Slip and falls have long been a source of comedic relief on our TV screens. In real life, these accidents are a lot less funny and a lot more painful. Slip and fall accidents are more serious than people think, and injuries could be severe. If you slipped and fell on someone else’s property, you can hold them liable for your injuries and sue them for compensation.
A slip and fall accident could cause extensive physical injuries, disrupting a person’s entire life. You might be faced with costly medical bills and no way to pay for them because you cannot work while you recover. Property owners can be held liable for accidents that happen on their property. Negligent owners should compensate accident victims for their injuries.
If you were injured in a slip and fall accident, you deserve to have your medical needs and other expenses taken care of by the property owner or another liable party. Our Yonkers slip and fall accident attorneys have handled many of these kinds of cases and can help you. Call our team at (914) 685-6950 to set up a free legal consultation with The Martello Law Firm, PLLC.
What is Considered a Slip and Fall Accident in Yonkers?
A slip and fall accident could happen almost anywhere that experiences foot traffic. These accidents may happen in a store, on a public sidewalk, or on private property. Slip and falls can also happen on a variety of surfaces, not just floors and sidewalks. You could slip and fall on a flight of stairs, walking on a ramp, or standing on an escalator. While people sometimes chalk these accidents up to clumsiness, they are caused by someone’s negligence in many cases.
Injuries from slip and fall accidents can be serious. People have been known to suffer mild, moderate, or extreme injuries. Head injuries like concussions are certainly possible and can cause a person to miss work or school. Other injuries could include damage to your back or even your spinal cord. Broken bones, bruising, and lacerations are also very common. Our Yonkers slip and fall accident lawyers can help you assess your injuries so we can calculate an accurate value of your damages.
Sometimes, people are hesitant to file a lawsuit over a slip and fall accident. Accident victims tend to blame themselves for falling and do not wish to appear like a lawsuit-happy plaintiff looking for a quick buck. However, you should not have to bear the burden of expensive bills and painful injuries because someone else failed to properly maintain their property. Call our Yonkers slip and fall accident attorneys for help.
Liability for Slip and Fall Accidents in Yonkers
Slip and fall accidents fall under the broader category of premises liability cases. These cases involve arguments about liability related to property and property ownership. Generally, people who own a particular property are responsible for keeping it safe for others. Accidents can happen when these people fail to maintain property or do so negligently, and property owners can be held liable.
A liable property owner could be a homeowner or business owner. In either case, guests can be expected to be on the property. If you slipped and fell inside your neighbor’s home because they just mopped their floors and did not warn you that the floors were wet, the homeowner could be liable for any injuries you sustain.
Business owners bear a particularly high burden to maintain their premises because numerous customers or clients may be in and out of their business each day. What’s more, customers are often allowed to enter a place of business without an explicit or direct invitation. Business owners must be prepared for anyone to walk through their doors at any time. If you slipped and fell in a business or retail space, the owner of the business may be liable.
If you slip in a public space, like a sidewalk or a plaza, the city or town in charge of the space may be liable. This is somewhat different than other premises liability cases because the defendant is not a private person or entity. Suing a municipality may follow different laws and procedures, so it is important to consult with our Yonkers slip and fall accident lawyers as soon as possible.
Injuries That Can Be Sustained After a Slip and Fall Accident in Yonkers, NY
Injuries from slip and fall accidents are often the butt of jokes. People tend to think slip and fall accidents are never serious until they become an accident victim. After a slip and fall, a person could suffer severe, painful, and long-term injuries that require expensive medical attention. Our Yonkers slip and fall accident attorneys can help you determine how much money your damages are worth.
Head injuries are common in slip and fall cases. Victims could suffer concussions, recurring headaches, or even brain damage if their falls were particularly serious. A head injury can interfere with almost all aspects of your life. Working, attending school, or just socializing with friends is very difficult with a serious head injury.
Back injuries are also common and just as debilitating. After a slip and fall accident, a person could pull muscles in their back and be unable to walk or lift anything without difficulty. In extreme cases, a person could fall in such a way as to injure their spinal cord, which could lead to long-lasting or permanent damage.
Common injuries that are less serious include broken bones, like hands, fingers, or toes from trying to break your fall. Bruising and lacerations are also common. However, even if you suffer numerous minor injuries, the medical bill for those injuries can be very high.
What is “Premises Liability” in a Yonkers, NY Slip and Fall Lawsuit?
A slip and fall case falls under the general category of “personal injury” cases. More specifically, this type of case is a type of “premises liability” case, and understanding these categories of injury law can help you understand what exactly your Yonkers slip and fall lawyer needs to prove in your case.
