Protect your ability to recover physically and financially after a slip-and-fall accident at work.
Summary
- Knowing what to do after a slip-and-fall accident at work can preserve your case and your health, putting you in a strong legal position.
- Workplaces often have walking hazards that can cause slip-and-fall accidents.
- Employees can suffer physical harm from slip-and-fall accidents, including traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), neck injuries, broken bones, and spinal cord injuries.
- If another party’s negligence led to your slip-and-fall accident at work, you may be entitled to compensation for the damages you have sustained.
Victims of workplace slip-and-fall accidents have many steps to take in the aftermath to report it, receive medical attention, and maintain the integrity of their case for compensation for damages.
Key steps include collecting evidence at the slip-and-fall accident scene, reporting the accident to superiors, and receiving medical attention at a hospital. Workers will also have to determine if they will file a claim for worker’s compensation.
Our team of slip-and-fall accident attorneys at The Eberst Law Firm is prepared to help you recover a percentage of the payment for your medical bills and lost wages through a workers’ compensation claim.
We are also experts in personal injury law, so we can support you in holding your employer liable for the total cost of your damages in a slip-and-fall accident claim, if necessary.
Contact us for a free case evaluation at (772) 225-4900 or fill out an online contact form.
What Can Cause a Slip and Fall Accident At Work?
A slip-and-fall accident is when a hazard knocks someone off their feet and causes them to fall, colliding with the ground. This can result in severe slip-and-fall injuries.
These types of personal injury accidents can happen on public or private property, such as a hospital, restaurant, store, or school.
They can also occur at workplaces when employers fail to provide adequate working conditions or employees create walking hazards through negligence.
The following are some common causes of workplace slip-and-fall accidents:
- Wet floors without caution signs
- Debris or clutter on the floor and in walkways
- Parking lot potholes
- Uneven or unstable walking surfaces
- Wires and cables lying across the floor
- Elevated surfaces without railings
- Missing or damaged steps
- Loose floorboards or floor tiles
- Low visibility areas
Employees who suffer workplace slip-and-fall accidents can experience significant injuries, such as spinal cord injuries, bone fractures, and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs).
These can result in workers experiencing economic and non-economic damages that can affect their physical health, financial situation, and quality of life.
Collect Evidence and Report Your Slip and Fall Accident to Your Employer
The first thing you should do after a slip-and-fall accident at work is collect evidence. There will be evidence at the slip-and-fall accident scene that you can use later on to prove your accident occurred and establish liability.
Pull out your phone and take pictures of anything relevant that can help prove your slip-and-fall accident claim.
This can include pictures of the walking hazard, physical injuries, a lack of signage by the walking hazard, and anything else that can show how the slip-and-fall accident occurred.
Soon after the slip-and-fall accident, you should also report the accident to your superiors. In most cases, workplace accident victims can’t file for worker’s compensation unless they notify their employers of the accident in a timely manner.
Employers will want to investigate the slip-and-fall accident. Victims should file a report on the accident to begin the process of recovering compensation for damages.
Seeking Medical Help After a Slip and Fall Accident at Work
Victims of workplace slip-and-fall accidents should also seek medical attention, even for minor injuries. Go to a hospital or clinic and have a healthcare professional diagnose your injuries and suggest methods for recovery.
The healthcare professional can use a physical exam and diagnostic tests to determine what injuries you suffered from the slip-and-fall accident at work. In some cases, it may not seem like the injuries are that severe.
However, the symptoms may just be delayed. If you wait to seek treatment, particularly for brain and spine injuries, you may be risking permanent impairment.
The only way to truly know the severity of the slip-and-fall accident injury is to go to the hospital for diagnosis. This can also help with future litigation, as it can show that you took your injuries seriously.
Recovering Worker’s Compensation Benefits for a Slip and Fall Accident
After suffering a workplace slip-and-fall accident, employees can recover benefits from their employer’s worker’s compensation insurance.
Employers in most states are required to purchase worker’s compensation insurance to provide economic benefits to employees injured on the job.
Worker’s compensation benefits can pay for a percentage of an injured worker’s medical expenses. This can include costs for hospitalization, surgery, medication, and ambulatory services.
Workers’ compensation can also pay for a percentage of your lost wages that you cannot earn while recovering from the slip-and-fall accident injury.
However, worker’s compensation does not pay for the full cost of an injured worker’s damages and will not account for non-economic damages.
Can You Hold an Employer Accountable for Slip and Fall Damages in a Personal Injury Claim?
If your employer’s negligence led to the slip-and-fall accident at work, you could file a personal injury claim to pursue compensation for the total cost of your damages.
An employer can be liable in a slip-and-fall accident claim for failing to adhere to a building’s safety codes, refusing to fix a walking hazard, or providing unsafe working conditions.
Filing a slip-and-fall accident claim allows you to pursue compensation for the full cost of your damages. A successful claim enables you to receive compensation for the total cost of your medical bills and lost wages.
Additionally, a personal injury claim can compensate you for non-economic damages like pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and mental anguish.
However, the process can take longer and require you to establish their negligence through tangible evidence.
Hiring a Slip and Fall Accident Lawyer to Advise on the Best Steps to Take
Handling a slip-and-fall accident claim alone can be difficult, especially without legal experience and having to recover from a catastrophic slip-and-fall injury.
Victims of workplace slip-and-fall accidents should hire a slip-and-fall accident lawyer with years of experience helping victims.
They can advise whether filing a slip-and-fall claim with your employer is right or if you should recover a percentage of your economic damages from worker’s compensation.
If they think a slip-and-fall accident claim is worth it, they can help with the long process of filing the claim, demonstrating negligence, collecting evidence, and negotiating a settlement.
Contact The Eberst Law Firm for Help With Your Workplace Slip and Fall Accident Claim
At The Eberst Law Firm, our top-notch personal injury attorneys can help you file a slip-and-fall accident claim with your employer. We understand that slip-and-fall accident injuries can be inconvenient, painful, and financially burdensome.
Set your workers’ compensation claim up for success by involving our award-winning team as soon as possible after a slip-and-fall accident at work.
Our slip-and-fall accident lawyers can help you determine the value of your claim, gather tangible evidence, negotiate a fair settlement, and represent you in court.
Contact us today for a free slip-and-fall accident case evaluation at (772) 225-4900 or fill out an online contact form.
