Queens Slip & Fall Injuries

Slip and fall accidents are the most common cause of nonfatal injury in every age group. Although most slip and fall accidents occur in the home, slips and falls can occur anywhere. Queens slip and fall injuries may happen in department stores, on sidewalks fronting businesses, grocery stores, theatres, on public transportation units, etc. Negligence or failure to repair or correct dangerous conditions can cause slip and falls. Dangerous conditions that may lead to Queens slip and falls may include:

• Wet slippery spots on floors due to spills or roof leaks gone unrepaired
• Uneven flooring due to the irregular settling of foundations or of concrete sidewalks
• Loose floor tiles in need of repair
• Loose handrails on stairs
• Uneven steps
• Weather related conditions
• Poor lighting which is the result of missing or blown bulbs or lack of properly placed lighting fixtures

According to the New York Times, no significant difference existed during the most recent accident reporting period between men’s and women’s rates of injury from poisoning, overexertion, or transportation related accidents. Women, however, were more likely than men to become injured due to slips and falls.

Slip and fall injuries may include the following:

• Broken bones
• Brain trauma
• Spinal cord and neck injuries
• Back injuries
• Hip fractures
• Shoulder injuries
• Knee injuries

The spinal cord runs through the neck and down the back, and contains the nerves which carry messages between the brain and the body.  Injuries to the spinal cord resulting from slip and fall accidents are very serious injuries because they can cause paralysis below the injury site. 

The most famous spinal cord injury victim was Christopher Reeve who was injured in a fall from a horse.  Until his death, Christopher Reeve became a champion for research to find a solution to reversing the paralysis caused by damage done to spinal cords as a result of falls.

The spinal cord is the brain’s link to the rest of the body.  It is like a telephone trunk line with 31 pairs of individual lines extending from the cord which transmit messages from the brain to the body.  Sensory signals are, in turn, sent from tissues and organs back to the brain in order to complete the circuit.

When spinal cord injury occurs as the result of a fall, communication is cut off to and from all points of the body below the point of injury.  The result is loss of the ability to feel and paralysis.  The extent to which a slip and fall injury is crippling depends on where the injury or disruption occurs.  Injuries higher up on the spine are the most severe.  Injuries to the cervical spine cause the greatest damage.  Those like Christopher Reeve who have injured the cord at cervical vertebrae two through four lose the ability to move their upper and their lower extremities.  However, some control of neck muscles remains.  Those individuals also require assistance with breathing as Christopher Reeve did.  If his injury had occurred just a little lower, he would have been able to have used his biceps and could have performed simple grooming tasks.  He could also have fed himself.

Immediate paralysis can occur when the spinal cord is severely injured due to a slip and fall.  Much of the permanent damage, however, takes place during the first four hours after the time of the injury.  Impairment of circulation and hemorrhages occurring at the site of injury block the supply of oxygen causing surrounding cells to die.  Rapid treatment by medical professionals with steroids and other medications may serve to limit the extent of paralysis and loss of feeling.

If an individual is involved in a Queens slip and fall on someone else’s property, the property owner may be liable for costs associated with the injury. Although it is normal for things to fall on floors, for drainage grates to be in place, and for walking surfaces to become uneven over time, property owners do need to maintain their property. Cases mainly depend on whether or not the property owner acted negligently. Furthermore, the victim of the slip and fall must not have acted in a careless way by not seeing and avoiding the cause of the fall.

In order for a property owner to be found responsible for injuries suffered in a slip and fall, one of the following must have occurred:

• The property owner must have caused the spill or other slippery surface or must have caused the object which caused the fall to be underfoot.
• Even though the property owner knew about the dangerous condition which led to the slip and fall, he or she did nothing to correct it.
• The property owner should have known about the hazardous condition since any reasonable person in charge of property maintenance would have discovered the condition and corrected it.

The third situation is by far the most common, but it also can be the most difficult to prove due to the words “reasonable” and “should have known.”

At the law firm of David Resnick & Associates, PC, we serve accident victims in the metropolitan New York area and beyond.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a Queens slip and fall accident, contact the New York slip and fall attorneys of David Resnick & Associates, PC.

Please call (212) 279-2000 or complete our online contact form.

These Hubs are provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Professional legal counsel should be sought for specific advice relevant to your circumstances.