Slip and Fall Accident: How to Pay Your Medical Bills

The injuries caused by a slip and fall accidents can be more serious than most people suspect.  In fact, the injuries can be quite similar to that which occurs in motor vehicle collisions.  Experienced personal injury attorneys from Hudson, New York have seen slip and fall victims suffer from:

·         Torn ligaments;

·         Lacerations;

·         Sprains;

·         Bruising;

·         Fractured limbs: arms and legs;

·         Broken hands and fingers;

·         Broken collar bones;

·         Fractured shoulders;

·         Broken hips;

·         Knee damage;

·         Broken back vertebra;

·         Spinal cord injuries;

·         Fractured skulls;

·         Concussions;

·         Traumatic brain injury;

·         Coma; and

·         Death.

I am sure you can imagine that any one of these injuries can cause the victim to incur extensive medical bills.  The difficulty for slip and fall victims is figuring out how to pay.  Fortunately, there are many ways to have medical bills paid, including obtaining compensation via civil litigation.

The easiest way to pay medical bills is by using one’s own health coverage; through a plan offered by an employer that which the victim in enrolled in, or by coverage through a policy obtained from the Marketplace.  Of course all of the cost is not covered; the victim will have to pay any deductable and co-payments.  Medicare or Medicaid can cover the cost too if the victim has these benefits.

Alternatively, if the slip and fall accident happened on residential property, the home owner’s property insurance can help pay for medical bills.  Commercial property will most likely be insured for slip and fall accidents too.  So if the victim suffers a slip and fall accident, it is important to get the property owner’s insurance information.

What if someone slips and falls at work?  Workers’ Compensation can help pay for the victim’s medical bills. 

If any or all of the above fails at compensating the victim for money paid to medical providers, the victim can sue the property owner for compensation.

Success will hinge upon many factors and not all slip and fall accidents can be traced to an owner’s negligent care of his or her property.

Generally speaking, if a property owner:

a.       Created the dangerous condition that caused the slip and fall accident, or

b.      Knew about the dangerous condition, but failed to make it safe, or

c.       Should have known about the dangerous condition

A visitor on the property would have a strong case against the property owner (or operator) founded in theories of premises liability.  Monetary loss not covered by insurance can come directly from the property owner’s own funds.

Some exceptions and circumstances may limit recovery, so talking to an experienced attorney is the best course of action. 

The attorneys at Greenberg and Greenberg handle slip and fall cases throughout New York State, including Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, and Albany County.  Our legal team has earned a reputation for dedicated service to our clients injured in New York personal injury accidents.  Please contact us today to receive a free case evaluation by dialing locally to 518-828-3336 or call toll free at 877-469-9300.

Common Slip and Fall Injuries

Slip and fall accidents happen more often than most people realize.  In fact, the number of annual falls is approaching 10 million!  Another unfortunate fact is that the likelihood of falling increases with age, meaning that many slip and fall victims are the elderly and the most fragile segment of the Hudson, New York population.

Experienced Hudson slip and fall attorneys know that regardless of age the causes and consequences of slip and fall accidents are common across all personal and socioeconomic demographics.  Quite plainly, the leading cause of injury regardless of age is slip and fall accidents. 

Every slip in fall victim can potentially suffer from sprains, cuts, bruising, swelling, ligament tearing, joint injury, fractures to any number of bones, spinal cord injuries, brain injury, and in the most extreme cases death can result.   Therefore, the injuries can be so severe that one could think that the victim was in a car accident rather than a slip and fall accident.  Consider the following types of injuries. 

Head Injuries:

Injuries to the head are some of the most traumatic injuries from which a slip and fall victim can suffer.  Obviously this is because the brain can be permanently damaged.  Even a minor fall can cause the brain to impact with the inner skull.  The result can be brain swelling and bleeding.  Even if temporary, the victim could suffer from vision loss, speech loss, memory loss, and or mobility impairment. 

If the victim’s skull fractures, bone fragments can pierce the brain and cause significant damage.  The more severely impacted people may never fully recover.

