Slip and Fall Lawyer Serving Stuart

Have you had a slip and fall injury in Stuart? Slip and fall injuries are one of the most common and the most preventable injuries. These injuries can occur anywhere, including at someone’s home, in a supermarket, parking lot or workplace and happens mostly when a property manager knows of a potential slip and fall hazard but neglects to take corrective measures.

Slip and fall injuries may not seem like a big deal but these accidents can result in injuries that can be life-threatening or life-altering, particularly to senior citizens.

According to the Florida Health Department, 2764 Floridians died from unintentional falls and 67,870 were injured at work and hospitalized for fall-related injuries. In 2018, 25% of all fatal occupational injuries were due to falls at work, reported the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

If you or your loved ones become injured in a slip/trip and fall accident, you should seek legal representation and contact the legal team at Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers. We can evaluate your claim and discuss your legal options.

There are many reasons that can result in a slip and fall accident, even when you are being careful. These include:

• Wet, slippery or oily surface
• Debris scattered on the floor
• Loose carpeting
• Exposed electricity wiring
• Broken tiles
• Uneven or cracked pavement or concrete
• Poor lighting
• Colliding with another individual or object
• Falling off a ladder, scaffolding, building, stairs
• Broken, loose or missing guardrails or handlebars
• Poorly installed fixtures
• Uneven or narrow stairs

Depending on the type of property and the circumstances of your fall, the property owner’s negligence may be the prime reason for your slip and fall accident. It is the duty of the property manager to take reasonable care of their property so that it does not become a safety hazard. If a potential hazard cannot be repaired immediately, the property manager needs to create a warning about it and strive to fix it as soon as possible. If they fail to do so, it could mean they inadvertently caused the slip and fall accident to happen, which could have been prevented with a little care.

If you have sustained injuries in a slip and fall accident, contact the legal team at Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers. You may be eligible to pursue compensation for your claim.

Although some slip and fall accidents may not result in any injury or just minor bruises or cuts, some cases may cause severe, long-lasting, or permanent injuries that require extensive and expensive treatments. Some of these include:

Fractures and Broken Bones: Hip and collar bone fractures are particularly common among senior citizens. Additionally, the tissue surrounding the bone can also get injured and inflamed, resulting in neuromuscular dysfunction and chronic pain that requires long-term therapy.

Concussion and Brain Damage: Symptoms of head injuries like concussion sometimes do not become immediately evident. However, later, they may result in devastating consequences for the person, even death.

Knee and Joint Injuries: In severe cases, knee or joint injuries may require replacement of the injured joint. In less severe cases, the victim may need years of physical therapy and pain management techniques.

Spinal Injuries: Injury in the lower spinal cord can lead to paralysis of the lower limbs (paraplegia) and injury in the upper spinal cord can lead to full paralysis, which can be temporary or permanent.

Muscle and Tendon Sprains: These include minor ankle or wrist sprains, tendon or ligament tears or muscle sprains in the limb, back, shoulders, or neck.

Deep Cuts: Deep cuts, particularly if made by a dirty object, have greater risk of being infected. In severe cases, this can lead to amputation or further surgeries.

The distance you fall, the way you land, and how fit you are can all determine the level of injury you may sustain in a slip and fall. Usually, older adults suffer severe injuries than younger people. It is important to get a medical checkup promptly after an injury since you may not feel symptoms of some injuries immediately. If you don’t receive prompt treatment, the injury may get worse.

Slip and fall accidents fall under premise liability law. Under this law, the property owner, property manager, and the people leasing properties may be held liable for injuries that happen on their property. In states like Florida, property managers are required by law to keep their premise risk-free and safe by fixing any hazard or adequately warning visitors of the dangers while the property is being repaired. They must also regularly inspect the premises to stay updated about any unsafe conditions.

For example, a supermarket owner or manager is responsible for regularly inspecting store aisles because of the risk of spilled liquid or merchandise falling to the floor and creating a safety hazard. They also have the obligation to inspect the entire store to see no dangerous condition exists that could result in a fall. If the owner or manager fails to make these inspections, it may make them liable for slip and fall injuries caused by these unaddressed hazards.

Homeowners, landlords, property managers, employers, shopping malls, supermarkets, elevator companies, and mass transit authorities in Stuart can all potentially be liable for slip and fall injuries if they fail to take proper precaution to ensure the safety of their visitors.

Our Florida personal injury lawyers strive to help the injured party recover compensations for the losses incurred due to a slip and fall. The first step is to establish that the property owner was negligent in keeping and maintaining a safe property.

The status of the person who has suffered a slip and fall accident in Stuart may have a bearing on the property owner’s liability. There are three types of statuses:

An invitee is a person or guest that has been invited into the property for either public or business reasons. Examples of invitees include customers, hospital visitors, and people in public parks.

Property owners have the highest responsibility towards invitees since they have been encouraged to come into the premises. This means they need to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition, repair any potential hazards that they know about or should know about, and warn invitees about any dangers they may not know about.

This means they need to perform regular inspection of the property to identify potential new hazards.

Licensee is a person who enters the property to perform a service. These may be invited like houseguests, or uninvited, like salesmen.

Property owners are expected to show the same level of care for invited licensees as invitees. However, for uninvited licensees, property managers need only to not intentionally harm the individual.

These are uninvited and unwelcome people who have entered someone’s property. Florida law defines discovered and undiscovered trespassers.

Discovered trespassers are those about whom the property owner became aware within 24 hours of the slip and fall accident. Property owners have a duty to warn these people of the hazardous conditions of the property if the dangers cannot be easily seen. Additionally, property owners should not cause them deliberate harm or disregard the need for reasonable care.

