What Kinds of Injuries Do Slip and Fall Accidents Cause?
Unless you have been injured in an accidental fall at a place of business, you might not realize the seriousness of the injuries that can result from such an accident. It was probably the first time that you have tripped and fallen in decades. When you were a young child, accidental falls were a daily occurrence, and most of them did not cause injuries; you probably wouldn’t even need a Band-Aid if the fall happened indoors or in soft grass. Your unhelpful relatives and the legions of mean-spirited people on the Internet also cannot imagine your pain. They think that you are faking your injuries for attention or for financial gain at their expense. Unlike motor vehicle accidents or falls from heights, the accidental falls suffered by customers at places of business usually do not cause life-threatening injuries, but they can cause injuries serious enough to cause long-lasting symptoms and require costly treatment. If you are struggling financially as a result of a slip and fall or trip and fall accident at a place of business, contact a Jacksonville premises liability lawyer.
How Bad Are Accidental Falls at Places of Business?
When customers fall down on slippery or uneven surfaces at places of business, two factors protect them against the most disastrous injuries. They are not traveling at high speed, as in motor vehicle accidents, and they are not falling from a height, as in industrial accidents. Despite this, the hard surfaces of retail stores and restaurants are not meant to absorb falls; you are more likely to escape serious injury if you fall down on the carpeted floor of a hotel or office building. Likewise, adults’ bodies are not built to absorb falls the way that children’s bodies are. The older you are, the greater your risk of suffering a bone fracture as a result of an accidental fall.
Besides bone fractures, soft tissue injuries are a common result of slip and fall accidents. Accidental falls are one of the most common causes of whiplash injury, a soft tissue injury which causes chronic pain in the upper back and neck. Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), a nerve injury that results from sprains and bone fractures, can cause pain and other symptoms in an affected arm or leg. If you hit your head in an accidental fall, you might get a concussion, which can cause pain and neurological symptoms that can last for months.
Your Rights After a Slip and Fall Accident
If you get injured in a slip and fall or trip and fall accident at a place of business where you are a customer, you have the right to file a premises liability claim. Unless your injuries are very severe, it is usually possible to resolve your claim through the company’s commercial liability insurance, without filing a lawsuit.
Contact Douglas & Douglas About Premises Liability Cases
A North Florida personal injury lawyer can help you if you got injured in an accidental fall at a retail store. Contact Douglas & Douglas in Jacksonville, Florida for a free consultation.
Source:
ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/complex-regional-pain-syndrome
