Yes, a personal injury attorney can absolutely help with slip and fall cases. If the slip happened at work, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation as well.
A slip and fall is a common cause of injuries from the mild to very serious. Depending on your particular situation, you may find it helpful to have a lawyer on your side who is experienced with working on slip and fall and workers’ compensation cases.
Slip and falls or, trip and falls, as they are sometimes referred to, happen at work in all industries and affect all different kinds of workers. If you are injured from a slip and fall that happened at work, you may have been:
- Rushing into your lobby on your way to make an important presentation
- Standing in your classroom and teaching
- Walking from one room to another in the hotel for which you are a housekeeper
- Walking down the hall to get a coffee
- Walking into an operating room
- Walking across the yard to get the bus you drive
- Escorting an elderly person to their car
- Working on a construction site
The above list names just a few of the many different kinds of work and work environments where slip and fall injuries occur. A lawyer who is experienced with these kinds of cases may be able to help you if you are injured from slipping or tripping and falling.
When someone is injured at work, it is typical for an HR person to get information from them about their accident. Very often, a victim of a workplace accident will be offered workers compensation insurance to cover the medical costs of your injury. Plans differ among jurisdictions but sometimes an injured worker will get additional monetary compensation from workers’ compensation.
A common problem people run into after they accept workers’ compensation is that they develop new ailments as a result of their initial slip and fall injury. As well, even immediately after an accident occurs, not all problems will be evident with noticeable symptoms. Some problems can go years without being diagnosed and/or when a victim starts to notice a new problem. It is bad enough to be going through this but if you have accepted workers’ compensation you have relinquished your right to sue your employer. In other words, if you develop a problem after you have agreed to workers’ compensation insurance, you may wind up having to pay for your injuries yourself.
While getting help from personal injury lawyers is no guarantee of compensation for a trip and fall injury or that you have a case that will yield positive results, they may be able to help you to make more informed decisions about how you should get the medical attention and compensation you need while you are injured.
It is tough to not be well and to not know when/if you will fully recover. Recovering can become more frustrating if you are not sure that you are getting the right treatments. A licensed attorney who understands the laws around trip and fall accidents in the workplace may be able to help to make a plan that suits you, and help you to execute this plan.
If you are located in the Washington, D.C., area and have questions about a slip and fall case, don’t hesitate to contact Cohen & Cohen.
