Millions of people slip and fall each year and suffer injuries. While slip-and-fall accidents are common occurrences, they can also cause serious injuries that can permanently affect the victims’ lives. In some cases, people can die from these types of incidents.
Types of injuries caused in slip-and-fall accidents
Some of the most common types of injuries that happen in slip-and-fall accidents include the following:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Hip fractures
- Arm or wrist fractures
- Spinal cord injuries
- Permanent paralysis
These and other injuries can lead to long recovery periods, and some victims might never fully recover from them.
When slip-and-fall injuries result in liability
While many falls are no one’s fault, others result from the negligence of others. Property owners and operators owe duties of care to maintain their premises in reasonably safe conditions and to correct hazards so that lawfully present visitors are protected. If a person slips and falls and is injured while visiting the property of someone else, the property owner or operator may be liable to pay damages if it knew about the hazardous condition that caused the person to fall or reasonably should have known about it but did nothing to fix it. This duty of care is owed to invited guests, customers, and people who are present for lawful business purposes. In general, property owners do not owe a duty of care to protect trespassers from injuries other than they cannot purposefully cause them to be injured by setting traps.
Slip-and-fall injuries can be serious and might endanger the lives of people who are more vulnerable. People who have sustained injuries in a slip-and-fall accident while on the property of another may want to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer about the legal options that might be available to them.