When you picture slipping on a wet floor, you may imagine the worst thing that can happen is a sore behind and some bruised dignity. However, this isn’t always the case. Slips and falls can result in serious injuries, and in some cases, such as falls from heights, they may even be fatal.
In fact, the CDC estimates that millions of Americans are injured every year in slips, trips, and falls, and 20-30% of all slips and falls cause moderate to severe injuries that affect the victim’s mobility and ability to live independently.
At Dudley DeBosier, we’ve helped many victims who were injured after slipping or falling due to dangerous property conditions, but had their injury claims denied. That’s often because the insurance company didn’t believe that such serious injuries could result from “only” tripping, or because they believed these people were responsible for their own injuries due to clumsiness.
But thankfully for our clients, we’re experienced at proving these kinds of accidents can and do cause serious harm, and that negligent property owners are accountable for failing to correct dangerous conditions on their property.
What Are the Most Common Injuries Caused By Falls?
Broken bones and sprains – When you trip or slip on an uneven or slippery surface, it’s common to twist your ankle unnaturally, or throw out your hands to try to protect yourself. Both of these movements can result in broken or sprained ankles, wrists, and fingers. Broken bones typically take six weeks or longer to fully heal, which can impact your ability to work and earn a paycheck if you can’t put weight on your foot or use your injured hand until you recover.
Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) – Falls are the leading cause of traumatic brain injury, a category of injury that includes concussions. In fact, nearly half of all emergency room visits for TBIs are caused by slips and falls.
Knee and shoulder injuries – Bad falls can tear tendons and ligaments in the knees and shoulders, or even dislocate these joints. Unfortunately, damage to the knee or shoulder often requires expensive reconstructive surgery to regain full mobility.
Spinal cord injuries – When people land on their back, they can suffer slipped discs or even more serious and permanent injuries, including paralysis. Pain caused by spinal cord injuries can be debilitating and severely limit mobility.
Hip fractures – Hip fractures are serious injuries that are almost always caused by falls, and they often require extensive surgery, hospitalization, and rehabilitation. The elderly are extremely at risk of suffering hip fractures after a fall, and complications from the injury can often be fatal.
We Help People Injured in Slips and Falls
At Dudley DeBosier, we understand that people don’t just slip, trip, or fall for no reason. If you were injured because a floor was slippery, uneven, covered in loose carpeting, or featured some other tripping hazard, it’s not your fault. The property owner had a responsibility to make their property safe for visitors to walk on, and because they failed to do so, they can and should be held responsible for your injuries.
Contact our Louisiana premises liability attorneys today for a free case consultation.
