Feeling your feet slide forward or catch on something is often surprising and sudden. When your momentum causes you to lose your balance and you fall, you can sustain serious injuries. If this happened because of a danger on the property, you may be able to hold the property owner liable for your injuries and seek damages. Pursuing legal options can be complicated, so you’re going to want to have the Midland slip and fall lawyers from Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm at your side.
Seeking damages for your injuries is your right. We’re here to help guide you through the legal process and get you the compensation you deserve. When you’re staring down the road to recovery, you’re thinking about balancing treatment, missing work, and living with the injury. Recovering for your financial losses is the way for you to cover these expenses so you can focus on getting better.
What Causes Slip and Fall Accidents?
After a fall, people may feel embarrassed or want to brush it off. However, a slip and fall accident could cause debilitating injuries that need immediate medical attention, especially for older adults. About 3 million seniors need to go to the emergency room annually after a fall injury. Unfortunately, there are many causes for a slip and fall injury. Yours may have been caused by:
- Debris cluttering walkways
- Poor lighting
- Old railings and staircases
- Unsalted or untreated sidewalks during winter
- Construction areas
- Neglect
- Worn carpets
Debris like boxes, wires, and other items can easily create problems because people can catch their feet and fall down—and they could hit more objects when they fall. A person could also fall when they cannot see where they’re going. If staircases or railings aren’t stable, anyone could lose their balance and fall. In the winter months, ice and snow make walkways and parking lots treacherous. When these areas aren’t shoveled or unsalted, people can easily lose their footing and crash into the hard ground.
Those working in construction areas need to have proper training to keep the worksite safe and using everything correctly. Misuse of machinery could lead to hazards on the site that create slip and fall accidents. Neglect of seniors is a form of nursing home abuse and can result in slip and falls. Some seniors may need assistance with walking. If they try to move on their own because they haven’t been attended to or because the nursing home will not assist them in walking and they fall, they could severely harm themselves. Worn carpets could have holes or strings that cause people to trip.
Our lawyers are familiar with the types of hazards that can exist on a premises and how premises liability laws in Texas affect individual cases. If you recognize one of the reasons above for your slip and fall, you should get in touch with us as soon as possible. We also understand how each client’s case is unique. It’s possible you sustained injuries from a slip and fall for a different reason than listed above. Don’t hesitate to call us and we can answer your questions about the validity of your case.
Important Elements in a Slip and Fall Case
When our lawyers review your case, we’ll investigate to find out how the property owner’s negligence caused your injuries. Assessing the area and identifying the hazard, as well as establishing the owner’s knowledge of the hazard, will help show their negligence. In addition to this, they should have either warned the person on the property about the hazard or fixed the problem. If they didn’t do either of these, then they were putting anyone on the property in danger. These actions led to you slipping, falling, and causing your injury.
After reporting the incident, you should seek medical attention and obtain copies of your records. Medical records show how you were hurt and will include what it’s going to take to treat you. A slip and fall can cause many types of injuries. Traumatic brain injuries, facial fractures, spinal cord injuries, broken bones, cuts and scrapes, and sprains are all possible outcomes of a slip and fall.
With senior citizens, falls can easily become fatal. Hip fractures are common injuries in older adults—about 800,000 people are hospitalized for a hip fracture or head injury after a fall. Infection is a major concern with a hip fracture. Fighting off the infection is difficult for those with compromised or weaker immune systems and recovering from an infection and hip fracture can take a long time and require intensive care.
Depending on the severity of your injury, it’s possible you may have had to stay in the hospital or undergo surgical procedures as part of your treatment. Future care can include physical therapy and other forms of rehabilitation. As these expenses add up, you shouldn’t be left with a decision between affording the care you need or putting food on the table. That’s why our lawyers will take all your losses into account when determining your compensation amount.
Get Representation for Your Case
Having someone well-versed in the state’s slip and fall laws and how they apply to your case will help you present a valid and strong claim. For example, if you miss a deadline, you may miss your chance to file for compensation. With a Midland attorney at your side, you don’t have to worry about that happening. We make sure everything is filed correctly and promptly, so you can focus on your recovery.
We’re ready to help point you in the right direction. Call our office today for a free consultation.