Briefly, a “personal injury” case is any type of injury lawsuit. Typically, these lawsuits are based on a claim that the responsible party violated some duty that they owed you, and that the breach of duty caused your injuries. In a “premises liability” case, the injury is typically based on some dangerous condition on someone’s property. The duty that the property owner breached in a premises liability claim usually has to do with their duty to keep the premises safe for visitors.
The specific duty in any premises liability case, including a slip and fall case, might change depending on what type of visitor the victim was. If the victim was a trespasser, the property owner might not have owed them a duty except to avoid injuring them by setting up traps or intentionally injuring the trespasser. With social guests, often classified as “licensees,” the duty is usually to clean up or clear away any hidden dangers. Alternatively, the duty could be satisfied by warning about the dangers. With business guests and customers, known as “invitees,” the duty might be even higher.
If you were injured in a slip and fall in Yonkers, our Yonkers slip and fall lawyers can analyze your case and help you understand if any premises liability rules and case law can help with your particular case.
Where Can I Receive Medical Attention After a Slip and Fall Accident in Yonkers, NY?
Getting medical attention as soon as you can after an accident is often vital. Especially with slip and fall accidents, you might have suffered surprisingly severe injuries including broken bones, back and neck injuries, or even traumatic brain injuries. In this case, it is vital to know where to go to get treatment.
EMTs
First, you should call 911 and see what the EMTs that respond to your call have to say. In some cases, they can immediately identify signs of a severe brain injury or concussion. They can also help move you if you faced severe back or brain injuries and could be vulnerable to additional injuries if you try to move or transport yourself to a hospital. Typically, EMTs will take you to the nearest hospital that is capable of treating your injuries. When you are taken in an ambulance, it takes a lot of the guesswork out of whether you are going to the “right” doctor or not.
Emergency Room vs. Urgent Care
With sufficiently severe injuries, you should always go to a hospital’s emergency department. If your injuries involve sprains, strains, or minor breaks, you may be okay going to an urgent care clinic instead. There, you might face shorter wait times for treatment. However, you should consider calling ahead to the clinic to see if they have the proper facilities to treat you or whether going to the ER would be better.
Primary Physician
In most cases, you should not wait to see your primary care doctor. Waiting to receive treatment after an injury can make it harder to treat your injuries and potentially leave you with irreversible effects if serious injuries are not treated quickly enough.
Additionally, delaying treatment can make it harder for your Yonkers slip and fall lawyer to claim that the injuries are severe. If you were able to wait a few days or weeks before seeking treatment, the defendant will try to claim that your injuries must not have been “that bad” after all. All in all, seeking immediate care is usually good for your health and your legal case.
In most cases, you should follow up with your primary care doctor after seeking emergency treatment. Additional injuries might appear later, such as a sore back or neck. Your doctor can help document and treat these injuries immediately, plus they can look for any other long-term signs of injury.
What Damages Can Be Awarded in a Yonkers Slip and Fall Accident?
One of the main reasons to work with a Yonkers slip and fall accident is to get help seeking the damages you need after your injury. Your attorney will be able to analyze your case and help you determine what damages you can claim and how much those damages are worth. Typically, the following damages are available, but additional damages might also be claimed in your specific case.
Note that many of these damages can be paid through insurance claims. Homeowners insurance and business liability insurance often allow victims injured at someone’s home or business to file a claim for compensation. However, these insurance policies might not pay full damages, and insurance companies could be reluctant to pay you what they owe you. In any case, you should never accept the insurance company’s determination of what your case is worth; always speak with a lawyer before accepting any money for your slip and fall injuries.
Medical Expenses
If you faced any injuries that required medical care because of someone else’s negligence, they should be on the hook for those damages. That means that you should be entitled to claim the cost of any medical care you receive, from ambulance rides to emergency imaging, and from emergency surgery to rehabilitation and physical therapy.
Lost Wages
Even if the accident was completely unrelated to your job, you could be entitled to compensation for lost wages for your injuries. If the injury you received kept you out of work or required you to take a lower-paying job that had fewer physical demands, you could be entitled to lost wage damages. Talk to a Yonkers personal injury lawyer about how to calculate these damages; projecting future lost earning capacity often requires your lawyer to hire a financial expert.
Pain and Suffering
Neck injuries, brain injuries, and even broken bones can leave victims with long-term discomfort and pain. Serious injuries can also leave you with life-long problems or even alter your life entirely. Damages for pain and suffering can be claimed in cases involving any level of suffering, but more severe injuries are often worth higher pain and suffering damages. For help calculating these damages, talk to your Yonkers slip and fall lawyer.
Contact Our Yonkers, NY Attorney for Your Slip and Fall Accident
If you were injured in a slip and fall accident, your injuries are not a joke and deserve to be compensated. Our Yonkers slip and fall lawyers will fight to get your accident-related expenses covered. Call (914) 685-6950 for a free legal consultation with our team at The Martello Law Firm, PLLC.
