While any accidental fall can leave a bruise on your ego, they can — and all too often do — result in physical bruises as well, not to mention numerous other types of trauma that can seriously interfere with your daily life. However, not every injury that stems from a slipping or tripping accident can necessarily justify a civil lawsuit, even if the accident itself only happened because of a specific landowner’s negligence.
Broadly speaking, an injury needs to be serious enough to need some type of professional medical care in order to serve as valid grounds for civil litigation. With that in mind, here are some of the most common injuries in Phoenix, AZ slip and fall cases that the seasoned lawyers at Phillips Law Group are accustomed to helping people recover for.
Ligament Sprains and Tears
Even if a slip or trip only leads to someone briefly losing their balance rather than falling flat on their back or front, that sudden loss of footing can still wreak havoc on the numerous ligaments and tendons inside the legs. Even a minor ankle sprain can be very painful in the short term and affect the ability of manual laborers to perform normal tasks at work, and more serious sprains and tears—particularly to the cruciate or collateral ligaments in the knee—can require intensive surgical correction and months of rehabilitation.
Broken Bones
If a slipping or tripping accident does lead to a hard landing on an unforgiving surface, a bone fracture in the legs, arms, hands, or hips is a common and potentially debilitating outcome. Fractures of the kneecap and the protruding part of the elbow are injuries that occur especially often from slips and falls in Phoenix, AZ, and they are almost always severe enough to justify civil cases if they stem directly from an accident caused by a property owner’s misconduct.
Lacerations and Abrasions
While generally not as debilitating as soft-tissue injuries or bone fractures, deep cuts and large scrapes caused by an accidental fall can still be very painful and disruptive to the injured person’s daily life. To reiterate, though, they must be deep or widespread enough to need professional medical treatment—such as stitches—to justify a slip and fall claim.
“Catastrophic” Injuries Caused by Slips and Falls
Any blow to the head or face caused by a slip and fall accident in Phoenix, AZ can result in a “traumatic brain injury” (TBI), which may cause irreversible losses of sensory, cognitive, or motor function. Likewise, hard impacts against the back or neck can lead to the spinal cord being torn or severed, resulting in debilitating and usually permanent paralysis below the site of the injury.
Talk to a Phoenix, AZ Attorney About Claims for Slip and Fall Injuries
Of course, money alone cannot always completely make up for the negative effects of an injury caused by another person’s misconduct, especially an injury that will have permanent and debilitating consequences. That said, it can still be very important to demand fair financial restitution after getting hurt in this way, not just to cover short-term expenses but also to improve your overall quality of life in the years — or even decades — to come.
Building effective civil cases over injuries in Phoenix, AZ slip and fall cases is virtually always easier with support from capable and dependable legal representation. Call Phillips Law Group today to speak with a member of our team about your legal options.