Slip & Fall Injuries

Understanding Slip and Fall Injuries

Slip and fall injuries can range from moderate to serious injuries, such as brain injuries or spinal cord injuries. Wisconsin’s Safe Place Law, which applies to public buildings and places of employment, requires that every business owner uphold their legal obligation to maintain their premises in a safe manner for guests, patrons, and customers. When you’ve been injured on another person’s property, you’ll need to speak with a personal injury attorney about whether you are eligible to recover compensation.

Where Do Slip & Fall Accidents Most Commonly Occur?

Slip, trip, and fall accidents can occur almost anywhere, both indoors and outdoors, on public and private properties. We can represent  clients in accidents that occur in:

• Shopping malls
• Grocery stores and supermarkets
• Office
• Rental complex
• Public street
• Retail store
• Hotels
• Gyms
• Sidewalks
• Amusement parks
• Elevators
• Escalators

Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and fall accidents can happen due to various hazardous conditions. Property owners or managers are often at fault for failing to ensure the premises are safe. Some common examples include:

• Unsafe walking conditions, such as loose gravel or broken floorboards
• Drowning accidents
• Stairwell accidents due to inadequate lighting or defective rails
• Retail negligence, such as wet floors, puddles, and other liquids that should have been cleaned up
• Poor design of a property or lack of safety code regulations, such as inadequate lighting, faulty infrastructure, or noncompliance with building codes

Proving injuries from slip and falls can be difficult, and requires the assistance of a skilled personal injury lawyer. Our law firm can help you file an effective claim that seeks to compensate you for your lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering, and other damages associated with the accident.

What To Do After a Slip & Fall Injury

Here’s what you should do after a slip and fall accident:

• Stay calm and check for injuries. Take a moment and assess where you are injured. If you get up immediately, you might end up causing additional injuries to your body. Call for emergency medical personnel and wait for them to arrive if you are seriously hurt.
• File an accident report. Notify the owner of the property or business and request an accident report form. Fill this out and file it as soon as you can.
• Seek medical attention. See a doctor immediately so you can receive an accurate diagnosis on how serious your injuries are as well as have him or her monitor your symptoms.
• Follow your physician’s treatment plan. Make sure that you do not miss appointments and always follow your doctor’s instructions.
• Take pictures. Document the scene of the accident thoroughly. Being able to prove why you fell and what caused your accident is critical to the success of a claim. Was there a puddle in the area you slipped? Were the stairs broken? The small details matter in slip and fall claims.
• Identify witnesses. If there are witnesses to your accident, get their names, phone numbers, and contact information.
• Know your rights. Insurance companies may pressure you into accepting their first offer or use other tactics to lowball you. Always know what your case is worth and know when your rights are being violated.
• Talk to an attorney. The smartest way to give your claim the best possible chance is to have an attorney handle it. An injury lawyer can review your claim, investigate the details, and negotiate with insurers for the full amount of losses you suffered.

What Are Common Injuries Sustained from Slip & Fall Accidents?

The consequences which arise from slip & fall accidents can cause lifelong suffering. There are many kinds of physical injuries one might receive from this kind of accident, including, but not limited to:

• Broken or fractured bones
• Injuries to the spinal cord and neck
• Twisted or dislocated knees and ankles
• Joint damage
• Long-term head trauma and brain injuries
• Bruising, scratches, and scrapes
• Memory loss
• Herniated disks
• Shoulder dislocations
• Wrongful death

Proving a Slip & Fall Claim

In slip and fall and other premises liability claims, the injured party claim must be able to prove several elements under Wisconsin Law in order to recover compensation from the property owner. To hold a property owner or manager liable in a slip and fall claim, the injured party must be able to show one of the following:

• The property owner or manager caused a dangerous condition
• The property owner or manager had knowledge of the dangerous condition but did nothing to fix it
• The dangerous condition was there long enough that the property owner must have known about it

So how do you prove one of the above? Slip and fall claims usually rely on photographic evidence, video evidence, witness testimony, or may require experts to assess if there were building code violations or defects on the site. This is why preparation and investigations are key in such claims.