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.