St. Petersburg Accident Blog

Slip and Fall Accidents as a Result of Neglected Property

While many Florida slip and fall accidents are routinely caused by hazards or obstacles on walkways, many preventable slip and fall accidents are a result of the property owner’s ignorance or failure to fix dangerous conditions that lead to these accidents. If you have been seriously injured in a slip and fall accident in St. Petersburg or the surrounding area, contact an experienced St. Petersburg premises liability attorney; 727-345-4566 or 866-836-4947.

What if I experience a Slip and Fall Accident on my Landlord’s Property?

What should you do if you are injured in a slip and fall accident on your landlord’s property? You should seek legal advice immediately knowing that many landlords carry liability insurance for these potential situations. They will be able to help you build your case and seek compensation.

What Not To Do After a Florida Slip and Fall Accident

Read this blog to find out what you shouldn’t do after a slip and fall accident. If you or someone you know has been injured in a Florida slip and fall accident, you should contact a St. Petersburg personal injury attorney at the Law Offices of William K. Saron at (727) 345-4566 or (866) 836-4947.

Serious Knee Injuries Are Common From Slip & Fall Accidents

A slip and fall accident can result in a serious knee injury. Knee injuries are painful and can be disabling. If you have suffered a knee injury from someone else's negligence, contact the Law Offices of William K. Saron at (727) 345-4566 or (866) 826-4947.

A Slip and Fall Can Cause A Broken Hip No Matter Your Age

Most people associate a broken hip with the elderly.  However, when you slip and fall, it doesn’t matter how old you are – you have the potential to break your hip.

A hip fracture is painful.  Some of the signs of a broken hip include pain in the hip or groin area, inability to put weight on a leg, hip stiffness, bruising or swelling and a shorter leg on the injured side of the hip.  Even if you are not experiencing these specific symptoms, you should still be checked out by a doctor following a slip and fall or trip and fall accident.

To determine if you have sustained a hip fracture, the doctor will order an x-ray.  The x-ray will show the extent of the damage to the hip or other affected area.  Surgery is the usual treatment for a broken hip, but there are alternatives for people who are unable to have surgery due to medical reasons.

In rare cases, a broken hip can lead to fatal complications.  People have been known to suffer from bedsores, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, muscle wasting and blood clots following a hip fracture.  If a blood clot becomes lodged in a pulmonary artery, the outcome can be deadly.

If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident, you need to contact an experienced injury attorney in St. Petersburg.  Call the Law Offices of William K. Saron at (727) 345-4566 or (866) 836-4947.

A Florida Fall Accident Can Lead to a Broken Collar Bone

Most of the time, when you slip and fall or trip, all you sustain is a bruised ego.  However, some fall accidents are more serious than others and can lead to painful injuries.  A fractured collar bone is one of the most common bone breaks and can occur when you fall.  Typically, a broken collar bone happens when you fall with an outstretched arm or land on the outside of your shoulder.

The collar bone, also known as the clavicle, runs from the front of your shoulders to the sternum.  In a fall accident, the impact of hitting the bone on a hard surface, such as the ground or an object, can cause the clavicle to fracture.  This type of injury is painful and can take weeks to recover from.  Usually treatment involves rest and a sling that keeps the shoulders back, but occasionally, surgery is required.  Physicians also tend to recommend physical therapy in more severe cases.

If you have fractured your collar bone in a Florida slip and fall accident, you may be able to hold the property owner liable.  Property owners have a duty to keep their premises free from any known dangers and can sometimes be held responsible for damages caused from the accident.  You should contact a Florida injury attorney at the Law Offices of William K. Saron at (727) 345-4566 or (866) 836-4947 for legal advice.

How Can You Prove Fault in a Florida Slip and Fall?

If you have slipped and fallen at a mall, apartment complex, office building or other location, you are not alone.  Falls are one of the leading causes of unintentional injuries in the United States.  Many falls are caused by our own carelessness, either we weren’t paying attention or failed to adhere to warning signs of a slippery or uneven surface.  However, sometimes a slip and fall accident or trip and fall accident is the fault of the property owner. 

After a Florida fall accident, you need to think about what caused your fall.  Torn carpet, broken tile, worn out stairs and slippery surfaces are common factors in fall accidents.  A property owner isn’t going to be responsible every time there is a wet surface, but there are going to be some situations where the property owner should have taken action to prevent the hazard that caused your fall.

Florida slip and fall accident cases can be tricky.  There are different circumstances that could prove that the property owner was responsible.  For example, you will need to show either that the property owner or one of their employees caused the dangerous surface or that they must have known about the hazard and did not repair it.  A property owner can also be held liable if they should have known about the dangerous condition because a reasonable person would have been aware of it.

