If you’re able to walk, you’ve slipped and fallen at some point in your lives. Many of us grew up with permanently skinned knees and remember a time when falling was part of daily life. For this reason, it’s easy to think that slip and fall accidents are “no big deal” and that they rarely, if ever, result in serious injuries.
The unfortunate reality is that they DO result in severe injuries regularly, sometimes leaving victims with lifelong medical problems or disabilities. Sometimes a victim falls in “just the right way” or is already susceptible to serious injury because of age or a medical condition. Regardless of the reason, when slip and fall accidents severely injure victims, it can change their lives forever. Some of the more severe injuries that you can sustain in a slip and fall accident include:
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) often occur after a person hits his or her head on an object during a fall. These injuries can cause a disruption in the way the brain normally functions, and you’ve probably heard about the most common form of mild TBI, which is a concussion. Even when they’re relatively mild, TBIs can leave victims with debilitating symptoms that can last for weeks, if not months. More serious TBIs can result in long-term cognitive or physical disabilities that can affect victims for the rest of their lives.
Spinal Cord Injuries
The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that allows the brain to communicate with the rest of the body. When it is injured, this communication can be disrupted, potentially resulting in extraordinarily severe and negative consequences, including complete loss of feeling and movement (paralysis) below the site of the injury. Less severe spinal cord injuries can still leave victims with issues like pain, numbness, loss of range of motion, tingling sensations, and muscle weakness.
Severe Soft Tissue Injuries
Slip and fall accidents can also cause extremely severe soft tissue injuries like lacerations, contusions, muscle tears, and severe sprains and strains. These injuries can be excruciating and often require emergency medical attention or even surgery to treat. In some cases, victims can develop long-term issues like chronic pain or unsightly scarring as a result of severe soft injuries.
Can You Recover Compensation for Your Slip and Fall Accident?
If you’ve been hurt in a slip and fall accident, you are probably curious as to whether you can recover compensation for your accident-related losses. As is the case with all accidents in California, if you can show that someone else’s negligence caused your accident, you’ll probably be able to recover compensation. Many slip and fall hazards are often the result of negligence, including:
- Exposed cables or wiring
- Poor lighting
- Slippery floors
- Cracked pavement
- Torn carpet
- Debris in aisles or walkways
While these and other hazards are often the result of negligence, the best way to determine whether you have a case and, if so, how much you will be able to recover is by discussing your accident with an Orange County slip and fall attorney.
