Are you battling clutter?
A month into the COVID-19 pandemic, with many parents working from home and kids out of school, families are struggling with living under one roof, let alone keeping a nice orderly space. The businesses that are open -particularly grocery stores and big-box chains – are likewise struggling to restock and maintain safe and orderly operations.
While a cluttered house can leave many of us unsettled, at a time when we are already struggle to keep a positive mental outlook, the risk of serious fall injuries is an ever-present silent risk. While anyone can be seriously or even fatally injured by a common fall, our injury lawyers in Fort Myers and Cape Coral know it is our older residents who are most at risk of falling and sustaining life-altering injuries.
Home Fall Injury Risks
Compounding the risks is the stark reality that there has perhaps never been a worse time to seek emergency medical care, with hospitals preparing for or dealing with the flu pandemic. Many elective procedures have been delayed and there are at least anecdotal reports of a reduction in emergency room visits for things like car accidents and even health emergencies like heart attacks.
While it will be months before preliminary statistics are tabulated, the same is likely not true for fall injuries. Falls are among the most common accidents resulting in emergency room visits. Among older adults, they are the leading cause of fatal injury and the most common cause of nonfatal trauma-related hospital admissions.
Nearly 3 million emergency room visits and almost 1 million hospitalizations occur each year in the United States as a result of fall injuries. More than 27,000 deaths result from falls annually — compared to about 34,000 for all types of traffic collisions.
Older adults are less able to prevent a fall (a youthful trip becomes an adult fall). They are also more likely to be seriously injured and more likely to suffer a prolonged and complicated healing process. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers home-safety tips for decluttering and preventing falls.
Falls on Business Property
Under Florida premises liability laws, businesses and other commercial establishments owe a higher duty of care to customers invited onto their properties. When unsafe conditions result in injury, victims can be compensated for cost of medical care, lost wages, rehabilitation and other damages.
The most common dangerous conditions on business property include:
- Water or other foreign substances on the floor.
- Dark, unmarked or unsafe parking lots and walking areas.
- Dangerous stairwells.
- Trip hazards.
- Haphazard, overstocked or dangerously stacked merchandize.
Our injury lawyers in Fort Myers and Cape Coral know these cases are often complicated by the presences of multiple liable defendants and by conflicting accounts of an incident. Florida law requires plaintiff to prove that a business knew of a dangerous condition, or that it had been present for sufficient time for a reasonably prudent defendant to have discovered and remedied it. This makes it critical to seek early investigation of the facts and circumstances of a fall or other injury on business property. Liable parties may include a business owner, a property manager, or a property owner.
If you or a loved one is injured, call Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured, at 1-800-646-1210.