The Isle of Palms is a beautiful South Carolina destination that offers various opportunities for relaxation and fun. Experiencing a slip and fall accident while on vacation quickly changes feelings of tranquility to feelings of pain, stress, and worry. Medical care and costs, missed time from work, and dealing with physical pain are new and very real concerns. If you’ve suffered an injury from a slip and fall accident due to the negligence of a property or business owner, contact Hughey Law Firm as soon as possible.
How and Where Slip and Fall Injuries Occur
Whether you slip (lose your footing) or trip (catch your foot in or on something), falling and hitting a surface can result in serious injury. The following conditions increase the risk of someone slipping or tripping:
- Wet floor;
- Bunched-up or wrinkled rugs;
- Wires and cords;
- Stairs with no handrails;
- Clutter; and
- Poor lighting.
A fall can happen anywhere at any time. When it occurs on a property other than your own and you received an invitation to visit the property, you may be entitled to filing a premises liability lawsuit for your injuries. Types of properties who invite the public include:
- Hotels;
- Restaurants;
- Event venues; and
- Shopping malls.
Slips, trips, and falls are the most common types of injuries that occur in retail stores. Shopping with a friend should not result in a serious injury that causes you to miss work. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 22 percent of slip and fall accidents result in more than 31 days of missed work. Keeping retail floors clean and safe is a simple step in preventing injuries, yet floors and flooring material account for more than two-million fall injuries each year, according to the Consumer Public Safety Commission.
Slips and falls can also occur on private property while attending a neighborhood cookout or when visiting a friend. Inviting friends or neighbors over for a social gathering implies that their property is safe. Failure to repair a known safety hazard that results in a fall with injury is grounds for possible premises liability litigation. If you’ve experienced an injury resulting in massive medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, contact Hughey Law Firm today.
Common Slip and Fall Injuries
Falling is an unexpected and traumatic event. Depending upon where and how the fall occurs, most victims experience the following types of injuries:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI) – According to the Centers for Disease Control, falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries.
- Broken bones – One out of every five falls results in broken bones or head injury. The most common bones broken during a fall include a wrist, arm, ankle, and hip.
Hospitalizations for fall injuries exceed 800,000 persons every year. A CDC report states the total medical costs for falls totaled more than $50 billion in 2015. The report also states that more than 33,000 died due to unintentional falls during the same year.
Just One Example of Our Past Success
Hughey Law Firm has successfully prosecuted premises liability law cases throughout South Carolina and Georgia. Our lawyers hold business and property owners responsible for failure to maintain a safe environment for visitors. The following example involves a vacation rental home in South Carolina with an unsafe dock. Failure to maintain and regularly inspect the dock led to a serious injury for our client.
$1.625 Million Slip and Fall Settlement
A Georgia woman experienced a devastating leg injury when a dock collapsed outside her Cherry Grove vacation home. A North Myrtle Beach rental agency agreed to pay our client $875,000 and the homeowner paid an additional $750,000. An investigation revealed the dock was nearly ten years old and had rusty, corroded bolts. The rental agency and the homeowner were jointly liable in failing to maintain the dock.
Our client’s leg was essentially crushed in the accident. Her injury became infected and required multiple surgeries. She was left wheelchair-bound and unable to return to her former job. Failure to replace corroded bolts—a relatively easy and inexpensive fix—changed our client’s life forever. This case is an example of premises liability law and demonstrates how an invitation to rent or visit a property implies the property is safe. When our client rented the vacation home, she did so in anticipation of a relaxing experience, not a traumatic one.
Past results do not guarantee or predict outcomes in your particular case.
Isle of Palms, South Carolina, Slip and Fall Lawyer
At Hughey Law Firm, we want everyone who visits the Isle of Palms and Charleston, South Carolina region to enjoy all that it has to offer. What we don’t want is for visitors to experience harm due to negligence on behalf of a business or property owner. The frustrating part of premises liability law is how often serious injuries could have been prevented with simple maintenance or care to the property. No one should suffer long-term pain and financial difficulties over someone’s failure to replace corroded bolts, wipe up a spill, or install a handrail.
When a business or property owner puts profits over people it increases the risks of onsite injuries. Poor lighting in parking lots, known holes in flooring or on walkways, and worn rugs take little time to replace or to fix. Choosing to overlook these types of issues or having an “I’ll get around to it” mentality is poor management/ownership and it is behavior that must be held accountable when invited guests are injured.
Hughey Law Firm offers free consultations. Depending upon the details of your case, you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Call (843) 881-8644 or contact us online to schedule your free consultation. Let us concentrate on the details of your case while you focus on your health and recovery. Our lawyers work hard to secure fair compensation for our clients. The sooner we review your case, the sooner we can decide upon the best course of action. Take the first step toward justice by contacting us today.