Understanding Slip And Fall Injuries
Whether you’re a customer at a place of business or an employee of an establishment, you may, at some point, experience an accident that leaves you with a personal injury or aggravates a preexisting injury. It’s unfortunate that these incidents occur, but the good news is that you are not usually liable for them.
It is the business owner’s responsibility to keep their facility safe and operational for their customers and employees. If an accident does happen, the employer needs to have general liability insurance and workers’ compensation insurance in order to cover medical costs, loss of wages, pain and suffering, and more.
If you are a customer or employee and sustained an injury at a place of business or your job, please contact Keller, Woods & Thompson, P.A. to determine what your options are. We’ve helped numerous Minnesota and western Wisconsin injury victims.
Who’s Responsible For These Injuries?
It is the responsibility of property owners and store managers to ensure that shoppers and the public are safe while on their premises. However, each year, thousands of individuals suffer serious injuries due to trips, slips and falls. These injuries can include trauma to the hip, head, neck, back and spine. These personal injuries can result in lengthy and costly medical bills.
Many people do not seek the treatment that they need after a personal injury, fearing how much it will cost. At Keller, Woods & Thompson, P.A., we are committed to helping you make the fullest recovery possible. We will handle the legal issues, filing a claim against the responsible parties while you focus on working with the necessary doctors and specialists to heal your injuries. These treatments will be covered in your claim.
Slip And Fall Accidents
Of all personal injury claims, slip-and-fall injuries are one of the most common claims made in Minnesota. Most often, these slip and falls are caused by a substance on the floor that is sticky or slippery.
Other causes of slip-and-fall accidents include walking surfaces that are uneven or have significant holes in them. If the floor or any stairways have defects, this could also cause a slip-and-fall accident. Generally, if the design of a space is unsafe or the way a building was constructed was unsafe, it could cause someone to have an accident. A poor amount or lack of lighting could also contribute to a slip-and-fall accident.
The cause of a personal injury like this one could also be a dog bite or animal attack. However, if this is the cause of your personal injury, please see our page about dog bite injuries.
What To Do After An Accident
When you experience a slip-and-fall accident, it is important to file an accident report, if possible. When you complete an accident report, you should give a detailed account about what happened, who witnessed the accident and the condition of the environment that caused the accident, and other important information (like the quality of lighting, for example). An accident report isn’t required by law, but many businesses require a statement as a part of their company policy.
Whether or not you fill out an accident report, you should create a record for yourself. For your own records, you should document what happened, who was present, whether or not anyone made comments related to the condition of the environment or the accident, what you perceived the condition of the environment to be, and photos of the area, if possible.
When hiring a personal injury attorney, it is important for us to have as much information as possible about what happened. The more details you can give, the better we can represent you.
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Paying For Medical Treatment
If you need to seek medical treatment for your slip-and-fall accident, there are a few ways that your expenses could be covered. If your fall occurred at a place of business, the owner will have general liability insurance to cover the cost of some of your medical expenses. If you fell on private property, the homeowner should have medical insurance to cover some of the medical expenses.
Note that these types of insurance will cover only part of the costs. The rest of your medical expenses will be covered in the settlement. If, for some reason, the business or homeowner can’t use their insurance, you will have to use your own health insurance to cover the cost and you can request reimbursement in the settlement.
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Slip-And-Fall Settlements
A settlement for an injury sustained from a slip-and-fall accident is similar to all other personal injury claims. A settlement for this type of claim will include payment to cover:
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Medical Bills
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Wage Loss
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Pain And Suffering
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Potential Future Medical Expenses
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Potential Future Loss Of Income
What Now? Call Us To Discuss Your Options
Depending on the extent of your personal injury, your settlement may include payments for only some of these. For more information on what you could receive settlement payments for, contact Keller, Woods & Thompson, P.A.. Give us a call at 763-447-4076 or send us an email today to get started.
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