Visitor Slip and Fall at Nursing Facility

Those who are injured in public tend to shrug off their injuries and insist that a going to a hospital is unnecessary. This is a big mistake when it comes to accidents caused by negligent conditions at a nursing home. Possible injuries from a slip and fall include:

• Broken bones
• Traumatic brain injury
• Dislocated joints
• Tearing of ligaments and tendons (soft tissue injury)
• Ruptured spleen
• Broken hip of pelvis (especially in people 65 and above)
• Sprain in the wrist or ankle
• Spinal cord damage
• Whiplash
• Herniated disc
• Chronic pain
• Coma
• Fatality

Though it’s hard to believe, fall accidents are serious enough to kill someone, especially if they don’t seek medical attention right away. There is no denying that slip and falls are serious incidents that are responsible for millions of emergency room visits in the U.S. every year, with many of patients needing hospitalization, surgery, long-term physical therapy and other expensive medical treatments. Depending on the extent of your injury, you may need to limit your daily activities and take time off from work. These and other issues lead to monetary losses that you should not have to cover on your own. To see how a personal injury lawyer can be of help, call our office as soon as possible.

No matter how badly you are injured, not everyone accident is eligible for a lawsuit against another party. So, what is the difference between accidents that are a case of bad luck and the ones where you can sue a property owner for monetary damages?

Basically, it’s a matter of liability, i.e., a responsibility one has towards others in a legal sense. There are several types of liability, but in the case of a nursing home where you are a visitor, the concept that is most applicable is premises liability. This is a duty that owners have to keep their property in a safe condition by inspecting and maintaining the premises. There are many tasks that fall into these categories, and they are necessary to ensure that someone does not have an accident, whether they are a guest or resident.

A common cause of slip and fall accidents is substances on the floor, particularly in and around the cafeterias and bathrooms. These are areas where you are likely to find visitors at a nursing facility, so the potential for someone to end up with a slip and fall injury is very high. Of course, fall accidents can happen anywhere on the premises, whether you are in the parking lot or in the patient’s room. Here are some cautionary measures that can prevent slip and fall accidents in a nursing home:

• Clean up spills and other liquids off the floor immediately.
• Make sure to place Wet Floor signs around spills or freshly mopped areas.
• Ensure that cords and wires are secured and out of the way where people can slip or trip on them.
• Clear away any paper or debris that people can slip on, especially in areas that are tight of crowded.
• Make sure there is sufficient lighting in all areas of the facility.
• If there is a condition that cannot be resolved right away, use caution tape, barriers, signs, etc. as a warning to others.
• Use anti-slip mats in entrance and exit areas, especially during bad weather (people can track in water and snow that make the floors slippery).
• Replace worn areas on carpets and tile that have lost traction
• Ensure that handrails are sturdy and properly designed (not too wide or narrow, not placed too high or low).

This is not a complete list, but we hope you get an idea of how premises liability is applied in cases of accidents that happen on someone else’s property. If you would like to learn more about your right to file a slip and fall claim, don’t hesitate to contact the offices of DTLA Law Group.

If you are interested in filing a liability claim against the nursing facility, you must do so within 2 years of when you were injured in the accident. In essence, the statute of limitations, which is 2 years, begins from the moment you slip and fall down at a nursing home. This is why contacting a nursing facility accident lawyer is so important, as they can take immediate action to investigate the incident and obtain evidence to build a solid claim. Our attorneys will make sure that your claim is filed on time with ample proof showing how the nursing home owners and of staff failed to take reasonable measures that could have kept you from being injured. You can also count on us to fight aggressively on your behalf and recover the full range of compensation you are entitled to as a slip and fall accident victim.

A nursing facility slip and fall lawsuit can have values ranging from $15,000 to $2,500,000. Much of the costs are based on the victim’s current and future medical expenses and lost wages. However, someone with serious injuries may be entitled to non-economic damages, like pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. If the negligence by the nursing home that caused the accident is particularly careless or reckless, the plaintiff may be awarded punitive damages if the case is tried in court. This can add another 6 to 7 figure sum to an injury claim, which is why some of our cases result in payouts of $3,000,000 and above. Keep in mind, however, that the majority of cases are settled for around $75,000 to $250,000.

The timeline to settle a premises liability claim can vary considerably from one case to another, with some people receiving payment within months, while others wait 2 or more years to reach a settlement. This is due to a variety of factors, but the level of injury is probably the most crucial element. The greater your injury, the greater the nursing home’s liability, and therefore, the amount of compensation you are owed. This will generally increase how long it takes to negotiate a fair settlement offer, which is why a good deal of our cases take at least 12 months from start to finish. However, settling a fall injury accident case in 6 months is possible based on the nursing home’s cooperation and various details that are specific to your case.

If you would like to discuss the settlement process in more detail with one of our attorneys, contact us to schedule a free consultation.

Ultimately, advice from an experienced fall accident injury lawyer is the key to succeeding in a slip and fall claim against a nursing home. That’s why we encourage you to give us a call and talk to a member of our legal team during a free case evaluation.

If you decide to go ahead with a nursing home negligence lawsuit, we are happy to provide you with a Zero Fee Guarantee. Since we work on contingency, you pay $0 to hire a slip and fall lawyer with experience in claims against nursing facilities. You pay nothing throughout your journey with us, since we wait until the end of your case to receive our fees from the party you are suing. In other words, we only get paid if you get paid, so you owe us absolutely nothing if you don’t receive payment from a nursing home slip and fall lawsuit.

Please take a moment to contact our law firm and learn about your rights and legal options.