A Slip and Fall Lawyer for Glendale Accident Victims

Following a slip and fall, your instinct may be to assume it was just an unfortunate accident. After all, everyone falls sometimes. However, not all slips, trips, and falls are mere bad luck. If your injury was because someone failed to mitigate potential risks, they could be held liable. Personal injury suits claim that the other party did not take reasonable care in some way. In the case of a slip and fall injury, the responsible party did not uphold proper care in the maintenance of their premises, leading to an accident.

In order to slip and fall, there must have been something for you to slip or trip on. Most cases occur when a property owner did not maintain their premises enough to avoid risk to visitors. An owner can be held liable for slip and fall injuries if they were caused by:

• Puddles or spills
• Obstructed walkways
• Store displays
• Crowded aisles
• Insufficient lighting
• Broken or uneven flooring
• Loose electrical cords
• Poorly placed furniture or objects
• Unsecured items
• Lack of or unsteady railings

These could all cause a patron to slip, trip, or lose their balance. When creating a store layout, walkways should be clear, signs visible, and lighting sufficient. In stairwells, steps should be level and railings secured. Any location should have cords taped or fastened down and signs posted to warn visitors to watch their step. Leaks, puddles, or ice should be cleaned up and cleared away as soon as they are noticed. Customers and visitors to a property should not have to treat the premises as a minefield.

Some slips and trips are genuine accidents. However, it becomes negligence when the property owner was aware of a risk and did not take reasonable precautions to eliminate it or warn anyone of its existence. For example, if someone was eating their own banana, dropped the peel on the floor of a store, and then slipped on it, the property owner could not be held liable for it. If, however, someone ate a banana, dropped the peel, no staff cleaned it up, and another customer slipped on it, the premises could be held liable. This is why you often see areas in a store or public place cordoned off when a spill is being cleaned up, with clear warning signs that are left in place until the area dries.

One keyword in personal injury claims is “reasonable.” You could not reasonably expect a store owner to anticipate and prevent the scenario in which a customer slipped on their own banana peel. Nonetheless, you could reasonably expect that a store owner would have employees routinely picking up trash and debris and cleaning up spills to prevent another customer from slipping.

In order to demonstrate that a property owner was negligent, your slip and fall lawyer will compile evidence that supports your claim. This evidence will demonstrate:

1. That the property owner was or should have been aware of the risk
2. That the property owner failed to reasonably eliminate, mitigate, or warn about that risk
3. That failure resulted in the accident that caused your injuries

A personal injury attorney can bolster this claim with:

• Photos of the site
• Video surveillance
• Witness statements
• Medical records
• Expert testimony
• Timeline of events

The fall accident lawyers at Perez Law Group, PLLC will sort through this information for you, so you can focus on healing.

Several factors can affect the severity of a slip and fall injury, from the cause of the accident to your age. Even soft tissue injuries can leave you with diminished mobility, time spent in recovery, and pain that you would not have experienced otherwise. More severe injuries could require weeks, months, and even years for recovery, and in some cases full recovery may not be possible.

You could be entitled to compensation if you suffered any of the following injuries:

• Lacerations or disfigurement
• Soft tissue injuries like strains, sprains, and bruises
• Broken bones and fractures
• Brain injuries
• Spine and neck injuries

Seniors are more likely to fall and suffer more severe injuries. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)report that 3 million older people go to the emergency department annually for falling injuries, and 300,000 a year are hospitalized for hip fractures in particular. Hip injuries in senior adults can decrease mobility and independence, and falls tend to cause victims to be afraid of falling again, diminishing activity even more. The CDC also mentions that seniors tend to underreport falls. If you are an older adult who suffered a fall due to negligence in Glendale, Arizona, speak out! Not only might you be able to receive damages, but you may also encourage others to report falls to their doctors and seek proper medical attention.

When you fall, you have little control over how your body impacts the ground. In some cases, a fall can particularly jolt the head or spine. Falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), according to the Mayo Clinic. TBIs can take the form of a mild concussion or be severe enough to cause coma or long-term brain damage. Spine injuries can immobilize you for weeks as you recover, give you pain that will recur throughout your lifetime, or leave you with damage that diminishes some of your abilities permanently. If you’ve experienced a TBI or spine injury following a trip or slip, you know how much it has affected your quality of life and may impact your future. Don’t face that alone. Contact an attorney today to learn about compensation options.

Accidents result in loss, whether it’s of money, independence, ability, health, emotional well-being, or any combination thereof. When you hire a personal injury attorney at Perez Law Group, PLLC, you are gaining something back. We will evaluate who to hold liable, help you through the filing process, determine what your claim is worth, build your case, negotiate settlement offers, and never leave you feeling alone or confused.