Many slip and fall accidents go unreported because the victims are embarrassed and blame themselves. Instead of recognizing the true cause of the accident, victims associate their falls with their own clumsiness. Because they believe their injuries are their own fault, the people actually responsible for the hazardous situations causing the falls are never held accountable.
Other people may recognize that the fall wasn’t necessarily their fault, but figure that a twisted ankle or sprained wrist isn’t enough to warrant a public outcry or filing a lawsuit. While we can sympathize with the desire not to make a fuss over a minor injury, we think all these people are making mistakes.
When injury victims reject the idea of reporting an accident or filing a claim, the hazard remains to hurt someone else, and the next person may suffer more than a few minor bruises.
The Potential for Serious Injury Is High in Slip and Fall Incidents
According to the Mayo Clinic, over 10 million people a year suffer from slip and fall injuries. The National Safety Council suggests that falling accidents are one of the leading causes of unintentional injuries in the United States and considers falls as the number one danger for people over 65 years of age. Many factors can cause accidental falls; the real danger lies in the severity of the injuries they cause.
Common Types of Painful & Traumatic Fall Injuries Include:
Pulled muscles and stretched tendons.
Reflexes, like tensing your muscles and twisting your body in anticipation of a painful fall, can result in the overextension of tendons or the painful stretching of muscles.
Sprained and broken wrists and ankles.
Your common impulse when you fall is to catch yourself. Unfortunately, attempting to stabilize yourself can cause you to twist your ankles, put too much pressure on your hands, or place too much weight on delicate bones in the wrists and ankles, causing them to snap.
Fractured clavicles.
Falling forward can your chest into the ground. If your collarbone strikes the ground first, the impact force of the fall could cause your clavicle to shatter.
Tailbone bruises or fractures.
If you fall backward, the natural reaction is to extend your buttocks in order to absorb the impact on the softest part of your body. Unfortunately, the force of the fall could be so great that it travels through your tailbone, causing immense bruising and even breakage.
Spinal cord injuries.
Falling on your back could cause the majority of the force to be exerted on your spine. That much force could cause vertebrae to chip, nerves to become damaged, and even permanent destruction to your spinal cord itself.
Head and brain injuries.
Your skull is attached to your body by small bones, and when you fall on your back or your chest, your neck acts as a whip to your skull: the impact force travels up your neck and whips your skull back. This not only causes whiplash and neck injuries, but it could add additional force to your head as it strikes the ground. This force can cause skull fractures, bruising, and brain damage.
Our Attorneys Provide the Support You Need to Get Back on Your Feet
When you’re injured in a slip and fall accident, no matter how severe the damage is, you deserve proper compensation for the harm done. Sadly, what you deserve isn’t always what you get. Insurance companies are very good at confusing the issues and falsely denying claims. However, we’ve got your back!
Have You Been Injured In A Henderson Slip and Fall Accident?
If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall you need to speak with an experienced slip and fall lawyer as soon as possible. Please contact us online or call our Henderson office directly at 702.405.6000 to schedule a free consultation with our slip and fall attorneys.
We help injured victims in Henderson and Las Vegas as well as visitors who have been involved in an accident while visiting our area.