Trip and Fall Injury
Second only to motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall accidents account for 15% of all accidental deaths in the United States. It's not hard to see that slip and fall accidents can be extremely serious, whether you're at work, home, or anywhere else.
Property is to be properly maintained.
Property owners, landlords and managers of shopping centers, parking garages, hotels, airports, schools, night clubs and other properties have a responsibility to maintain their properties in a way that does not pose an unreasonable danger. By law they are required to make reasonable efforts to protect visitors from hazards such as:
- Slippery or uneven flooring
- Unsafe stairwells
- Criminal activity
- Dangers due to lack of security
- Other unkempt conditions that could cause serious injuries
- Tripping hazards
Sometimes these businesses are not aware of such dangerous conditions. Other times they know about them but do not take the necessary steps to protect the public. In both of these cases, property owners and managers can be held liable for injuries and death on their property. This constitutes premises liability.
Digging Deep for Accountability
With a reputation for exhaustive investigation and extensive courtroom practice, Romano Law Group leverages extensive human talent and techniques specific to premises liability to ensure that your case is handled effectively. When evaluating and preparing each case, our team of attorneys reviews factors such as:
- How long the unsafe condition was present
- Whether or not reasonable measures were taken to correct the condition
- Whether the behavior of the injured party contributed to the injury
Our premises liability attorneys work hard from day one to gather physical evidence, witness testimony and other information to support your case should it go to court.
Statistics about Falls:
We've compiled the recent statistics available that demonstrates how serious trip or slip and fall injuries are, and why property owners, tenants, occupiers and management companies should look out for on a daily basis.
- Fall fatalities are nearly equally divided between men and women. However, more women will experience a slip-and-fall accident. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, falls accounted for 5% of the job-related fatalities for women compared to 11% for men.
- Falls account for over 8 million hospital emergency room visits, representing the leading cause of visits (21.3%). Slips and falls account for over 1 million visits, or 12% of total falls.
- Fractures are the most serious consequences of falls and occur in 5% of all people who fall.
- Slips and falls do not constitute a primary cause of fatal occupational injuries, but represent the primary cause of lost days from work.
- Slips and falls are the leading cause of workers' compensation claims and are the leading cause of occupational injury for people aged 55 years and older.
- According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), floors and flooring materials contribute directly to more than 2 million fall injuries each year.
- Half of all accidental deaths in the home are caused by a fall. Most fall injuries in the home happen at ground level, not from an elevation.
- Of all fractures from falls, hip fractures are the most serious and lead to the greatest health problems and number of deaths. The following statistics describe the slip-and-fall crisis affecting our nation's elderly.
- Each year in the United States, one of every three persons over the age of 65 will experience a fall.
- According to the CDC In 2005, more than 15,000 people over the age of 65 died as a result of a fall. Up from 7,700 a decade earlier.
- The CDC also reports that approximately 1.8 million people over the age of 65 were treated in an emergency room as a result of a fall.
- For people aged 65-84 years, falls are the second leading cause of injury-related death; for those aged 85 years or older, falls are the leading cause of injury-related death.
- Incidence of falls goes up with each decade of life.
- Of all deaths associated with falls, 60% involve people aged 75 years or older.
- Falls account for 87% of all fractures among people over the age of 65 and are the second leading cause of spinal cord and brain injury.
- Half of all elderly adults (over the age of 65) hospitalized for hip fractures cannot return home or live independently after the fracture.
- Falls represent 40% of all nursing home admissions and are the sixth leading cause of death among people aged 70 years or older.
- Over 60% of nursing homes residents will fall each year.
- According to The National Institute on Aging, every year 30% of people over the age of 65 will sustain a fall, of which 10% will result in a serious injury.
- 67% of fall fatalities are among people aged 75 years or older.
- People over the age of 85 are 10-15 times more likely to experience a hip fracture than are people aged 60-65 years.
- 85% of worker's compensation claims are attributed to employees slipping on slick floors (Industrial Safety & Occupational Health Markets 5th edition)
- 22% of slip/fall incidents resulted in more than 31 days away from work (US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2002).
- Compensation & medical costs associated with employee slip/fall accidents is approximately $70 billion annually (National Safety Council Injury Facts 2003 edition).
- Occupational fatalities due to falls are approximately 600 per year down from 1200 during since the 1970s.
- Total injuries due to falls estimated at $13-14 million per year in U.S. Falls are the number one cause of accidental injury, resulting in 20.8 percent of all emergency room visits in 1995. (Motor vehicle accidents accounted for 11.9 percent of ER visits.)