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Worcester Slip and Fall Accident Attorney

Everyone’s tripped or slipped at some point in our lives, but sometimes, the resulting injuries can be serious – especially if the causes are due to gross negligence or carelessness. Minor trips, slips, and falls around the house are usually minor, but when they occur in public places due to circumstances outside of your control, they can result in serious injury. Bumps and bruises can be common, as can sprains, muscle strains, and fractures. In some cases, slip-and-falls can even be fatal.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured form a slip, trip, and/or fall resulting from the negligence of another responsible party, you may be eligible for compensation. Consult the Worcester personal injury lawyers at Sweeney Merrigan LLP for help recovering the compensation you deserve.

Slip and Falls: The Statistics

• Approximately 30,000 people die from injuries suffered in falls in the United States every year.
• Hospital admissions for fall injuries exceed 700,000 annually. The cost of a hospital admission averages around $35,000.
• Of these, approximately 250,000 are people over age 65 admitted with hip fractures.
• Falls cause more than a quarter of all spinal cord injuries and are the leading cause of spinal cord injuries in people age 65 plus.
• Falls are a leading cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in children and the elderly:
• 54 percent of TBI-related emergency room visits, hospital admissions, and fatalities among children under age 14 were caused by falls in 2013.
• 79 percent of all TBI-related emergency room visits, hospital admissions, and fatalities among seniors aged 65 and older were due to falls.
• Roughly 2.5 million seniors over age 65 are treated for falls in hospital emergency departments.
• In Massachusetts alone, the Department of Public Health reported an estimated 548 deaths, 19,000 hospital admissions, and 50,000 emergency room visits for fall-related injuries.
• People of all ages are at risk. Researchers at Purdue University found that around half of all students of college age had experienced a fall during the four months prior to being issued the survey, although people in this younger age group were much less likely to be seriously injured.
• Fall injuries result in medical expenses totaling about $34 billion per year.

Premises Liability: A Property Owner’s Duty to Avoid Causing Harm

Property owners, managers, and operators have a legal responsibility to keep any public premises safe and well-maintained to prevent a slip or trip and fall accident. This is their duty of care: an obligation to avoid or prevent any situations that can easily cause injuries and harm to other people. If these situations arise, there must be some sort of signage or warning indicating a harmful situation.  When this does not happen and someone is injured as a result, the party responsible for the premises may be held liable. That means they may be held responsible for any damages, be they economic (hospital bills, loss of wages) or non-economic (reduced quality of life, pain, suffering).

What Are Some Common Hazards that Cause Slip, Trip, or Fall Injuries?

Slips or trip-and-falls aren’t always someone else’s fault, but there are plenty of cases where another company’s direct negligence led to a person’s injury. These are some of the conditions most likely to cause people to suffer from falls:

• Wet floors and walkways
• Ice and snow on sidewalks and parking lots
• Excessively polished or waxed floors
• Torn or loose carpeting
• Sidewalks that are cracked and lifted by underlying tree roots
• Sidewalks made wet and slippery by sprinkler systems
• Wet leaves on pavement
• Staircases without hand rails
• Electrical cords laid across an aisle
• Food or beverages spilled on a floor
• Potholes and cracks in pavement
• Unmarked drop-offs
• Poor lighting conditions

Getting the Help You Need Following a Slip, Trip, or Fall

If you or a member of your family suffered a serious slip or trip and fall injury on someone else’s property due to their negligence or lack of proper maintenance, you may be eligible for recovery of all your damages. Call the Worcester law offices of Sweeney Merrigan LLP to arrange a free consultation. You will have the opportunity to know your legal rights and to get answers to your questions about how to proceed. Our lawyers have years of success in pursuit of compensation for our clients and have obtained awards in the millions of dollars for some of them.

At Sweeney Merrigan, we are dedicated to the pursuit of justice for those who have suffered pain, disability, emotional distress, and financial loss caused by someone else’s negligence. We accept injury and wrongful death cases on a contingency fee arrangement, so you never have to pay anything out of pocket until you are given the proper compensation you deserve. Contact us today for more information and how to proceed next.