Slip and Fall Lawyer Serving Delray Beach

Located in southeast Florida, Delray Beach is a history-rich city with plenty of art museums, outdoor spots, and other creative outlets for its residents and tourists. As of 2019, it had a population of over 69,000 people. With the majority of the population being fairly educated and holding either a college or undergraduate degree, this urban town has been growing steadily.

In a growing town, there are also a growing number of accidents, which includes slip and falls. Slip and falls has led to at least 1 million US citizens ending up in the emergency room every year. For those over 50 years of age, these falls can be fatal, while for people who are young and in good health, these falls are a major cause of missed days at work and other physical injuries.

If you or a loved one has sustained injuries in a slip and fall due to the negligence and carelessness of another, you may be eligible to pursue a claim for your damages. Contact Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers for guidance as to your legal options.

Given how common slip and falls are, knowing the common causes allows room for prevention to the injuries in the first place:

1. Wet, Slippery or Oily Surface

Damp, slippery surfaces are among the leading causes of slip and falls on both public and private properties. You may have come across a yellow or similar sign in many buildings that act as cautionary signs when a space is being washed, waxed, or has some slippery substance on it. If there is no such sign, you may end up tripping on the surface and seriously injuring yourself.

2. Loose carpeting or wiring

Another major cause of trip and falls includes loose carpeting or wiring. This is particularly a problem at public events, corporate buildings, and other carpeted spaces. A slightly upturned carpet or wires snaking through open walkways and passages may cause unsuspecting victims to catch their foot, stumble, and fall over.

3. Uneven Pavement or Concrete

A common problem that may occur in a building's outer space is uneven pavement or cracks and gaps in the concrete. This problem may be worse for those who fall in a dark, unlit parking lot or garage and hurt themselves. Accidents by falling on concrete can be quite serious and may even lead to broken teeth, other injuries and may damage any accessories you have with you, such as a phone or watch.

4. Poor lighting

Poor lighting a problem commonly associated with parking garages, stairwells, and small alleys inside and outside a building. Lack of proper lighting may prevent you from seeing potential objects on the ground, pillars, broken tiles, and so on, all of which may cause you to slip and fall. Constantly flickering light bulbs are also a hazard.

5. Falling off a ladder, scaffolding, building, stairs

Slip and falls from a height may happen due to a range of reasons including:

• Stumbling on stairs without guardrails
• Being pushed by someone else rushing up or down the stairs
• Climbing an unstable ladder
• Finding broken tiles or objects on the stairs
• Falling off chairs or other makeshift ladders as you try to complete a task.

6. Uneven or narrow stairs

In some cases, whether you're visiting someone's home or you're at a store or a corporate building, the stairs may be so narrow, or the steps may be so uneven that you can slip and fall. Even if you're careful, an uneven step, especially one that has a slight slope to it, can make you spiral in an instant.

With many people visiting the emergency room due to slip and fall injuries, it's important to find out how these happen, who is responsible, and what can be done to lessen the pain of the victims. Slip and falls accidents may occur when employees fall on the job, site workers have accidents, or even if one goes for a friendly visit to someone else's property.

Florida Statute of Limitations. In Florida, the amount of time you have to file your lawsuit:

• For physical injuries or property damage, the person may file a case within 2 years of the date of the slip and fall.
• If you fail to file your lawsuit within the Statute of Limitations, the court will likely dismiss your lawsuit and you will be barred from pursuing your claim.

Types of Slip and Fall Cases That We Are Available To Handle

Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers handle a number of slip and fall cases including:

1. Slip and Falls at Private Residences

If you slip in a home that doesn't belong to you, you can file a claim against the host if you were visiting or the landlord if it is rented property. Slip and falls can occur due to a broken step, loose floorboards, overturned carpeting, scattered objects, and so on.

In some cases, your child may be involved in a slip and fall. This may occur if they find an attraction in another private residence, such as a pool or a swing set in someone else's backyard. The property owner may be held liable since they left such attractions on public display.

2. Retail Stores or Shopping Malls

Florida has nearly 180 shopping malls and centers and slip and falls can occur on both mall property and inside individual stores. Spilled food and drinks in the food court, chipped flooring, unruly escalators, and more are all causes of slip and falls. For a fall that occurs in a common mall area, the mall ownership or management may be the at-fault party, but if the fall occurs in a store, then the store may be responsible for the accident.

3. Grocery Stores

Fallen fruit, water in the aisles due to cleaning, food items that fell off the shelves, saturated entryway mats are among the many ways you can slip and fall in a grocery store. Even advertisements and shelves that stick out beyond a natural amount can cause shoppers to stumble and fall.

4. Restaurants, Hotels, Nightclubs

From spilled food to drinks to dirty restrooms, slip and falls may occur in restaurants and hotels. Many of these places are also dimly lit and may prevent you from seeing clearly, leading to a fall that may cause lasting injuries.

5. Schools, Parks, Sports Stadiums

All these public spaces have a duty to those who enter to provide them with clean bathroom facilities, litter-free spaces to walk on, and making sure that if there any swings for children, that they are clean and in working order. Missing out on any of these can lead to slip and falls for both adults and children, and the victims of the fall can claim for damages.

6. Parking Garage or Parking Lots

Poor lighting is a main problem since it may also conceal objects in the walkways which can lead to serious injuries. Trip and falls may occur over chipped concrete and broken parking stops.

7. Event Hall, Conference Center, Amusement Parks

Most public places are at risk of people slipping and falling. Some common causes include unsteady ride platforms, dropped food, water, waxed floors, and so on. The property ownership and management must ensure that everything is safe to lower the risk of falls occurring.

