about these risks. According to the National Safety Council, slip and fall accidents were the third-leading cause of work-related absences. The following are some of the most typical reasons for slip and fall accidents:
- surfaces that are slippery due to moisture or grease
- spills that aren’t cleaned up right away
- carpets, mats, or flooring that aren’t anchored
- weather conditions like ice, snow, and sleet
- flooring or traction-varying surfaces for walking
- uneven surfaces for walking or flooring
- uneven or poor illumination
- uncovered wires on the sidewalk
- handrails or guardrails on staircases missing or damaged
Slip and Fall Injury Types
The following are a few of the typical wounds that might result from a slip and fall:
Soft Tissue Injury
Soft tissue injuries are interior injuries, and since they are not often visible from the outside, proving them in court can be challenging. You might not feel the effects of a soft tissue injury for days or even weeks after the original fall. Ankle and wrist sprains to severe rips in tendons and ligaments are all examples of soft tissue injuries. When muscles or tendons of a body component are stretched beyond their normal range of motion, a sprain results. A tear can develop, and the damaged tendon can detach from itself if the sprain is severe enough to stretch the tendons or ligaments that are affected beyond their normal range of motion. Please seek medical attention if you suspect you have sustained a soft tissue injury because these wounds may not manifest immediately after your slip and fall mishap.
Head Injury
When you fall and slide, there’s a danger you’ll strike your head. Numerous injuries might result from hitting your head on the ground or another foreign object. A concussion is a form of traumatic brain injury or TBI, that is brought on by a bump, blow, or shock to the head or by a body strike that causes the head and brain to move quickly back and forth. If this happens to you, please seek emergency medical assistance. This abrupt movement can cause the brain to bounce about or twist in the skull, causing chemical changes in the brain and occasionally stretching and destroying brain cells. Numerous problems, including nausea, impaired vision, slurred speech, trouble focusing, and a reduction in mental acuity as a result of the damage, can be brought on by concussions.
Broken Bones
Falling always puts you at risk of a shattered bone. Depending on your landing or how far you fall. Whether you trip on a rocky surface or fall from an elevated surface. The likelihood of breaking a bone from a slip-and-fall incident rises as we age. Injuries to the hips, wrists, arms, or knees might happen as a result of our bones becoming more fragile and our reflexes being slower. Fractures and severe breaks that might harm surrounding tissue or result in internal bleeding can also result in broken bones. If you hurt yourself after slipping and falling and think you could have a fractured bone. Please seek medical advice as soon as you can. You must have an x-ray taken to accurately identify a fractured bone.
Injury to the back or spinal cord
A slip-and-fall accident can cause the spinal cord to get squeezed or torn. Spinal cord injuries can alter your life drastically and are frequently fatal. A spinal cord injury can result in either complete or partial bodily paralysis, depending on its severity.