Undiscovered trespassers are those who are not discovered within 24 hours of the accidents by the property owners. The owner has no obligation to warn these people of the dangers in the property. However, they should refrain from actions that can cause injury to the trespassers.

The statute of limitation is a limited time window in which you can pursue legal action. If a person was injured in a slip and fall accident in Florida due to someone’s carelessness, they must file a lawsuit against the person within two years from the date of the accident.

Once the window closes, which in this case means once two years have passed, the statute of limitation will expire and you will lose your right to fight for fair compensation.

Not only does a property owner have a duty to prevent and repair conditions that can be hazardous to their visitor, they should also regularly inspect their premises to ensure no previously unknown safety hazard has occurred.

If the property owner fails to do so, they may be liable for the injuries caused by these hazards. Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers are available to handle slip and fall accident claims that have occurred at:

• Private residences
• Shopping malls, retail stores, and grocery stores
• Hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs
• Schools
• Parks and sports stadiums
• Parking lots and garages
• Amusement parks, conference centers, and event halls

If you have been injured in a slip and fall, you may choose to take the following steps:

The first thing you should do is to have your injuries treated by a qualified medical professional, who can diagnose all your injuries, including those that do not give any outward symptoms. We strongly recommend you do this even if you do not think you have suffered any injuries.

If you wait weeks until the injury makes itself known to go to a doctor, it might result in health complications and your injury may take longer to heal. Waiting could possibly cast doubt on the legitimacy of your claim and the property owner could potentially seek ways to blame the injuries on other events that may have happened after the slip and fall.

Seeking medical treatment also creates an official record of your injuries.

Below is one of the hospital systems that you can go to get your medical treatment in Stuart.

Open 24 hours | 200 SE Hospital Ave. P.O. Box 9010, Stuart, FL 34995 | 772.287.5200

If you are physically able to, you should gather as much information from the scene of your slip and fall accident as possible. This includes taking pictures of your injuries as well as the scene of the accident. This should include the cause that made you slip and fall, like spilled liquid or uneven flooring.

Make sure you also collect contact information from witnesses who can potentially give testimony. Also made a record of the statements from the witness who saw the fall or who helped you after the incident.

If you had a slip and fall accident at a grocery store or some other business, you can ask them to make an accident report. Make sure to obtain a copy of the report.

If a report cannot be made at the scene and if there were no witnesses, carefully write down as much as you can recall of the incident. Documenting the information after an accident is much more accurate since the incident is fresh than if you decide to write it days later.

If you cannot write a report yourself, call 911 to get the assistance of the police department to prepare an incident report for you. You can call the City of Stuart Police Department via this information:

• City of Stuart Police Department

You should not call the at-fault party’s insurance company to give them a recorded statement or sign any documents without first speaking to an experienced attorney.

Personal injury cases can become complex if the property owner or their insurance company works quickly to get you to accept a low settlement.

At Frankl Kominsky our attorneys have years of experience with personal injury claims, including slip and fall cases, and we can help try to get you compensation for your injuries.

If you have suffered a slip/trip or fall injury, it may be possible to get the following compensation:

Since the property owner may be responsible for all expenses that are generated due to negligence, he is the one liable for medical bills after a slip and fall. You may have the right to obtain compensation for current, past, and future medical bills related to the injury, including blood tests, x-rays and CT scans, surgery, prescription drugs, physical therapy, durable medical equipment like crutches or wheelchairs, and even the cost of transportation to your doctor appointments.

In case of severe slip and fall accidents, you may have become permanently disfigured or full or partially disabled. Such injuries can result in life-long consequences, including mobility limitations as well as your ability to get employment or establish relationships. In this case, you can try to seek compensation for the cost of modifying your home to accommodate your disability, like installing ramps, special beds and bathrooms.

Your injury may cause you to miss time from work, resulting in loss of current and future income. It may also prevent you from doing household chores and other duties which will necessitate the hiring of a help staff. You may be able to recover compensation for such expenses.

Pain and suffering include physical anguish, anxiety and depression, PTSD, insomnia, and loss of enjoyment of life. These types of damages do not have any monetary value attached to it, unlike medical expenses, so compensation cannot be calculated by looking at an invoice. Instead, our personal injury lawyers will consider a variety of factors to try to determine how much compensation you deserve to make up for the physical discomfort and emotional suffering.

If your loved one has passed away because of a slip and fall accident, you may receive compensation for both the economic and non-economic losses associated with wrongful death. These include:

• Medical bills generated in an attempt to treat the victim
• Funeral expenses
• Loss of income generated by the victim
• Loss of companionship and consortium

Slip and fall accidents can be complicated, confusing, and time consuming. Many slip and fall victims do not know how to protect their best interest. Property owners, their attorneys, and insurance companies, could potentially be focused on how to avoid being held responsible for your accident and paying compensation.

Fortunately, you have the option of hiring our Florida personal injury lawyer to represent you.

Our attorneys have over 40 years of combined legal experience in protecting victims of personal injury. We have helped over 8,000 clients and recovered a total of $200 million in both out-of-court settlements and verdicts.

Having a resourceful personal injury lawyer who has experience dealing with insurance companies and defense lawyers can try to help you get just compensation for your loss.

Our skilled lawyers will go through your medical records and other information relating to the slip and fall as well as consider your own account of the accident. This can help us establish what kind of damages you are suffering from and what those damages may be worth.

Our lawyers all offer free case reviews and can take your case on a contingency fee basis. There is no consultation fee for reviewing your case.

Our personal injury lawyers are also available to visit you at home or at the hospital. To schedule an appointment with us, call us at (772) 800-8000 or (561) 800-8000.