Slip and falls range from minor injuries to serious ones that require extensive treatment.

Broken or Fractured Bones

Slip and falls cause trauma in the body and can lead to broken bones in the arms, legs, hips, and other parts. These occur in many slip and falls, especially those that involve elderly people or those with pre-existing conditions.

Traumatic Brain Damage or Concussion

Brain injuries may result from slip and falls due to direct contact with a hard surface. Brain trauma may start out as a migraine or similar pain and needs to be checked immediately before you start experiencing symptoms like reduced vision, etc.

Knee Damage

Knee injuries are particularly tricky to mend. A dislocated knee joint could need immediate surgery and treatment for months after to heal completely.

Muscle Sprains

Even if you try to curl up to reduce the impact of the fall, you may end up spraining muscles in your arms, wrists, and ankles. These sprains may lead to unwanted time off work and even being temporarily unable to perform basic activities like walking straight.

Dislocated Shoulders

Direct or indirect impact on the shoulder may lead to broken bones or a dislocated shoulder joint that needs to be operated on immediately. Extensive treatment and physical therapy may be required to heal it completely.

Nerve Damage

Our nerves are very sensitive, and the force of a fall can shock the nerves. This may lead to serious problems like temporary paralysis, involuntary twitching, and so on. In some cases, the nerve damage may even be permanent.

Injuries to the Spine

The spine is very fragile, and if it happens to bear the brunt of your fall, it can lead to lower body paralysis and other problems that may require extensive treatment and time and even then may not heal completely.

Cuts and Bruises

Minor scrapes are somewhat expected in a slip and fall. If the cuts sustained are deep, they may require stitches and treatment to prevent them from getting infected. Falling on a rough surface may also lead to heavy bruising.

If you have experienced a slip and fall on a property that is not your own, there are certain steps you may choose to follow. For any injuries you have sustained, such as a broken wrist, pain to the back or neck or a head injury, seek immediate medical treatment. The Delray Medical Center has 24-hour emergency services to cater to your injuries. You may also seek treatment from your own qualified medical physician.

Before you go, make sure to take plenty of photos and videos of the scene of the accident, paying particular attention to any oily or wet surfaces, broken flooring, objects in the way, or any other maintenance regulations that were potentially violated.

If there were any witnesses to the fall, obtain their personal contact information and a statement on exactly what they observed.

Report the incident to the property manager or owner. Be sure to obtain a copy of the incident report.

If you are contacted by the insurance company on behalf of the party responsible for your fall, do not give them a recorded statement or sign any documents without speaking to your attorney first. Don't accept a settlement from the insurance company with speaking to a slip and fall lawyer near you.

Contact the experienced and dedicated Delray Beach personal injury lawyer at Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers. Let us help you pursue the compensation you deserve.

Who is Responsible for a Slip and Fall Accident?

Property owners and management are responsible for keeping their buildings and the outside areas in accordance with health and safety requirements to protect visitors and employees. They have a legal obligation to provide adequate lighting, replace chipped tiles, putting warning signs out for any construction/cleaning, and so on. For cases where the work is ongoing like floor waxing or tile mending, the area needs to be closed off and have the appropriate signage to keep people away. These same legal obligations apply to private resident owners who invite others into their homes as well as landlords who lease out their property.

Failure to keep their property in working order and free from hazards may cause employees and external visitors to slip and fall. At Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers, our attorneys can help you determine who is liable for your fall.

• Invitees are invited onto property (public or private) by the property owners or management themselves. If a slip and fall occurs in these circumstances, then the property owner will be responsible for damages.
• Licensees are invited by property ownership/management to perform certain tasks such as fixing a broken pipe, signing a contract, etc. These cases are not as simple as those involving invitees since the nature of the job, the circumstances in which the fall occurred also need to be considered.
• Trespassers enter private property without being legally allowed in and will not be able to file for claims in a slip and fall. However, the case for children is different.

To find out more about what steps to take if you were injured on public or private property, click here.

You can file a claim for a number of damages including:

Medical bills may range from minor bills for scrapes, cuts, and bruises, to extensive treatment for nerve and spinal cord damage, brain injuries, and more that require surgery, therapeutic treatment, tests such as MRIs and medical prescriptions. All these, including emergency room bills, can be filed for. Make sure to keep all the medical documentation safe.

Serious slip and falls may cause lower-body paralysis, permanent limping due to damaged knees, and so on. Such disabilities require lifetime treatment, medication, and care. They may also include therapy for coping with trauma, all of which you can file a claim for.

Slip and falls have one common damage: they can lead to time off work. This may end up being unpaid leave with employees not being able to earn. For injuries that are permanent, they may need to seek alternative employment that pays less.

Apart from the physical pain of the injuries sustained, victims may experience mental and emotional pain such as anxiety, PTSD, and the inability to seek comfort from their loved ones. This may include long term therapeutic care.

Some slip and falls may end up being fatal and life-taking for the victim/s. In such cases, their family members may file a wrongful death suit to claim for this loss of life.

Benefits of Hiring a Slip and Fall Attorney

Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers have over 40 years of combined legal experience and have recovered over $200 million in verdicts and settlements for their clients. We examine each case thoroughly and strive to keep a clear channel of communication with our clients at all times.

Contact us for a free consultation service, no strings attached. We can also come to your home or hospital any day of the week if you can"t come to us.

You can reach out to us at 561-800-8000 or contact us through our website.