If you slipped, fell, and suffered an injury in Lewisburg, PA, our firm may be able to help you recover financially. When a slip and fall injury is caused by a property owner’s negligence, carelessness, or wrongdoing, the victim who suffered the consequences of their mistake may be eligible for compensation to cover the losses they sustained. A Lewisburg slip and fall lawyer from Stapp Law, LLC will sit down with you and your family, listen to your story, and advise you on the best course of action.
What Is a Slip and Fall Accident?
A slip and fall accident is one in which a person falls due to hazardous walking conditions. This could include tripping or stumbling oven an object, losing one’s balance, sliding on a slippery surface, or any other danger that causes a fall on the floor, sidewalk, stairs, or other areas intended for walking.
In personal injury law, a slip and fall accident is considered a type of premises liability case. These cases involve injuries that occur on another person’s property. Because property owners must adhere to certain standards of property maintenance defined by the law, a visitor who is injured due to property owner negligence may be entitled to file a claim and recover damages.
In Lewisburg, one of the most common causes of a slip and fall accident is ice. Property owners in central Pennsylvania have a duty to be aware of and manage the snow and ice that can build up and create hazards on their walkways. At Stapp Law, LLC, our slip and fall accident attorneys have seen too many examples of negligent business owners who fail to shovel or salt their sidewalks in the winter months. But weather-related slip and fall injuries are not the only ones suffered by people in Union County. Other common causes of slip and fall accidents include:
- Liquid spills
- Objects or debris left in walkways
- Uneven sidewalks and pavement
- Broken stairs
- Lack of handrails
- Damaged floorboards, tile, or other indoor floor surfaces
- Loose, poorly-installed, torn, or bulging carpets and rugs
- Cords and wires in walking areas
- Poor lighting in walking areas
- Design or building defects
- Faulty or unsecured ladders
- Lack of signage and sectioning-off for spills and other temporary hazards
- Grease and oil on the floor
- Potholes and cracked pavement
- Poorly-designed flooring transitions from one room to another
- Over-waxed or too-slippery floor surfaces
- Lack of non-skid materials on floors when needed
- Open doors, drawers, cabinets, or other similar tripping hazards
Our team at Stapp Law, LLC knows that a slip and fall accident can happen to anyone. Tripping and falling on a bad surface or an object you don’t expect to be there is frustrating, and sometimes embarrassing. But a fall that is simply frustrating and embarrassing is much better than one that causes you to suffer a serious injury. When you have been severely hurt by another person’s actions or failure to act, the law can step in to protect your rights.
Many people have a tendency to think of a slip and fall accident as a fairly minor event. We have all fallen in our lives. And we know that while a twisted ankle or skinned knee stings for a few days, recovery is usually a relatively quick and inexpensive process. But not everyone who experiences a slip and fall accident is as fortunate. Many people suffer debilitating damage and serious medical debt after a fall, especially when a brain injury is involved. And a slip and fall injury often has the most severe impact on our most vulnerable populations, such as older adults and individuals with physical disabilities.
The injuries suffered in a slip and fall accident may include:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Concussions and other head trauma
- Loss of consciousness
- Broken bones, including hip fractures
- Tailbone injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Neck, back, and shoulder injuries
- Sprains, strains, tears, and other soft tissue damage
- Scrapes and abrasions
- Facial disfigurement
- Emotional trauma
What Should I Do After a Slip and Fall Injury?
If you or a family member slipped and fell on someone else’s property, there are a few steps you can take to make sure your health and ability to recover compensation are prioritized.
Get Medical Treatment
It’s very common to experience delayed symptoms of injury after a slip and fall accident. Fall victims are often in a hurry to stand up and move past the incident, not realizing the severity of the physical damage. If you bumped your head in the fall, it’s highly possible that you are suffering a concussion. This may cause persistent symptoms over the next several weeks. After a fall, it’s important to be seen by an emergency medical technician immediately, and then by your personal care physician soon after for a more thorough evaluation. Your action to seek medical treatment is essential to your health, and will also demonstrate the severity of the accident when filing an insurance or legal claim later on.
Document Evidence of the Accident
It’s important to gather evidence that can support your story of what took place before, during, and immediately after the accident. One of the most important steps is to take photographs of the scene and the conditions that caused the fall. Be thorough in taking pictures that show all angles and aspects of the environment before anything is moved or changed. If there were any witnesses of the event, ask if they are willing to provide their names and contact information. It’s also helpful to take notes of the incident, as it’s easy to forget some details as time passes.
Immediately Notify the Property Owner
After your fall, you should report the injury to the property owner as soon as possible. This will allow them to fix the hazard before anyone else is hurt, and shows that you took responsibility to quickly report the matter. Try to get in touch with the property owner, manager, landlord, or other party with responsibility for the premises as soon as you feasibly can. It’s best to exchange contact information and copies of written and signed statements of the event. You may need to have a friend or family member help you get in contact with the property owner, especially if you were taken to the hospital after your fall. If a police officer was called to the scene, make sure that a copy of the police report is obtained as well.
The injuries sustained in a slip and fall accident on someone else’s property can be life-altering. Personal injury law in situations like these works to protect victims of negligence. The law recognizes that it’s not right for a victim to pay the price of someone else’s mistake.
A Lewisburg slip and fall lawyer from Stapp Law, LLC can support you during the challenging period following an injury. We will look into every detail of your situation to determine how we can best help you. If we mutually decide to work together in filing your personal injury claim against a negligent property owner, we will do everything in our power to maximize your compensation and help you move forward. Contact our office for a free consultation with an experienced PA slip and fall attorney.
