From childhood onward, people skin knees, acquire bruises and twist ankles from slips and falls. Accidents happen, and life goes on. Some slips and falls, however accidental, may lead to false beliefs about the right to recover compensation for pain, suffering, loss of employment and mental distress leading to life-long anxiety.
Myth #1. Painless slips and falls are not worth mentioning
It is not always true that pain can predict accident severity. The false belief that an accident is minor can lead to regret and even disability or death. For example, a man in a convenience store slides on a puddle and falls, hitting his head on the corner of the drink dispenser. The embarrassed customer shrugs off the incident. Later that night, he develops a slight headache and feels a bit nauseated. His wife insists upon driving him to the emergency room where doctors find he has a traumatic brain injury. TBIs can occur without pain, but a small bleed can grow and expand into delicate areas of the brain where they begin to cause symptoms, disability and even fatality when not treated in time. A minor slip can also cause trauma; medical imaging can show that a disk fracture is dangerously close to the spinal cord.
Myth #2. A clean floor will not cause a person to slip and fall
The finished look of a floor is not an indication of safety. Floor maintenance methods can leave residue on a clean floor that becomes slippery over time. Floors that appear clean can have a light coating of dust that increases slips. Whether a person falls on a “clean” floor with no apparent debris does not mean the facility can escape blame for the accident. Floor cleaning methods exist that do work well, and business owners who cut corners by using low-quality cleaning methods could be liable for slip-and-fall accidents.
Myth #3. When a slip and fall injury occurs, the victim cannot take or keep evidence
It may seem there is no evidence to claim, but that is untrue. There could be camera evidence from the store. People can take pictures of the camera pointing at where they fell, and they should also take pictures of the spill or another item that caused their fall. The person should keep shoes and clothing to prove her or his footwear had non-slip soles and clothes were reasonably fitted to the body when a sleeve caught on a badly-placed store display hook.
Myth #4. A large company has the advantage of using expensive legal teams
Many individuals have received equitable compensation for their injuries through the experienced, knowledgeable local help available to residents of Atlanta, Acworth, Marietta, Roswell and surrounding areas. Hesitating to take on a big company may not be a wise long-term decision. Laws protect each American from careless or negligent practices by those responsible for creating and maintaining safe business environments.
