March is Brain Injury Awareness Month.
Slip and fall accidents often cause serious injuries. And right near the top of the list is brain injuries, which can be severe and can have life-altering consequences. That's why it's important for traumatic brain injury victims and family members to fully understand their legal rights in such situations. Otherwise, you might not get the financial compensation you rightfully deserve.
So, who's responsible for paying for your injury-related expenses, and how can a Bay Area brain injury lawyer help protect your rights? The dedicated legal team at Clancy & Diaz, LLP explains.
How common are slip and fall accidents?
Slip and fall accidents are extremely common and often result in serious injuries and fatalities. In fact, after motor vehicle accidents, slip and falls are the second-leading cause of accidental death in the United States.
Specifically, roughly 15 percent of accidental deaths occur due to slip and fall accidents. Among older adults over 65, more than 1 out of 4 people fall each year, and roughly 3 million older adults are treated each year for fall-related injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
Slip and falls and head injuries
When people slip and fall, they often don't have time to brace for the impact. As a result, many people hit their heads when they slip and fall. It's also important to understand that a lot of slip and fall accidents can be prevented. That's because many slip and falls occur due to dangerous or hazardous conditions on a property, including:
- Unmarked hazards that cause people to trip and fall.
- Slippery conditions. These are often caused by water and spills left on a business's floor.
- Poor lighting. This can make it difficult for people to see potential hazards, especially in parking lots and stairwells.
- Lack of maintenance. This may include loose handrails on stairways or cracks in sidewalks or walkways.
Common head injuries caused by slip, trip, and falls
Head injuries caused by slip and fall accidents can cover a wide range but often include different types of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Such head injuries include:
- Concussions – Sometimes called a mild TBI (mTBI), concussions are anything but mild and can have serious consequences, especially if your concussion is not diagnosed and treated right away. In medical terms, a concussion refers to a type of head injury in which the brain is jarred and bounces off the inside of the skull. Concussions can also range from mild to severe.
- Contusion – This type of head injury involves a bruise on the brain. Contusions can also often involve bleeding and swelling in the brain.
- Hematoma – This is a medical term for a blood clot in the brain that can apply pressure to the brain if it expands. If a hematoma is not treated and the blood clot continues to expand, permanent brain damage could be possible.
- Brain swelling— Depending on how much the brain swells, the pain can be severe, and other brain damage can be possible.
Liability for a brain injury
First, it's important to understand how California's insurance system works. California has an at-fault insurance system. That means the at-fault party is legally responsible for all the victim's accident-related expenses.
Depending on the circumstances of your slip and fall head injury, you may be able to obtain financial compensation from one or more funding sources, including:
- The property owner where your slip and fall accident took place. This is due to California's premises liability laws, which hold property owners responsible for accidents on their property.
- The business that is responsible for maintaining the property where your accident occurred.
- A company that employs the person who caused your slip and fall accident, which is common in many construction accident claims.
Contact a slip and fall attorney if you've been injured.
Head injuries sustained in slip and fall accidents in California can change your life forever. That's why it's critical that you fully understand your legal rights. Depending on the severity of your injury, the length of your recovery, and whether you can return to work, your injury claim or lawsuit could be worth a significant amount.
Our Bay Area slip and fall accident lawyers at Clancy & Diaz, LLP, know what's at stake, which is why we want to help. Our brain injury attorney can meet with you and thoroughly explain all your potential legal options. That way, you can make informed decisions about how you'd like to move forward.
Get a law firm that goes the distance for California's injured. Contact us and schedule your free case evaluation with a slip and fall attorney you can count on in a crisis. Our offices are located in Walnut Creek, Antioch, Pittsburg, and Benicia. We also work on a contingency fee basis. That means you only have to pay us if we make a financial recovery on your behalf.