Even though slip and falls are often used as a source of comedy in movies and on television, there’s nothing funny about them when they happen to you or someone you love. In truth, slip and falls are scary. One second, you’re walking along, confident on your feet and the next, you’ve lost your footing and you’re sent flying with no control over where or how you’ll land. Will you crash onto a hard floor? Will you hit your head when you land? Will you suffer a concussion or break your wrist? There’s no telling what type of injuries slip and fall victims can suffer or how serious they’ll be, and the idea of that is frightening.
Fortunately, for slip and fall victims and their families, they’re often eligible to file a slip and fall lawsuit against the individual or business responsible for their injuries. Unfortunately, a lawsuit can’t make it so the incident never happened. However, it can help victims hold those responsible for their pain and suffering accountable. Plus, a slip and fall lawsuit can enable victims and their families to recover the compensation they need to afford hospital bills, rehabilitation costs, job loss, and many other expenses that can result from their fall.
What Are the Most Common Types of Slip and Fall Lawsuits?
Depending on the circumstances of a person’s slip and fall, they may be able to file one of a few different types of slip and fall lawsuits, including:
- Slip and Fall – This can happen if a person slips on something while walking and they fall because of it. Examples include slipping on a wet floor or icy sidewalk.
- Stumble and Fall – These types of falls happen when a person’s foot gets caught on something, such as the edge of a throw rug, and it causes them to stumble and fall.
- Trip and Fall – A trip and fall is like a stumble and fall. It happens when someone trips on something while they’re walking, and it causes them to fall. For instance, if a person tripped on a power cord or an exposed pipe and fell, that would be a trip and fall.
- Step and Fall – This involves a person’s foot landing on something while they’re walking that throws them off balance and causes them to fall. A couple of examples would be if a person steps on an unlevel part of a floor or some unexpected debris, like pebbles on a walkway, and it causes them to lose balance and fall.
Slip and fall cases can also be different depending on the reason a slip and fall victim was on the property where they fell. Slip and fall victims generally fall into one of three categories:
- Invitees – This is someone who invited onto a property. A couple of examples of invitees are department store customers (invited onto the property to shop) and pest control technicians (invited onto the property to perform pest control services). Property owners owe invitees the highest duty of care.
- Trespassers – This includes anyone who is on the property without permission. Generally, property owners do not owe any duty of care to trespassers in Washington. However, property owners are not allowed to injure trespassers with intentional hazards.
- Licensees – A licensee is allowed on the property because of the property owner’s implied consent. The property owner owes licensees duty of care, but that duty of care is not as much as the duty of care they owe invitees.
Another distinction between slip and fall cases can be age. Property owners owe a special duty of care to kids, even if the children are trespassers.
Did You Suffer a Slip and Fall? Schedule a Free Consultation with Us Today!
The injuries that people can suffer from a slip and fall are more serious than many people realize. You could suffer a permanent brain injury or paralysis or even lose your life. And why? Because someone forgot to put a wet floor sign out at your local grocery store or failed to clear the ice from a walkway at your apartment complex? Why should you or a loved one have to suffer a lifetime of pain and suffering from a permanent injury or be stuck with a mountain of unaffordable medical expenses because of someone else’s negligence?
At Dore Law Group, PLLC, we’ve seen what the aftermath of a slip and fall injury looks like. Whether it’s victims struggling with the fact that they’ll never fully recover from their injuries or having to change careers because they can’t physically perform their former job anymore, we’ve just about seen it all. That’s why we’re dedicated to helping slip and fall victims and their families. There’s no way we could ever stand idly by and watch innocent people suffer, especially when we have the knowledge, skills, and experience to help them. When you’re our client, you can rest assured that we will never stand down in the face of adversity, and we will fight tooth and nail to secure your future and hold those responsible for your injuries accountable.
For more information about our personal injury law firm, check out our case results and client testimonials.
To schedule a free consultation with our Washington premises liability attorney, give us a call at (253) 236-3888 or fill out our online contact form and we will reach out to you right away.