Slips, trips and falls are common, but they come with high costs for the victims of such accidents. According to EHSToday, 9 million people are seriously injured and require hospitalization because of slips, trips and falls each year. In 55 percent of the cases, people suffer slip, trip and fall accidents on surfaces that are wet. People who are injured in slips, trips and falls often suffer high financial costs combined with income losses because of the severity of their injuries and time off from work. A personal injury attorney may help his or her client by filing a premises liability lawsuit against a business if the business operator or owner was negligent, and the negligence caused the accident and resulting injuries.
Slip, trip and fall victims
People who are legally on the premises of businesses are often victims of slips, trips and falls when businesses fail to clean up spills or remove tripping hazards that are present on the floor. Others may fall in parking lots that have not been cleared of ice or snow, on broken sidewalk areas or on loose floor tiles inside of the stores.
In addition to people who are present at the business as customers or to conduct business, workers at the companies are also commonly injured in falls, slips and trips. EHSToday reports that 95 million workdays are lost each year because of these types of accidents. When a person has to miss work in order to recover from a falling, slipping or tripping accident, he or she will on average miss 38 days of work during his or her recovery time.
Costs associated with slip, trip and fall accidents
When people have accidents involving slips, trips and falls, there are a number of costs that they may incur. People may have substantial medical expenses while also losing earnings from work. Their accidents may leave them with diminished earning capacities. In some cases, people who have been injured will be left with permanent disabilities that prevent them from returning to work. The average workers’ compensation settlement for slip, trip and fall work accidents is about $20,000.
For premises liability matters, The National Floor Institute reports that the average judgment for premises liability cases is $100,000. A personal injury attorney works to recover the greatest amount for his or her client. He or she may offer an assessment of the value of a claim.
In a recent case a local retailer had both slippery tile installed and an unmarked water hazard which caused our client to slip and suffer serious knee injury, after we hired an expert to show the friction coefficient the retailer settled for a very reasonable sum.