Fractured Bones:

Fractures to the hands, arms, and shoulders are common when someone unintentionally falls.  This is because the victim is trying to brace him or herself from the impact of the fall.  These breaks can be quite dramatic, such as compound fractures when the bone pierces through the victim’s muscle, ligament, and skin.  Others will be complete fractures, but internal only.  While casting will cure many fractures, the more severe fractures will require surgical repair.  Such could include the need to place pins, rods, and screws into the victim to stabilize and repair the fracture.

The elderly are especially vulnerable to hip and pelvis fractures.  These types of injury may very well require surgery and even hip replacement.  These victims may never again experience the mobility that which they once enjoyed. 

Spinal Cord Injuries and Other Injuries to the Back:

Many injuries can happen when the back experiences blunt force trauma from a slip and fall accident.  The vertebra can fracture and caused damage to the spinal cord itself.  As you know, injury to the spinal cord can cause temporary and or permanent paralysis.  But discs can become damaged as well.  In either case, surgical repair is highly probable.

The attorneys at Greenberg and Greenberg handle slip and fall cases throughout New York State, including Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, and Albany County.  Our legal team has earned a reputation for dedicated service to our clients injured in New York personal injury accidents.  Please contact us today to receive a free case evaluation by dialing locally to 518-828-3336 or call toll free at 877-469-9300.

Grocery Stores and the Duty of Care Owed to Customers

Every store owner in Hudson, New York must maintain the premises so that shoppers are not injured by dangerous conditions on the property.  The hazard must either be repaired or at least the shoppers must be warned of the danger.

Experienced Hudson slip and fall attorneys know that grocery store owners can be liable for a customer’s injury if the store was aware of the hazard and even if the store wasn’t aware, but should have been aware that there was a danger.  These are called premises liability cases.

In the most basic terms, grocery store owners must keep shoppers safe from foreseeable and preventable accidents and injuries.  Doing such is judged by a “reasonable person” standard.  Meaning, would a reasonable person faced with similar circumstances fix the danger or at least warn shoppers of the danger.  If yes, the grocery store could be held liable for the injuries suffered by a patron in a slip and fall accident. 

It makes little difference if the dangerous condition exists inside the store or if the danger is on the property outside.  So long as the grocery store knew or should have known about the danger, the store is responsible to cure or warn of the danger.  Timing, routine business practices, and governmental regulations can dictate what needs to be done and when liability can arise.

For example, imagine a sudden and violent summer thunderstorm.  Rain water will be tracked into the store both during and after the storm.  While the storm is under way, the grocery store might not be liable for slip and fall accidents that happen on the entry way floor.  This is because the store might not have had enough time to fix the problem.  On the other hand, if the storm ended hours earlier and a customer slipped on rain water in the entry way, liability can arise because the store may have had enough time to repair the hazard, or at least warn of the danger by placing a warning sign in the entry way. 

When grocery stores fail to keep shoppers safe from such preventable and foreseeable accidents, the grocery store can be liable for the slip and fall victim’s damages.  This means that any pain and suffering endured by the shopper is compensable, as are medical costs and lost wages, just to name a few compensable damages. 

In closing, even if you know that grocery stores commonly have wet floors, you never assume the risk of injury when visiting a market.  Also, it does not matter if you purchased something or returned an item, or if you went to the store just to browse.  Premises liability demands that grocery stores always maintain their property in a safe condition. 

The attorneys at Greenberg and Greenberg handle slip and fall cases throughout New York State, including Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, and Albany County.  Our legal team has earned a reputation for dedicated service to our clients injured in New York personal injury accidents.  Please contact us today to receive a free case evaluation by dialing locally to 518-828-3336 or call toll free at 877-469-9300.

I Tripped and Fell in a Crowded Entryway of a Store: What are My Rights?

Store owners invite members of the public into their establishments to make purchases, seek services, and otherwise generate business sales.  Customers are a critical component to any store owner’s business.  Yet, some store owners fail to properly protect members of the public who are patronizing their establishments.  What is supposed to be a quick errand at the grocery store ends up in a hospital visit, months of pain and suffering, and even surgery.  If this has happened to you or someone you know, contact our experienced slip and fall lawyers to learn your rights to compensation.

Whenever the general public is invited into premises, that owner must keep the premises in a reasonably safe condition.  Thus, every store owner has a duty to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm from occurring to entrants onto their property.  This is a common law (judge made law) principle which hold true throughout New York State.  While historically entrants onto the land for business purposes were afforded the highest level of care, this is now just a factor to consider as to the “reasonableness” of the care exercised by the store owner.

