Let’s say you’ve decided to go out to dinner at a restaurant. After enjoying your meal, you are headed out the door when all of a sudden, your feet slip out from under you and you hit the floor, experiencing a sharp pain up your spine. Embarrassed, you regain your feet and wave off assistance—but the next morning, you awaken in pain and regret not heading straight to the doctor.
This scenario is more common than you might imagine. Slip and fall accidents account for 2.8 million emergency room visitseach year. This type of accident is especially dangerous for the elderly, as fall injuries lead to many other serious health issues. The CDC reports that one out of five slip and fall incidents causes injury. Some common injuries include:
- Broken or fractured bones - The impact of your body striking the ground at an odd angle makes a broken bone especially likely. It’s natural to reach out with your hand or elbow, and when one body part takes the full impact of your body weight against a hard surface, it can cause a break or fracture.
- Spinal cord injuries - An injury to the spinal cord can result in extensive pain and limited mobility, even just a relatively minor injury, like a ruptured disk. In severe cases, spinal cord injuries can cause partial or complete paralysis.
- Concussion or TBI (traumatic brain injury) - A concussion is especially common with a slip and fall and should be treated as a serious head injury.
- Sprains and torn ligaments - When you slip, it’s impossible to predict how you’re going to fall. Many times a knee or shoulder will twist under your body weight, resulting in a torn ligament or serious sprain.
Steps to Take If You Have Been Injured
If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident, your first course of action should be to seek medical attention. Even if you don’t think your injury is all that serious, it is important to get checked out by a medical professional. Some injuries don’t show up for hours or even days after the initial accident, and may be much more serious if not identified and treated right away.
If you are able to do so, remember to closely document the scene of the accident. Take photos of the area in which you fell, or try to recreate the exact scenario so that you can show if the conditions were dangerous. Collect testimony from any witnesses who saw what happened. This will also be important information to present when you are proving liability and requesting compensation for your damages. If you are injured and unable to collect evidence, ask a friend or someone nearby to do this for you.
Contact a Connecticut Slip and Fall Lawyer Today
When you sustain an injury from a slip and fall accident, the consequences can be traumatizing. Oftentimes, a slip and fall seems minor, but results in serious injuries that prevent the victim from working, driving, or being able to participate in activities he or she previously enjoyed. An experienced slip and fall injury attorney can help get you back on your feet again. Contact the lawyers at Leighton, Katz & Drapeau to set up an initial consultation. We have been serving clients in the Connecticut area for over thirty years. You can reach out online or give us a call at 860-875-7000.
