Birmingham Injury Blog

The Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog has posted an article on the latest slip and fall statistics. Nearly a third of Americans ages 65 and older will sustain an injury due to a fall; deaths as a result of falls have been rising since the year 2000.

Falls account for 87% of the annual 250,000 hip fractures in people over 65. Hip fractures can then lead to other serious health complications such as blood clots, "skin breakdown" and pressure sores, ulcers and infection. More time for recovery is needed, which raises the risk of the above complications.

Family members can help their elderly relatives by trying to lessen the risk of the possible side effects. For example, try to keep seniors among familiar settings where they are less of a risk of suffering a fall. Also, to make sure they are in the best possible health, make sure they attend their doctor's appointments, which might require making driving arrangements for less mobile seniors. Make sure they are taking all their necessary medications and receiving proper nutrition. These measures will help ensure your family member stays as healthy as possible and lessens the risk of any negative outcomes.

The Tennessee Injury Lawyer Blog has posted an article about a shopkeeper's liability in slip and fall incidents. While this pertains to Tennessee law and not Alabama, they still offer valuable insight.

Store owners are generally not insurers of their customers' safety, as this would "unfairly expose an otherwise diligent shopkeeper to unlimited liability." For a legitimate slip and fall suit to be brought against a store owner, it must be proved that he had knowledge of a hazardous situation.

Trying to figure out what somebody actually knew, however, can be an impossible task. It can also be difficult to find evidence that the defendant had constructive knowledge. To prove the defendant should have known of a hazard, the plaintiff often has to show how long the slippery condition had existed prior to injury or the proximity of an employee to the hazard.

The owner's previous behavior could also help in proving whether or not they had previous knowledge of the situation. For example, if they allow trucks with oil leaks to unload at the front of the store and are aware of the slippery area, they may be showing negligence.

Just because no one was there to see you fall doesn’t mean you’re out of luck. A shopkeeper has a duty to exercise reasonable care under all the circumstances. If the shopkeeper knows that other customers or employees have created risks that are preventable, he may indeed be liable to you for your injuries.

Our friend Gerry Oginski has a new video that describes how he helped a client who was injured on a slippery parking lot due to the negligence of the parking lot owner and a snow plow operator. We think you'll enjoy watching this video:

If you have been injured in Alabama, feel free to contact us for a free consultation on your rights and whether litigation is appropriate for your situation.

One thing that is often surprising to our clients when they have been injured in a car wreck or truck wreck is that the health insurance company (BlueCross BlueShield, United, etc.) which has paid for medical treatment often has the right to recover the amount of money that it spent on medical treatment. This right is called a "subrogation" right, which means that the health insurance company can “stand in the shoes” of the injured person and recover its money from the wrongdoer.

When a health insurance company pays medical bills, it normally does not pay dollar-for-dollar but instead pays a percentage. It is that lesser percentage (for example $200.00 on a $1000.00 bill) that must be reimbursed. Normally, the health insurance company will negotiate with the injured person and will reduce the amount that it claims as subrogation by the amount of the attorney’s fee being paid by the injured person to his or her attorney. This makes sense as the injured person has hired an attorney to create a “pool” of money from which the health insurance company is reaching into and drawing from. So the health insurance company should have to pay its share of the attorney’s fee to create that. This has the effect of lowering the amount that the injured person must pay back to the health insurance company.

The law changed a number of years ago so that the Jury can now hear that the injured person has health insurance and how much the health insurance company actually paid. We will address this in a separate blog post, but we did want to alert you to this fact and to be watching for this blog post from us.

If you have been injured in a car wreck or truck wreck and would like to talk to us, we are always happy to schedule a free consultation with you.

We often receive calls from potential clients who have fallen and been injured while on someone else's property wanting to know if they have a legal claim against the owner of the property. Like many other issues in the law, the answer isn't always clear cut.

Under Alabama law, it is not always clear whether you can hold the property owner liable. First, the standard to which the property owner will be held depends on why you were on the property. Were you there as a guest or invitee of the owner? Were you trespassing? Or, were you there for your own benefit? The property owner is held to a higher standard for someone he or she invites to the property versus someone who does not have permission to be on the property.

Owners do not owe an absolute duty to prevent someone from being injured on their property. The law simply requires that they act reasonably, prevent or cure a know danger, such as a spill in a grocery store or to warn customers or other individuals on the owner's property if there is a dangerous situation of which the owner is aware.

Where the owner fails to act reasonably under the circumstances, he, she or it, if it is a corporation, can be held liable for the injuries suffered by someone on their property. We have previously discussed what you should do in regards to treatment and documenting your injuries in a previous article. You can review it by clicking here.

If you are injured, you should immediately contact the property owner to make them aware of the incident and the dangerous condition. You should also ask to fill out an injury report and request a copy. Additionally, look at what you slipped or tripped on so that you can later describe it. It will be important for you to be able to prove that the owner had knowledge of the dangerous condition. Unless the owner admits to it, you will have to prove that the dangerous condition existed for such a length of time that the owner should have been aware of it and either fixed or warned of the danger. And, finally, if there are any witnesses, have someone get their contact information. At some point down the road, it will be your word against the owner's and it will help you to have someone back up your story.

One last note, many of the larger stores have 24/7 video survelliance both inside and outside the store. If you are injured, you should either in writing (remember to keep a signed copy if you send a letter) or when you are filling out the injury report put the store manager on notice not to destroy or alter the video as this may be your only documentation later to back up what happened.

In short, if you have been injured while on someone else's property, you may be legally entitled to compensation. However, you should consult an attorney to find out if you have a case or claim against the property owner.

Justice Begins Here has reported a 1.5 million dollar verdict in Macon County in a slip and fall. According to the post,

As a result, Mr. Lawrence fell and suffered multiple spinal cord injuries. The verdict was for $1 million in compensatory damages (to compensate Mr. Lawrence for his injuries, lost wages, future lost wages and future care) and $500,000 in punitive damages (to punish VictoryLand and send a message to other establishments).

We appreciate the lawyers at Justice Begins Here, Lewis & McAtee, P.C. for alerting us to this important verdict. Slip and fall cases are very difficult and often times people don't think about someone really suffering an injury from slipping or tripping due to the defendant's negligence but this case reminds us that a victim can be seriously injured in one of these cases.

Be careful out there and if you are injured, get medical help as soon as possible and contact a good personal injury attorney for a free consultation to know what your options are in your particular situation.