Slip and fall accidents are some of the most commonly occurring workplace and business-located injuries that can happen. While they are sometimes fairly minor in their consequences, there are also many serious, and even deadly, injuries that can happen during a particularly nasty slip and fall accident. Knowing what types of injuries can occur, and preparing your place of business to avoid these injuries at all costs, is critical. To help you out on this journey, here are ten of the most common slip and fall accident injuries:
1. Soft Tissue Injuries
Soft tissue injuries are often not as immediately recognizable, as they are rarely outwardly visible. However, they can be incredibly painful, and lead to conditions that can take weeks, or even months, to heal. If left untreated, these types of soft tissue injuries can even lead to patients developing chronic pain issues down the road.
2. Traumatic Brain Injuries
If a person falls directly on their head during a slip and fall accident, broken skulls, traumatic brain injuries and comas can all occur. These are some of the most devastating injuries, both for the victim, and the business owner (who will be open to serious, costly legal action). However, this is one of the less common injuries sustained during a slip and fall accident. In the tragic situation where you, or someone you love, finds yourself involved in a slip and fall accident, find the best slip and fall lawyer Chicago has to offer so that you can gain the restitution you or your loved one deserves.
3. Hip Fractures
Alongside back and spinal cord injuries, which we will cover more later on, hip fractures are another long-lasting injury that can up-turn someone’s daily life. For particularly elderly victims, a hip fracture can even mean an end-of-life injury or one that will make them permanently immobile. To avoid this tragic type of accident at your business, keep the space as clean and tidy as possible.
4. Sprained Ankles or Wrists
Perhaps the most common serious injury associated with slip and fall accidents, sprained ankles and wrists occur when the tissue connecting them to your limbs is put under sudden, intense pressure. If a sprain is severe enough, it can lead a person to be wheelchair-bound for several weeks (if not months). Although people generally recover more reliably from sprain injuries, they are still painful and expensive to treat in many cases. Healthy, in-shape individuals are much less likely to sustain a serious injury during a slip and fall accident.
5. Back and Spinal Cord Injuries
By far one of the most serious injuries that happen in the aftermath of a slip and fall accident, back and spinal cord injuries can lead to permanent damage or even death. Even when they do not fall into this type of serious territory, these injuries are almost always incredibly painful and will require extensive physical therapy and medical care to correct. If the person who sustains these injuries is older, or already physically frail, the amount of danger the injury presents to them is significantly increased.
6. Shoulder or Neck Injuries
While not as commonly severe as back and spinal cord injuries, shoulder and neck injuries are also incredibly dangerous. They occur similarly during slip and fall accidents and are another lawsuit-heavy result of a sudden slip and fall accident happening on a business’s property, or at a person’s private residence. The inconvenience and discomfort a person is put in as they heal from neck or shoulder injuries make this outcome that much more frustrating for those involved.
7. Muscle Strains
Muscle strains are a more severe version of your typical sprain injury. If you strain particularly important muscles in your body, you can find yourself in intense pain for weeks. Not only this, but some types of strains often require either physical therapy or surgeries to correct fully (especially if the person who sustains them is already in poor health).
8. Nerve Damage
Forceful impacts, intense sudden stretching, and other conditions that slip and fall accidents lead to can all cause serious nerve damage. Knees are especially susceptible to this type of nerve damage, and reversing the injury can take years, and even end up causing a life-long condition in older people.
9. Broken Digits
When you fall suddenly, it’s natural for you to reach out, so that you can try and prevent a harsh, intense thud of a landing. However, doing so successfully can be difficult given how sudden and quickly falls from slip and fall accidents occur. Due to this, broken digits (especially fingers) are not at all uncommon. These breaks are painful but heal faster than many of the other serious slip and fall-related injuries on this list.
10. Dislocations
When you fall on a socket or take the brunt of the fall on a single location on your body, dislocations are common. These injuries do not cause as long-lasting damage, but are extremely painful, and cause great distress. If you want to avoid a chaotic, frightening scene where someone falls and dislocates a part of themselves, keep your space tidy, safe and professional.
Avoid Slips and Falls at All Costs
Overlooking hazards or undone maintenance that could lead an employee or customer to slip and fall at your workplace is not worth it. To ensure your business will remain healthy for years to come, and that its reputation will remain intact, educate yourself about how to keep your business slip and fall accident-free. Otherwise, you might find yourself dealing with one of the horrible, tragic, and costly injuries on this list.
