Slip, trip, and fall injury lawyer
If you’re like lot a lot of people, the possibility of slipping and falling is not something you ever worry much about—until it happens to you. Slip, trip, and fall accidents don’t get much media attention and most of us don’t think about them much, and yet they are among the nation’s most frequent causes of accidental injury and death. At the Huntsville, Alabama law offices of Wettermark & Keith, LLC, we see the terrible damage that fall accidents cause every day.
The Statistics
- On the average, 24,000 people die every year in slip, trip, and fall accidents.
- An additional 8,000,000 non-fatal injuries are caused by falls.
- Falls are the number one cause of traumatic brain injuries
- Falls cause more than 95 percent of all hip fractures
- 15 percent of accidental workplace fatalities are caused by slip, trip, and fall accidents
- Emergency rooms treat more people for falls than for car accident injuries.
The Property Owner’s Responsibility
That’s a lot of death and suffering that shouldn’t be happening. Many slip, trip, and fall accidents happen because of negligent property owners or lessees who cause or allow dangerous conditions that can cause falls on their premises. Anyone who owns or operates property where the public is allowed has a legal responsibility to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition, free of hazards that make walking there dangerous. If a dangerous condition does occur, they need to use signs or barriers to warn the public and keep them away from the area until the problem is fixed. If someone is injured on the property because of negligence in maintaining the premises, the owner or operator of the premises may be held liable for any injury that occurs, and the victim will be entitled to a claim of compensation for various economic and non-economic damages.
These are some of the conditions that have the potential to cause people to fall:
- Trash or fallen merchandise in a store aisle
- Acorns or slippery, wet leaves on a sidewalk
- Staircases with missing or broken steps or otherwise in poor repair
- Staircases lacking hand rails
- Wet, highly-waxed, or over-polished floors
- Spilled food in a restaurant or store aisle
- Wet, slippery sidewalks caused by sprinkler systems
- Torn, elevated, uneven, carpet
- Potholes
- Sidewalks elevated by root growth beneath them
- Electrical cords crossing a walkway
These are all conditions that the owner or operator of a property is required to prevent, or promptly remedy if they occur, taking steps in the meantime to keep people away until clean-up or repair is complete.
Types of Injuries
Slip, trip, and fall injuries are often a lot more serious than a twisted ankle. They can be life-changing, catastrophic, and fatal. At Wettermark & Keith, LLC, we have helped many slip, trip, and fall victims recover monetary compensation from the person or company whose negligence caused the accident. These are some of the types of injuries for which we frequently obtain a fair settlement or verdict for our clients:
- spinal cord injuries
- paralysis
- skull fracture
- traumatic brain injury
- coma
- bone fractures
- nerve damage
- internal organ damage
- internal bleeding
- facial and dental injuries
- sprains and strains
- lacerations
- contusions
- scarring
- death
The cost of treating these injuries can be staggering, but worse is the damage to the victim’s quality of life, which is sometimes permanent, especially in catastrophic brain and spinal cord injuries.
Demanding Justice and Accountability
At Wettermark & Keith, we believe in both justice and accountability. Your being compensated for your losses is a matter of justice; making the person or company who caused your injury face up to the harm done and accept responsibility is a matter of accountability. Our attorneys will fight for the best possible outcome and a fair settlement that will be enough to ensure that you can receive all the medical care you need and maintain your quality of life and that of your family to the greatest extent possible.