Imagine walking through a retail shop or a grocery store when all of a sudden your feet come completely out from under you. The experience is terrifying, and can result in severe injuries. Tragically, these incidents can even be fatal. What makes this type of accident even worse is that, in the majority of instances, it is completely preventable.
The personal injury attorneys with Sand Law are experts in slip and fall cases. We know how to investigate them, and gather the evidence needed to show when an act of negligence causes them. If you choose us to represent you, we can guarantee we’ll leave no stone unturned in an effort to help you obtain the full and fair compensation you deserve.
Please give us a call at 701-609-1510 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation to learn more about how we may be of assistance.
When you think of the most common reasons people have to go to the hospital, car accidents or truck accidents might come to mind first. But the biggest cause of hospital visits is actually falls. An average of about 8 million people have to go to the hospital after falling. This accounts for 21% of all hospital visits in the U.S. each year.
A slip and fall accident can take place anywhere there’s a slippery surface, or there’s an uneven surface. These are just a few examples.
Slip and fall accidents can occur due to a number of different types of hazards, including the following:
When someone owns a business that is open to the public, that person owes a duty of care to customers to keep them safe while on the premises. They need to not only take all reasonable precautions to ensure safety, they also have to train their employees to quickly recognize and rectify any potentially dangerous situations.
The classic example is the owner of a grocery store. That owner must make sure employees react to any spills quickly and efficiently. Employees must clean and dry the spill as fast as they can. If they don’t, and someone slips due to their negligence, then the owner of the store could be held liable.
When any property owner fails to make the property as safe as reasonably possible, and an accident occurs due to that failure, the owner could face liability.
In Fargo, North Dakota, the concept of comparative negligence can come into play in slip and fall cases. If the injured party is found to be partially at fault for the accident, their compensation might be reduced by their percentage of fault.
For instance, if a person ignored clear warning signs and slipped, they might be deemed partially responsible. Working with an experienced attorney can help navigate these complexities and ensure a fair outcome.
Property owners in Fargo, North Dakota, have a duty to ensure the safety of visitors. Regular inspections to identify potential hazards, prompt maintenance, and clear signage indicating wet floors or uneven surfaces can significantly reduce the risk of accidents.
Training staff to recognize and address hazards, installing proper lighting, and ensuring walkways are free from clutter are also essential measures. By being proactive, property owners can protect visitors and reduce their own liability.
While some slip and fall accidents result in minor injuries, others can have profound long-term impacts. Victims might suffer from chronic pain, mobility issues, or even cognitive impairments due to head injuries.
These long-term effects can impact a person’s ability to work, engage in daily activities, and enjoy a quality life. Recognizing these potential challenges and seeking appropriate medical and legal support is essential.
It can seem almost impossible to keep a clear mind after experiencing a slip and fall. But if you can try to do the following, that could make it much more likely that you’ll be able to obtain the compensation you deserve.
Hiring an attorney will be your best chance of obtaining compensation to cover the damages, or financial losses, that you will incur due to your injury. Examples of damages include lost wages, medical bills, emotional trauma and many others.
Your attorney will immediately get to work looking for evidence that will make your case as strong as possible. This can include obtaining footage from any cameras that may have caught the accident, as well as interviewing witnesses. Attorneys will sometimes call in expert witnesses who can recreate the accident, or can testify to the severity of the injury you suffered.
The attorneys with Sand Law are ready to help if you’ve suffered an injury in a slip and fall accident caused by someone else’s negligence. If you would like to schedule a free case review, you can contact us online or give us a call at 701-609-1510.
Slip and falls can be incredibly dangerous, even if it doesn’t seem like it. When you slip and land hard on the ground or hit your head on an object, it can cause severe injuries. In our society, slip and falls are often portrayed as funny, but they can be extremely serious and may be more common than you might think. Falls count for 8 million hospital room visits every year, making slips and falls the leading cause (21%) of hospital visits.
Slips and falls are also the leading cause of workers’ compensation claims and the leading cause of occupational injury for people over the age of 55, especially at construction site jobs. But slip and falls are not only an occupational hazard. Half of all accidental deaths inside homes are caused because of a fall. Most of these injuries occur at ground level, not from falling off of a high point.
In 2018, there were 4,493 preventable deaths that occurred in work environments. Slips and falls make up a large portion of these deaths. And unfortunately, many slip and fall accidents are incredibly preventable. According to the National Safety Council, falls are 100% preventable, and businesses should be taking reasonable steps to make sure they don’t occur to both employees and guests.
Slip and fall accidents can occur pretty much anywhere: outside, inside a store, at work, or at your neighbor’s house. The main causes of slip and fall accidents are wet or icy surfaces, uneven surfaces, weather conditions, improper training, and nursing home neglect.
Uneven or hazardous surfaces are one of the two most common causes of slip and fall cases. These situations are caused by hazards like loose floorboards, clutter on the floor, potholes, broken sidewalks or pavement, torn carpeting, or broken staircases.
Wet and icy surfaces make up the second most common cause of slip and fall accidents in North Dakota. These hazards include icy stairs, recently mopped or waxed floors, spills on the ground, and water collection from something like a drip.
Weather conditions are another leading cause of slip and fall accidents. The biggest culprit is winter conditions, especially here in North Dakota. Businesses are responsible for clearing snow and ice in a timely manner after a winter storm. While snow and ice are the leading causes of weather related injuries, rain is also a common cause of slip and falls. After snowy, icy, or rainy conditions, it is the responsibility of the property or business owner to clearly mark the hazard and clean it up if possible. In situations were the owner fails to take proper precautions, they may be responsible for slip and fall incidents.
Falls commonly occur in workplaces.. These falls can be caused by improper training and are often more dangerous than slipping on ice or a spill. Construction workers who aren’t properly trained on protocol may fall from large heights, or slip and fall while operating a piece of machinery like hand forklift. It is not only the employee’s job to remain safe, but the employer’s job to provide proper safety training and follow through on safety guidelines.
Nursing homes also experience lots of slips and falls each year. These types of falls almost always result in severe injuries, as the elderly are much more fragile when it comes to falling or slipping. Our older loved ones can end up with a fractured hip, or other complicating conditions, because of slip and fall which could have tragic results. These injuries have a higher chance of being life threatening because of their age and fragility. Slip and falls can happen more frequently in a nursing home when the staff is negligent in their care or cleaning. Because of the risk to the safety of our aging population, it is extremely important that we hold nursing homes to a high standard.
After you suffer a slip and fall injury, be sure you don’t give a statement to the store or property owner. Don’t admit fault, or give any details that might make you seem like you were at fault.
You’ll then want to get the names of the owners and managers of the property and write down any names and contact info of any witnesses. Be sure to collect photos and documentation of the incident, if possible.
And of course, always make sure you get medical attention right away, whether you believe that you’re injured or not. It is not uncommon for injuries to manifest later after the adrenaline and shock wears off.
