Unfortunately, slip and fall accidents are common throughout Canada. According to statistics from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, there is an average of 1,800 slip and fall victims who visit the emergency room every day and 417 hospital admissions each day due to these accidents. So, what causes these accidents?
- Surface Conditions: When a surface is not conducive for running or walking, accidents are almost inevitable. Unconducive surfaces may include surfaces that are uneven, recently mopped or waxed floors, loose rugs, and mats, loose floorboards, defective sidewalks, cluttered floors, potholes in parking lots, torn carpeting, spilled liquids, ice, splashed grease, or oil.
- Environment Conditions: Environmental conditions often play a big role in slip and fall accidents. Bright light can reflect on shiny floors causing glare, and poor lighting may make it hard to see obstacles such as debris and cords.
- Stairs and Ladders: Using chairs as ladders or unsecured ladders are frequent causes of slip and fall accidents. Stairs without handrails or running up and down the stairs too quickly is also risky.
- Occupational Hazards: People who work in certain types of occupations are more at risk of being in a slip and fall accident due to the nature of their work. These workers include chefs and other kitchen workers, construction workers, factory workers, custodial staff, and manual labourers.
Other causes of slip and fall accidents may include failure to wear proper footwear, unsafe building design, failure to abide by building codes, and more.
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Common Slip and Fall Injuries
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, there are nearly 700,000 emergency room visits related to accidental falls each year. These falls can result in a variety of injuries, including the following common injuries:
- Head Injuries: Traumatic Brain Injuries, or TBIs, can be one of the most severe types of slip and fall injuries. Their effects can range from ongoing seizures and cognitive impairment to more mild mood changes.
- Hip Fractures: Some studies report that as many as 95% of all hip fractures are the result of slip and fall accidents. This is particularly a problem with the elderly population. Hip fractures often result in hospitalization, surgery, and extensive rehabilitation.
- Back and Spinal Cord Injuries: The nature of a fall can result in fractured vertebrae or slipped or herniated discs. These can lead to temporary or permanent paralysis and other neurological and sensory impairment.
- Sprains and Fractures: It is common for slip and fall victims to twist their knee or ankle, which leads to the sprain of ligaments. The impact may also lead to fractured bones including those in the leg, ankle, forearm, upper arm, pelvis, spine, hand, and hip.
- Shoulder Injuries: Shoulder dislocations are painful injuries that often require surgery and therapy to resolve.
- Cuts and Scrapes: Leg and arm abrasions are common in slip and fall accidents, as are wounds to the head. These can often be treated with superficial treatment, but others may require stitches.
These injuries are just a few that may need treatment after a slip and fall accident. Any time you have been the victim of a slip and fall accident, you should seek medical treatment to ensure your injuries are not more severe than you think or even life-threatening.
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Proving Liability
In order to prove that someone is liable for your injuries, you will have to prove that they failed in their duties to provide a safe environment for you. For example, if a slip and fall accident was due to snow or ice on a sidewalk, you will have to prove that there was gross negligence on the part of the business owner for failing to clean the sidewalk.
Owners of land will often try to argue that they followed protocol and were not aware of any hazards or risks, or that they were not there at the time of the accident. An experienced Thunder Bay slip and fall lawyer can help prove that these are not valid excuses.
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Occupiers’ Liability
Ontario currently requires a person to suffer damages in order to be compensated. Damages will be determined based on how significantly your life has changed following the accident.
You can receive compensation for among other things, pain and suffering, loss of income and loss of competitive advantage that is the result of your accident. Defendants will often try to argue that a claim for future loss of income or earning capacity is too speculative. However, the law takes this into consideration and grants the award if there is enough evidence for the claim.
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Slip and Fall Claim Time Limits
In most situations, a claimant has two years from the date of the accident to bring a slip and fall claim to court. More than one party can be sued based on the situation that resulted in the accident. Ontario’s Negligence Act states that if one or more parties contributed to the accident, they can be held severally and jointly liable for the injuries.
The injured claimant may also be assigned a certain degree of fault for his or her own injuries. For example, if the injured party willingly chose to take the path along a known construction site and warning signs were posted and barriers were in place, but the victim fell and was injured, the court may assign him or her a percentage of fault and reduce the damages based on that fault.
Contact an Experienced Thunder Bay Slip and Fall Lawyer Today
If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident, it is important that you contact an experienced lawyer as quickly as possible. The lawyers at Preszler Injury Lawyers can review your situation, advise you of your legal options, and take action to help you get the compensation that you deserve. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
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