Contact a Florida slip and fall accident attorney if you have been injured in a fall.  Call the Law Offices of William K. Saron today at (727) 345-4566 or (866) 836-4947 for legal advice.

Fall Accidents Among Senior Citizens in Florida

Falls can be serious and every year thousands of senior citizens are injured by these accidents.  According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one third of adults age 65 and older fall each year in the United States.  The problem is so severe that falls are the leading cause of injury deaths among senior citizens and the most frequent cause of nonfatal injuries and hospitalizations.

How many older adults are affected by fall accidents?  The CDC reports that 15,800 people 65 and older died from fall injuries and 1.8 million were treated in emergency departments for nonfatal injuries from falls in 2007.  Among those injured, 433,000 were hospitalized.  The number of deaths caused by falls has increased dramatically over the last decade.

According to the CDC, 20 to 30 percent of fall victims sustain moderate to severe injuries, including bruises, hip fractures and head traumas.  Falls are also considered to be the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries.  In 2000, traumatic brain injuries accounted for 46 percent of fatal falls among senior citizens. 

Statistics show that men are more likely to die from a fall than women, but women are more likely to sustain a nonfatal fall injury.  Older women are twice as likely to suffer from a fall-related fracture as men in the same age group.

Even when an older adult is not injured in a fall accident, he or she may still experience emotional stress, as a fear of falling develops.  This fear can cause older adults to restrict their activities, which can lead to reduced mobility and physical fitness.

*Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Falls Among Older Adults: An Overview

 

Fall Accidents Can Result in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

It’s hard to imagine that a slip and fall accident can lead to serious injuries, including a traumatic brain injury (TBI).  Most people associate fall accidents with broken bones, bruises or sprains, but according to the Brain Injury Association of America, falls are a leading cause of traumatic brain injury, accounting for 28 percent of TBI cases every year.

A traumatic brain injury disrupts the function of the brain and can cause major problems for the victim.  For example, TBI can affect language, thinking, learning, sensation, emotions and behavior.  In some cases, traumatic brain injury has resulted in epilepsy and can increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and other serious brain disorders.

When someone slips and falls, if there is a sudden blow or jolt to the head, it can cause irreversible brain damage.  Even though treatment is available for a patient with a traumatic brain injury, the injury can still be life-altering.  Surgery is often required for victims of traumatic brain injury and rehabilitation is commonly used to improve their situation.

Medical treatment for TBI caused by a fall accident can be expensive over the victim’s lifetime.  If the slip and fall accident occurred on someone else’s property, including office buildings, parking lots, grocery stores and apartments complexes, the property owner can be held liable.  When a property owner is found to be responsible for the injuries, compensation can be pursued, which will help cover the costs of medical treatment and lost income.

If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident or have a family member who has sustained a traumatic brain injury resulting from a fall, contact the Law Offices of William K. Saron at (866) 836-4947 or (727) 345-4566.

The article, “Traumatic Brain Injury Caused By Slip and Fall Accident,” has more information on this topic.

Can a Property Owner be Responsible for Your Injuries?

Did you slip and fall at a mall, grocery store, parking lot, workplace or other location?  If so, you may be wondering if you can hold the property owner responsible for your injuries.  Slip and fall and trip and fall injuries can be serious, resulting in high medical costs and time away from work.  You need to know your legal rights following a slip and fall accident.

Slip and fall accidents fall under a legal category known as premises liability.  Property owners owe a legal duty of reasonable care to keep their premises free from danger.  According to Florida law, a business owner has the responsibility to “maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition for the safety of business invitees on the premises, which includes reasonable efforts to keep the premises free from transitory foreign objects or substances that might foreseeably give rise to loss, injury or damage.”

There are certain things that you have to prove in order to receive compensation from a property owner.  Some of the questions that will need to be answered include:

• Did the person in control of the property owe you a duty?
  
• Did the property owner act negligently by failing to exercise reasonable care in the “maintenance, inspection, repair, warning or mode of operation of the business premises?”
  
• Did the property owner fail to provide reasonable care, which ultimately caused you loss, injury or damage?

The first question can be answered by reviewing the categories of visitors on a property, which include invitees, licensees and trespassers.  A licensee is someone who has a reason to believe the property is open for use, such as in the situation of a customer shopping at a retail store.  A licensee is someone who is on the property for any other reason other than commercial or business use.  A trespasser is a person who is on the property without expressed or implied invitation or permission.  In most circumstances, a property owner owes the duty of reasonable care to invitees, licensees and known trespassers.  Also, a property owner cannot intentionally harm a trespasser.

If you have been injured on someone else’s property, contact a Florida slip and fall attorney who can review your case to determine who was liable.  Call the Law Offices of William K. Saron at (727) 345-4566 or (866) 836-4947 for expert legal advice.

The article, Property Owner’s Responsibility for Injuries, has more information regarding this subject.