A fall is a sudden, scary experience – one minute you are going about your life normally and the next you lose control of your body and end up on the floor wondering how you got there. Slips and falls are incredibly common, but the regularity with which they occur doesn’t take away from the potential they can carry severe, even fatal consequences; the National Safety Counsel found 9.2 million reported falls required emergency room care in 2016. Of those cases, 800,000 required admission to the hospital. The Brain Association of California found slip and falls cause Though these incidents usually occur inside a building, they can occur anywhere and wreak havoc on you physically and emotionally. If you were hurt in a fall, you should speak to an experienced Wildomar slip and fall attorney today to learn if you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries.
Slip and Falls in Lake Elsinore
Wildomar is town of 37,000 whose population has exploded of late – in the past two decades the number of residents has tripled. Growing cities like Wildomar are home to an expanding number of retail shops, businesses, residential homes, and restaurants that support the local community as well as visitors to the area. Workplaces are prime locations for slip and fall injuries – 15 percent of all job-related injuries are from slip or trip and fall accidents, and they are the leading cause of lost workdays. Restaurants are particularly risky for workers, as 60 percent of service industry injuries were from slip and falls. Wildomar’s booming residential and business populations provide ample opportunity for someone to slip, fall, and suffer injury.
How Do Wildomar Slip and Falls Occur?
In Wildomar, slip and falls commonly happen due to unsafe or hazardous conditions. Workers and property guests are owed a legal duty by property managers, owners, and caretakers – a duty to use reasonable care to keep the property free of unsafe, hazardous conditions or else adequately warn of any unsafe conditions not obvious enough a reasonable person would recognize and avoid them. There is also a duty to exercise reasonable care to inspect the property to identify any such conditions and either fix them or adequately warn visitors of the conditions. Failure to inspect often enough creates the legal presumption the controlling party had constructive notice of the hazard for liability purposes.
Slip and falls most commonly occur due to the presence of a spilled substance on the floor the victim does not see before their foot makes contact, causing them to lose their footing and subsequently their balance before hitting the ground at a high rate of speed.
What Injuries Result from Slip and Falls?
These accidents can seriously injure a victim and require medical treatment including surgery, hospitalization, physical therapy, and potentially even lifelong accommodations to manage and care for a debilitating or permanent injury. The Brain Association of California found slip and falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) out of any annually. Slip and falls commonly result in:
- Incapacitation;
- Broken bones;
- Head trauma;
- Spinal cord injuries; and
- Dental injuries.
What Can I Recover for My Wildomar Slip and Fall?
If you can prove the party controlling the property was negligent, you may be awarded damages for your injuries. To establish negligence, you must show:
- The property owner/manager/caretaker had a duty of care to you;
- They breached that duty by either taking an action when they shouldn’t have or failing to act when they should have; and
- This breach was the cause of actual harm to you.
Proving the negligent attitude of the property controller on the premises where the accident occurred is often done by establishing constructive notice of a hazard, combined with the failure to abate the hazard while on constructive notice.
Victims may receive compensatory damages if they establish negligence. Compensatory damages can be awarded for concrete such as burial expenses, lost wages, property damage, and medical expenses. However, they can also be awarded for more abstract harms including pain and suffering, permanent disability, and loss of consortium.
What Steps Should I Take if I am Involved in a Slip and Fall?
If you are involved in a slip and fall, what you do directly afterwards can greatly impact your health and your ability to recover compensation later. Don’t delay – Wildomar, like the rest of California, has a 2-year statute of limitations to file your slip and fall claim; if you file later than 2 years after your injury occurred, your case will be dismissed, and you will be statutorily barred from recovering in the courts.
Get Medical Attention
Seek medical treatment as soon as possible after the accident. This is important even if you think you’re were injured. Traumatic brain injuries often occur from falls, but frequently no symptoms present immediately afterwards – an evaluation will help diagnose and treat any unseen injuries as well as establish an injury timeline for purposes of your future claim. Adhere to treatment plans exactly and attend every follow-up appointment.
Gather Evidence About Your Accident
If your injury occurred at work, report it to management immediately so you can document the accident and begin the workers’ compensation process. Even if your slip and fall was not on the job, there are other ways you can document your accident:
- Report the incident to the property manager;
- If possible, take photographs of the condition that caused your accident;
- Find the source of the agent that caused you to slip; and
- Get contact information for any accident witnesses.
Keep Records of Your Damages
To establish the full extent of your injuries, you will want to obtain and keep records reflecting all physical and financial damages incurred from the slip and fall. Hospital bills, paystubs, receipts, and payments to insurance can all help establish the extent of your injuries.
Speak to an Attorney
If you were injured during a fall, speak to the experienced Wildomar slip and fall attorneys at Walton Law today. Time is not on your side, and what you do directly after your accident can greatly impact your ability to recover just compensation. Our attorneys have spent years delivering personalized, dedicated representation to victims like you and secured millions in recovery for our clients. Contact us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at (866)-338-7079 or online via our Contact Page to set up your no obligation, no risk initial case consultation today. The evaluation is free, and you do not pay until we win your case. Let our qualified attorneys review your unique situation, explain your options, and start you on the path to maximum recovery so you can focus on getting your life back to normal.