The most important area of a store where a store owner owes this duty is at the entrances and exits.  Not only is this important because every entrant into the store will pass by this area twice, but it is particularly important in the case of an emergency to keep the means of ingress and egress free of hazards which may prohibit emergency exits or emergency responders from entering.

Thus, a store owner has a duty to keep the entrance reasonable safe and free from the risk of injury.  This includes hidden steps, short steps, or not easily seen steps.  Failing to fulfill this duty may result in negligence.  However, if the store owner marks such potentially dangerous steps with yellow tape or a warning sign, he may be absolved from liability. 

This is because what is reasonable has been determined to be what is usual, customary, and commonly used at that type of establishment.  This provides for a flexible standard which does not apply one strict rule to all establishes.  Thus, the entranceway for a grocery store has a different standard than the entranceway to a dark, haunted house amusement. 

The standard also applies to the actions of other customers, which is also the responsibility of the store owner.  For instance, where patrons leave shopping carts, bicycles, strollers, and other similar objects by the front of the store (outside or just inside), a store owner may be liable for another patron’s fall caused by these obstacles.  Therefore, the store owner must remain in control of his store and keep a safe means for ingress and egress.

The attorneys at Greenberg and Greenberg handle slip and fall cases throughout New York State, including Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, and Albany County.  Our legal team has earned a reputation for dedicated service to our clients injured in New York personal injury accidents.  Please contact us today to receive a free case evaluation by dialing locally to 518-828-3336 or call toll free at 877-469-9300.

Hudson Dog Bite Attorney Discusses the Vicious Propensity Rule and Domestic Animals

In New York, no matter the locality, owners of domesticated animals such as dogs are required to use reasonable care so that their animals do not roam onto public roadways, or in any way cause harm to others.  Generally to prove liability for injuries caused by a domestic animal, you need to establish there was vicious propensities of the animal prior to the attack or bite.  If you can establish vicious propensities, the owner is strictly liable (automatically liable) for your injuries caused by a Hudson animal attack or Hudson dog bite.  This concept was explored in an important case from last year in front of the highest court in New York, the Court of Appeals.

 In Hastings v. Sauve, a cow passed into the path of a motorist on a public road and a collision occurred.   Hastings was injured in the collision.  The cow escaped from its enclosure because a property fence was inadequately maintained.  The arguments were that the animal had never displayed vicious propensities before, thus there could be no liability.  But this case involved a cow and such animals are hardly known for their vicious propensities.  The court had to decide if strict liability, without proof of viciousness, would apply to satisfy the negligence claim.

The rule that the trial court applied was the standard one, which is that an animal owner is strictly liable for injuries caused by the animal if the owner knew, or should have known, that the animal had vicious propensities.  Vicious propensity is defined as the predisposition to do anything which causes the safety of persons and property of others to be endangered.  While this guideline may apply to house pets and farm animals, the trial court did not apply it to the cow in this case, but the Court of Appeals thought differently. 

Even though the cow did nothing that could have been considered vicious, the Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s decision and made it clear that animal owners who do nothing, or almost nothing, to prevent farm animals from wandering onto roadways may be held negligent and therefore liable for injuries caused to others.  As such, Sauve and the other defendants could be held liable for Hastings’ injuries without the animal having ever exhibited vicious behavior.

Essentially, the court side-stepped the vicious propensities rule and did not apply it in this circumstance.  The conduct of the cow was not something normally associated with an animal attack.  Rather, the cow’s “conduct” causing the plaintiff’s injury was the defendant’s general negligence, and not from the defendant’s domestic animal’s vicious propensities.  Said differently, this was not an animal attack case provoking the vicious propensity rule, but a general negligence one.  Thus, the plaintiff has to prove the elements of negligence rather than be afforded the luxury of strict liability. 

The attorneys at Greenberg and Greenberg handle animal attack or dog bite cases throughout New York State, including Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, and Albany County.  Our legal team has earned a reputation for dedicated service to our clients injured in New York personal injury accidents.  Please contact us today to receive a free case evaluation by dialing locally to 518-828-3336 or call toll free at 877-469-9300.