Slip and Fall Attorneys in Daytona Beach, Florida
A slip and fall injury applies to the broad range of things that happen to a person when they fall due to a hazardous condition on someone else’s property. It is a broad designation that can apply to numerous different injuries, from minor scrapes to full major fractures. Older people are more likely to be injured in such accidents.
Under Florida law, if you are injured in a slip and fall accident as the result of a dangerous condition in a business or on someone else’s property, you have a right to claim damages for the injury. At the Eberst Law firm, our team has experience with slip and fall cases and can help you get compensation for your injuries that you deserve.
Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents
Wet and Uneven Surfaces
The most common cause of slip and fall accidents. Things like cluttered floors, parking lot potholes, defective and uneven sidewalks, torn carpeting, recently mopped floors, and loose floormats can trip up even the most balanced of individuals. Most businesses run into these things fairly often, and post signs to warn customers of such conditions.
Weather
Property owners have a legal obligation to shovel sidewalks, plow streets, and dry up water that may seep under the doors during heavy rain. Some of the biggest slip and fall compensations have been awarded to those injured as the result of businesses or municipalities failing to address weather conditions on their property.
Improper Training
Most businesses have proper safety regulations posted in their backrooms to remind employees of proper procedures to prevent slip and fall injuries, both to employees and their customers. If these guidelines are not followed, the employee and business can be held liable for damages.
Footwear
Whether you are out and about as a pedestrian or on the job, it is important to have the right footwear for whatever conditions you will find yourself out and about in.
Proving Fault in a Slip and Fall
The most essential component of claiming damages in a slip and fall accident is proving that you were not at fault for the slip. Property owners may try to deflect claims of negligence by arguing that you were on an area of the property that you were not supposed to be, you weren’t paying attention, or that the dangerous condition should have otherwise been obvious to you. This is in an attempt to reduce or dismiss the sum they might otherwise be ordered to pay you.
This is why it’s important to have an attorney working on your case. Attorneys have access to resources that can help prove your case, such as being able to pull security camera footage and document the scene to make a clear case for you being the victim.
Injuries from a Slip and Fall
Soft Tissue Injuries
These injuries may not be apparent until days or even weeks after the initial fall. These can be anything from a minor joint sprain to a deep tear in tendons and ligaments. Left untreated, they can leave you vulnerable to subsequent injuries and can cause you chronic pain.
Head Injuries
If you fall and hit your head, even a tiny bit, you need immediate medical care. A minor concussion will clear itself up on its own, but more serious traumatic brain injuries can permanently alter your body’s ability to function. Some head injuries only produce minimal symptoms at first, and it is important that you visit a doctor right away.
Cuts and Lacerations
It is common to suffer a cut to a leg or an arm as a result of a fall, but they often superficial compared to far more serious injuries like concussions or bone fractures.
Spinal Cord Injuries
The compression or severing of the spinal cord is almost always life-threatening and demands both immediate care and ongoing treatment that may last a lifetime. This can accumulate into millions of dollars, which makes it vital to get a successful settlement in court.
Broken Bones
These can range from minor fractures to severe breaks and can require numerous surgeries to fix. The jagged edges can also damage the tissue around the bones, requiring surgery to fix and physical therapy to restore full function.
The severity of Slip and Fall Accidents
While even a minor injury from a slip and fall may not seem like something to make a big deal, the extent of the damage can be deceptive. They can drastically change your life, making it so that you might walk with a limp for the rest of your life or have motor issues.
In addition, before long-term effects become apparent, the short-term results of your injuries can result in you having to take time off work and lose out on the wages you would have otherwise earned in that time. In the long-term, you might have to change careers due to new limitations to your physical abilities.
Getting Compensation for a Slip and Fall
Though they may seem like minor and petty things to make a legal deal out of, slip and fall injuries often have long-term consequences that can manifest over time. These consequences carry a financial burden, and it falls to the party responsible for your injury to alleviate that burden. If property owners try to dodge their responsibilities, you’ll need legal help to hold them to account.
That’s where we come in. The Eberst Law firm has an experienced team of attorneys that specialize in all areas of the law, including personal injury cases that result from slips and falls. We can be reached online, or at (386) 224-6544. Our attorneys have the experience to hold negligent parties responsible and get you the compensation you deserve.
