A slip and fall accident can cause serious injuries to many areas of your body, including your head, neck and back. You could also suffer major injuries such as broken bones or fractures.
As you prepare for another New Jersey winter, you may be worrying about a slip and fall accident on snow or ice. While slippery or icy conditions can cause slip and fall accidents, there are several other common places where slip and fall accidents happen.
Streets and sidewalks
You can suffer a slip and fall accident on streets and sidewalks from more than just slippery conditions. Poor maintenance that causes cracks or holes in the pavement are factors in many accidents.
Shopping areas and retail stores are other areas where your chance of a slip and fall accident increases. These places are usually crowded with people, which means keeping them clean and clear of clutter becomes challenging.
Restaurants and hotels
Spills, wet surfaces or piles of merchandise can result in tripling or falling onto the hard surface of the floor. The same goes for restaurants and bars. In addition to the chance of liquids spilling onto the floors, many of these places are dark and crowded, making it harder to see dangerous conditions on the floor.
A vacation is the last place you want to experience an accident, but many slip and fall accidents happen at hotels or resorts. Pool areas are especially immune to hazards, with areas surrounding the pool frequently being slippery and wet.
Additionally, improperly maintained stairs, walkways and common areas result in hazardous conditions and lead to guests tripping or falling.
Nursing homes
Nursing homes are another common place for slip and fall accidents. Since these facilities are filled with elderly residents who are often at a higher risk of falling from medical or health conditions, it is vital that conditions are constantly maintained and kept safe.
You may not consider your workplace a slip and fall accident is likely to occur, but it can. We often associate these types of accidents with workplaces such as construction sites, factory floors or areas where physical labor is performed, but a slip and fall can happen in any workplace, including offices.
The same factors that contribute to slip and fall accidents in other places apply to your workplace, such as dark areas, disorganized areas or spills in hallways, lunchrooms or other common areas.
Slip and falls are often the result of negligence
The owners or managers of all these establishments have a legal duty to provide a safe and hazard-free environment. If they do not, they could be held liable for negligence.
Establishing negligence means showing that the failure to provide a safe environment caused you to slip and fall. If you succeed, you could receive compensation for damages including medical bills, lost wages and mental or emotional distress.
However, the other side could claim your own negligence contributed to the accident, so you must be prepared for how to handle this. Under New Jersey law, if you are found to be 50% or more responsible for the accident, you cannot recover any damages at all.