Lincoln, AR Slip and Fall Lawyer
Slip and fall accidents happen more often than not because property owners and others fail in their duty to keep their premises safe. While proving liability can be challenging in these circumstances, our lawyers can help by bringing a claim against the responsible parties.
Victims often end up with much more significant damages than one might assume from a fall. However, if they hit their head or spine during the fall, like on the edge of unrepaired stairs, their injuries could be permanent. Even a relatively minor fall can cause a victim back and neurological issues for months or years after the accident. Our team will assess the extent of these damages and who is responsible for preventing them. In most cases, we can hold businesses responsible for the dangerous conditions their employees create on the property, like uncleaned spills.
Call us at (479) 316-0438 to receive your free case assessment from our slip and fall lawyers today.
How Slip and Fall Accidents Typically Happen in Lincoln, AR
Unless trying out a comedy routine, people do not typically slip and fall on their own. In many cases, someone is responsible for the hazard that caused a fall. When you work with our slip and fall attorneys, we will focus on how your accident occurred and where, which will indicate who we should sue to recover your damages. Where and how your accident occurred will greatly impact liability in your case. Sometimes, a negligent employee is responsible, but their employer will also likely be liable for their misconduct. Other times, injuries happen in private residences, and the case might need to be filed against a family friend.
Many Lincoln slip and fall accidents happen in public places, like stores and restaurants. Property and business owners, managers, and employees might all share a duty to maintain safe premises and watch out for dangers reasonably expected to be on that type of property. Servers, bartenders, and managers at restaurant managers should clean spills immediately upon noticing them and regularly inspect and clean high-traffic areas. The same is true inside businesses like grocery stores and office buildings. Our team can help determine who caused the hazardous conditions and who was ultimately responsible for addressing them.
Other slip and fall accidents happen in residential areas, such as apartment buildings and private homes. In these situations, the landlord is ultimately responsible for the safety of the property. Stairs should be well-lit, have handrails, and be repaired when they start to deteriorate. If your apartment’s landlord did not salt the stairs before a snowstorm and you fell, they can be held liable. We might also sue maintenance staff if they neglect their duties to keep the premises safe.
Common Injuries Victims Suffer in Lincoln, AR Slip and Fall Accidents
While some might not consider slip and fall accidents in the same class of severity as car accidents, they can cause victims just as serious and financially damaging injuries. Some people suffer severe head and neck injuries that require long-term care. Others sustain serious musculoskeletal injuries, like torn ligaments and broken bones, and need successive operations to repair. Some victims do not suffer external injuries but might have life-altering internal injuries. Our lawyers will gather your medical records as you continue to get care and work with your doctors to determine your long-term damages.
Head and Neck Injuries
Slip and fall accidents can result in a range of head injuries, with victims often suffering more than one type. If you hit your head without being able to break your fall, it can cause mild to severe concussions when the brain impacts the skull. Concussions can cause loss of consciousness, memory loss, motor function damage, and coma if victims do not get treatment. More serious traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can completely alter a victim’s life. Victims with TBI often cannot return to work, and if they do, they need considerable vocational rehabilitation. Even then, they often do not enjoy the same life they did before the accident, typically entitling them to considerable pain and suffering damages in a lawsuit.
Spinal injuries also tend to cause significant, long-term damages. Perhaps you fell from a balcony because of a faulty railing or hit your spine directly on the edge of the stairs as you fell. Some victims experience permanent and total paralysis and will need compensation to cover them for life. Others do recover, but usually only after years of physical therapy and surgeries, which should be accounted for in your case.
Back Injuries
Back injuries are also common in slip and fall accidents. Many victims injure discs in their spinal column when they strike the ground or hit an object on the way down. You can also do serious damage to your back by twisting or trying to catch yourself in the fall. Swelling and bulging spinal discs often cause debilitating pain. It can also cause a loss of feeling and sensation in certain parts of the body, depending on which section of the spine was injured.
Broken Bones and Other Musculoskeletal Injuries
Bone fractures and other musculoskeletal injuries are some of the most common victims suffer. Trying to catch yourself with your arms outstretched can lead to wrist, forearm, and elbow fractures. If you cannot break the fall, you might break your shoulder or collarbone. In some of the worst cases, victims fracture their hip, which typically requires significant treatment.
Other victims might not break bones in the fall but tear ligaments and muscles. You can argue that these injuries are often worse than broken bones because you might never heal from a torn ligament fully. For instance, if you tore your knee’s ACL, the ligament responsible for its bending, you will likely need multiple corrective surgeries and physical therapy to recover. Even then, you might live with the physical pain for the rest of your life, which you can be compensated for.
Contact Our Lincoln, AR Slip and Fall Attorneys for Help with Your Claim Today
For a free case review with our slip and fall attorneys, contact us at (479) 316-0438.