A slip-and-fall or a trip-and-fall often tends to be viewed as a minor accident – one where many people expect to “shake off” or “walk off” the incident and promptly move on with their lives. As New York personal injury lawyers who represent the rights of slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall accident victims, we know that these types of incidents routinely cause significant injuries, leaving individuals disabled for life and/or cause chronic pain. Some slip-and-fall accidents or trip-and-fall accidents may even lead to fatalities.
Here are four important facts everyone should be aware of when it comes to slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall accidents:
1. Falls result in serious injuries and are costly. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one out of five falls causes a serious injury such as a broken bone or a head injury. Each year, 3 million senior citizens are treated in emergency departments for fall-related injuries. More than 800,000 patients are hospitalized because of a fall injury, often from a resulting head injury or hip fracture. More than 95 percent of hip fractures are caused by falling, usually by falling sideways. Falls are also the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries. In 2015 alone, the total medical costs for falls was more than $50 billion. Medicare and Medicaid took on 75 percent of these costs.
2. It is important to collect information from the accident scene. Regardless of when or where you slipped or fell, it is crucial to gather as much information as possible from the scene. Take photos and video footage on your cell phone of the location. Take detailed shots of any defective conditions on the property where your accident happened, such as a broken stair, damaged carpeting or spilled liquids. File a report with the property owner/ property manager and get a copy for your own records. Be sure to also get the contact information for anyone who may have seen you slip or fall. Their testimony can be very valuable and can help substantiate your claim.
3. You can file a lawsuit against more than one party. You may be able to file a premises liability lawsuit against the at-fault property owner. But, in addition to that, you may also be able to claim damages from other responsible parties such as a property management company if that firm was tasked with maintaining the premises, etc. An experienced New York City premises liability lawyer can help you determine who the responsible parties are in a slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall case.
4. You have the right to seek monetary damages for your losses. If you were involved in a slip-and-fall or a trip-and-fall accident as a result of someone else’s negligence (carelessness), please remember that you have rights. Some of the damages that victims of such accidents can claim include, but are not limited to, medical expenses, loss of wages and benefits, cost of hospitalization, surgery, physical therapy, past and future pain and suffering, permanent injury damages, etc. Slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall accidents tend to result in major injuries that require hospitalization, multiple surgeries and rehabilitation. The costs of all these treatments add up very quickly.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
The experienced New York personal injury attorneys with the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. For over 49 years, our skilled attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims.
Our law firm recovered $1,700,000 for a woman who slipped and fell and received no hospital or medical treatment for one month after the accident. Our law firm also recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van, and $2,500,000 for a man who fell through an improperly secured hole. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury and medical malpractice cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com