This week, many people will be taking advantage of Black Friday sales or will be working on their holiday shopping list. This can mean busier stores and (unfortunately) busier fraudsters. It can also mean more injuries in crowded stores and parking lots. Here’s how to stay safe while having a happy holiday:
There are 4.5 million seniors in Florida, and for these residents falls can be a serious danger. While some healthy adults may be able to brush off a slip and fall or trip and fall with no serious injury, falls are one of the leading risks of death and serious injury for seniors.
Underlying health conditions can make the elderly susceptible to falls. They can also make seniors more at risk. Conditions such as osteoporosis, for example, can make bones more brittle, leading to more serious fractures.
Falls, including slip and fall and trip and fall accidents, can occur anywhere. They routinely happen in stores, workplaces, gyms, and other public spots. While many people brush these off as “minor accidents,” they can be life changing.
Flaxman Law Group has spoken with many fall injury survivors in our Miami, Homestead, and Hollywood offices. Many are looking for a fall accident injury attorney because they have suffered serious fractures, brain trauma, or other severe or even permanent injury. Some people come to us because they have lost a loved one in a fall.
In Florida, falls are the top cause of serious injuries and fatalities for seniors. Older adults with health conditions and previous falls are especially vulnerable, but previous falls and conditions in the environment can also contribute to falls.
When older adults fall, their age is sometimes blamed for their injuries, but they can easily have a premises liability claim or a nursing home negligence claim, depending on where the fall took place. The owners of properties have an obligation to keep their properties safe and nursing homes have a duty of care to take extra precautions for vulnerable seniors. When these parties are reckless and fail to meet their duties, they can be held liable if someone is injured.
For most people, a slip and fall bruises the ego and thankfully nothing else. But slip and fall incidents in Homestead are far from minor issues. Each year, they kill Americans and cause serious suffering and life-altering, permanent injuries. The elderly are most vulnerable in slip and fall injuries, because they are at risk of hip fractures and may also have conditions such as osteoporosis, which make falls more dangerous. However, anyone is at risk of slip and fall accidents.
Homestead residents who attend a church, synagogue, or other place of worship turn to their faith to help them grow spiritually with others. No one attends a service or religious event expecting to be injured, yet this situation affects many people of faith every year. Whether you are attending a place of worship for a religious event or regular service, a social event, for volunteer work, or for another cause, if you have been injured by the organization’s negligence, you may have a claim.
Types of Injuries On Religious Organization Grounds
No matter what kind of faith service you are attending, you have a reasonable expectation to be safe and your church, mosque, or other place of worship has a duty to take reasonable steps to keep you safe. Despite this, there are many types of injuries that happen at places of worship:
Your favorite stores in North Miami have a greater obligation than just making sure you enjoy great bargains on your must-have items. All stores, whether they’re grocery stores, clothing shops, bookstores, or your favorite place for antiques or games, have a duty of care to visitors. This means they have a duty to take reasonable steps to keep you safe. If they fail to do this and you’re injured as a result, you may have a legal claim and may be able to pursue compensation for the losses you suffer.
Walking your dog is an important way to get exercise and spend quality time with your pet. However, this everyday activity is not without risks. In fact, each year, people get seriously injured while out with their pets. Walking your dog in Homestead or your community can lead to trip and fall injuries, dog bites, and can even put you at risk for muggings.
Many things can go wrong when you go out to walk your dog. You may encounter another, aggressive dog on your walk, you can trip over the leash, or your dog can bolt after a squirrel or other distraction, causing you to fall. If you are not careful, walking your dog when your dog has to head outside at night can also put you at risk of pedestrian accidents.
Traumatic brain injuries can occur in Hollywood nursing homes for a number of reasons. They are most common due to falls, such as slip and fall or trip and fall incidents in hallways, when getting in and out of bed, or in the washroom. Staff are expected to take reasonable precautions to prevent traumatic brain injury. These precautions may include installing better lighting, offering adequate supervision and assistance to residents, installing grab bars along hallways, on stairs, and in bathrooms and taking additional precautions as well.
Traumatic brain injury can be especially dangerous for elderly person who may already be fragile or may have pre-existing medical conditions. For these patients, concussions and other closed brain injuries can be fatal or can lead to long-term cognition problems, physical problems, mobility challenges and more.
This holiday season, your errand list may be quite long. You may need to visit a number of businesses in order to get all your shopping done and in order to handle all the errands you have to complete. In addition, you may be treating yourself to a few dinners out or you may be attending special work dinners or holiday events at restaurants, art galleries, conference halls, or hotels.
What happens if you’re injured this holiday season, however, while visiting a place of business? Whether you slip on the floor in a store, trip over debris at a restaurant, or are attacked outside of an art gallery, you may have legal options you haven’t considered.
Florida Injury Lawyer Blog