If you make a silly mistake like slipping on a spill on your own kitchen floor nobody is to blame, though you might be able to blame the floor, the spilt liquid and the circumstances leading to the spilling of the liquid. Premises liability for instance if one slips in someone else’s compound, they will be responsible under personal injury law. That can mean that property owners owe it to their guests to keep premises secure for them to use. It does not even matter what that property is; the owner has a legal responsibility to protect guests and visitors.

The unsafe conditions that can lead to a slip and fall accident are numerous:

• Missing warning signs
• Poor lighting
• Faulty handrails
• Torn carpeting
• Loose objects
• Sidewalks stained either by paint, oil, gum, or any other type of materials
• Breaks of ice and snow
• Puddles of rain

Still, if you suffered the injuries on one’s property, you may seem to have the legal basis for the case. For instance, you could hope to get paid for your doctor’s bills, your lost wages at work, and even for the distress you went through. But for one to offer sufficient evidence that will ensure they win the personal injury claim, then one has to do the right things immediately after the mishap. Depending upon the type of property, where your accident occurred, there may be other factors to consider.

Commercial Property

Expressed in words, examples of commercial properties include shopping centers, restaurants and other eating places, hotels, branded groceries and other commerce. Basically, it is not unusual to find that there is many individuals or Company that may be held liable for an accident on commercial property. If your accident happened on commercial property, the owner (or one of their employees) must have:

• Brought about the hazardous state (which can be a spillage, a worn out or a torn area, or slippery area).
• It is meant to be known about the dangerous condition but do not have an adequate response to this condition.
• Should have reasonably known about the dangerous condition or should have reasonably known that his conduct exposed them to a dangerous condition.

The third kind of situation is the most typical and at the same time the most challenging to substantiate. The law concerns itself on whether or not the property owner was able to do all that could be done to ensure that the property was safe.

Residential Property

Am I entitled to bringing an action in court for tripping on another person’s compound? Yes, you can. The former are always required to ensure that their property is safe for the visitors who may include tenants. What if for instance, you are a friend or relative’s visitor; you can still sue if you were in an accident on the friend or family member’s compound.

To establish responsibility in a residential setting, you must prove that:

• This means that the landlord or the homeowner has a dominant control over the hazardous situation.
• The condition could would not have been unreasonably difficult or expensive.
• The condition was one that reasonably could foreseeably cause serious harm
• Unfortunately, the landlord or the homeowner failed in his/her duty to rectify the situation, which resulted to your injury.

Government Property

If your slip and fall injury happened on a government property, there are specific guidelines that you need to observe when filing the slip and fall claim. Prenuptial agreements may differ from state to state and normally, the spouse filing for an annulment is required to pay the other spouse and give notice before filing and the time frame on this is usually much shorter. It will also interest you to know that there are probably some immunity provisions for the government institution you intend to sue.

For instance, in California, you are allowed to present your claim within six months after the unfortunate incident. If your claim has been rejected by an insurance company, you have 45 days and in the next six months you can file a case. Further, if the claim is not responded to, you have two years from the time of the accident to fill a court case.

Slip & Fall Statistics

When you have not experienced severe consequences of a slip and fall, then filing a lawsuit may sound absurd. But still, the slip and fall injuries bear the possibility of changing a person’s life for the worst. Here are a few interesting statistics you should know:

All data and info are retrieved from the source that includes National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

• It is sad that every fifth fall leads to injuries, including the head or a bone fracture.
• A new report shows that more than half of all traumatic brain injuries (TBI) occur due to falls.
• Half of home accidental deaths are as a result of falls.
• Falls not only happens but approximately 800000 patients suffer from fall related injuries each year. The most frequent injuries involve the hip and the head and involve fracture.
• Slip & Falls are the leading cause of admission to emergency rooms with eight million or 21 per cent of the total cases. 3%.
• Falls are more probable with every year that passes
• Elderly adults fall once yearly on average
• Among all fall fatalities, 67 percent of them are people at the age of 75 and above.
• Accidental falls, in particular, are cited as the major cause of fatal injuries among the elderly specifically the people who are eighty-five years old and above. The second most common cause of injury fatalities in people above 65 years are falls, according to National Centre for Injury Prevention and Control.
• Thus, it is estimated that 87 percent of all the fractures developed by the adults over the age of 65 are as a result of the falls.
• More than 95% of cases of hip fractures occur as a result of fall.
• The elderly people who are 85 years and over are 10 to 15 times more likely to experience a hip fracture as the result of a fall than the people who are between 60 and 65 years.
• The inability to say, ‘I’m going home, I am going to be okay, I can go back to my apartment or I can go home’ is what remains a reality and indeed a tragedy for 50 percent of adults aged 65 and above who suffer a hip fracture that can require hospitalization.
• This shows that falls alone necessitate 40% of the nursing home admissions.
• Injury from slipping and falling incidents is one of the most common types of accidents that affect working adult population especially those who are 55 years or above. They also contribute towards compensation of workers’ compensation claims.
• The sum total of non-fatal fall related expenses in medical care is roughly fifty billion US dollars per year. Losing is at approximately $754 million for fatal fall accidents. Out of those amounts, $12 Billion is paid out-of-pocket. Thus, Medicaid bears around $9 billion of costs, and Medicare – about $29 billion.