The accident allegedly occurred when the worker was performing some work in the star’s California home. He was doing some wiring work in the yard, and at some point, he slipped and fell down a 12-foot slope. Just before he fell, he tried to hold on to a lattice nearby, but the screen collapsed under his weight, and he fell straight down. He suffered serious knee injuries, and as a result of these injuries, was unable to return to his former job and income levels.

Two years later, he filed a premises liability lawsuit alleging negligence against Sharon Stone. The lawsuit alleged that there had been only a lattice to break his fall, and that he had not been warned about the drop off. Stone denied those allegations, claiming that there never has been lattice on the property, and that she had always had a chain-link fence going around her yard. The actress even testified in a courtroom, and presented pictures of the chain-link fence as evidence. 

Unfortunately for her, an engineer, who testified for the plaintiff, said that the accident could have been prevented if she had simply invested the money in safeguarding the property to prevent falls. Also adding heft to the plaintiff's case was the fact that his employer was on the property, and was able to testify that there was no chain-link fence going around the yard at all on the day the worker suffered the slip and fall accident.

Stone has now been ordered to pay $232,000 in compensation to the worker. However he had claimed $1.5 million in total damages, including $900,000 for pain and suffering.

You don't have to be injured in a commercial establishment to file a premises liability action. An Atlanta slip and fall accident lawyer can file a premises liability lawsuit even when you've been injured in an accident in someone's home. A number of deficiencies in a property may be grounds for a premises liability action. Persons may be injured in a slip and fall accident on other’s property, or suffer a near-drowning incident in a swimming pool. Individuals may be injured in fires, explosions and wall collapses on other's property. They may even be injured in assaults or crimes on other people's property. 

All these accidents and injuries can be prevented only if premises owners invest the time and money taken to secure the premises and make them safe and hospitable. Guests, visitors, customers, and others who come to your property must be safe from any hazards. That doesn't mean that the property must be 100% safe with no accident risks at all.   Visitors also need to exercise some responsibility to avoid a fall or other accident. 

The hotel’s insurer had an opportunity to settle for $750,000. Now the chain may have to shell out $3.6million in damages, after a diverse Fulton County jury voted in the plaintiff’s favor.

In his closing statement, says the Daily Report, the plaintiff’s attorney honed in on the conflicting testimony of hotel staff. Some employees testified that prior to opening the doors of the conference room wet floor signs and safety mats had been posted as warning– other employees directly rebutted this testimony as did the plaintiff, Garland, and her boss. The other clincher for this case was the taped depositions of Garland’s treating physicians – graphic testimony that went unchallenged by the defending attorney. As a result, Garland received upwards of $800,000 more than requested in pain and suffering, and a great deal more than the $210,000 settlement initially put on the table by the chain.

While the aim of the Court and attorneys is often to settle out of court (usually in order to avoid excessive court costs for plaintiffs and to expedite the process itself), in cases like this it sometimes becomes necessary to take a chance and appeal to the empathetic side of a jury. As an Atlanta slip and fall attorney familiar with these types of premise liability claims, I applaud the plaintiff’s attorney in this case zealously and successfully pursued the claim on his client’s behalf. Liability in slip and fall cases stem from the owner’s failure to maintain the premises in a safe manner. It is clear in this case that the owner failed to do so.

The hotel had an obvious duty of care to maintain the safety of its floors for its patrons. In a best case scenario, this included posting warning or wet floor signs, setting out safety mats and even posting employees in doorways as soon as staff became or should have become aware of the dangerous conditions. In premises liability cases, all too often it’s about timing and best efforts. Where there is failure to exercise either, the owner usually faces an increased risk of being held liable and a slip and fall becomes costly.

While disappointed with the verdict, the defense in this case has made no decision in regard to an appeal or any post-trial motions.

References:

Land, Greg. "Jury awards $3.6m to woman injured in fall." Fulton County Daily Report [Atlanta] 20 June 2011: 1, 5. Print.

The research is being funded by the Age UK, and is probing the link between vision and a slip and fall accident. Researchers are specifically looking at the theory that a person's risk of a fall accident increases when he is looking straight ahead, and not down at obstacles that are in front of him. According to the research, older adults who look directly ahead at obstacles in the distance may be at a higher risk of a fall accident than those who look at obstacles in front of them. 

Age UK is planning more studies into the prevention of fall accidents involving the elderly. Soon, the group will initiate a new study involving people over the age of 65. Researchers are currently looking for subjects who will participate in this new research. The research will involve a four-hour experiment during which the subjects must walk over a 7 m walkway. The participants will be required to take precise steps on a target marked on the road, as well as over a series of marked obstacles. While they walk, a number of variables will measured, including the participants’ eye and body movements. Saliva samples will be tested. Participants will also be surveyed about their experiences while walking. Through this study, the researchers hope to determine safer ways of walking for senior adults.

A senior citizen is at a much higher risk of a slip and fall accident because of a number of factors. Seniors may suffer from failing vision, which may affect their ability to identify hazards that contribute to a fall. Besides, senior citizens have problems with body gait, which can affect balance and body coordination and increase their risks of a slip and fall. They may also have poor reflexes, which affect their ability to grab onto something at the beginning of the fall.

Slip and fall accidents can lead to much more serious injuries in a senior adult than any other person. These persons are prone to a condition called osteoporosis in which there is decreased bone mineral density. Such seniors are at a high risk of suffering fractures and broken bones in an accident. A hip fracture in a senior citizen can have much more serious consequences than in a younger person. Bones can take a longer time to heal in senior adults. Besides, surgeries are riskier in these people because of their advanced years and the prevalence of other medical conditions.

Therefore, it's important for apartment building owners, commercial property owners and others to ensure that their properties are free of fall hazards and safe for senior visitors to use. For more information, see Slip and Falls by the Elderly.

The Atlanta slip and fall accident lawyers at the Katz Law Firm represent persons who have been injured in slip and fall accidents across Georgia.

The use of antidepressants in the treatment of brain injury is not exactly new. In fact, most patients who suffer from TBI are susceptible to depression, and are often prescribed antidepressants. However, a new study conducted on mice found that injured mice that were given antidepressants had up to 70% more brain cells after four weeks on the antidepressant therapy, compared to those mice with brain injuries who had not been given antidepressants. The mice had been given the antidepressant, imipramine

That’s not all. Researchers also analyzed the performance of the mice during a novel object recognition test, to determine whether the thriving of brain cells in these mice, actually contributed to better cognition skills. Researchers analyzed how much time the mice under the antidepressant therapy spent looking at new or novel objects. Researchers found that the mice that had received the antidepressant therapy spent at least 15% more time looking at the novel objects. This indicates that these mice found the objects to be new, thereby indicating better memory capacity. 

Researchers believe that if the patient is administered antidepressant therapy right after a traumatic brain injury, in addition to all other kinds of therapies, it could help foster the survival of healthy brain cells after an injury.

It is often challenging to conduct studies into the prevention of accidents in human beings, because you can't recruit human subjects to test in real-life situations. So the researchers used birds, specifically guinea fowl, as subjects, and studied the birds as they ran confidently across the track. The researchers created a 6 m track. Some parts of the track were covered with sand paper, while the others were covered with a slippery polypropylene lining. The birds, large guinea fowl, with a small head and the round body, were chosen, because they specifically prefer to walk rather than fly.

Some of the birds, the researchers noticed, were able to navigate the track easily. Even on the slippery surface, they slipped a little, but were able to regain their balance. Others slipped several times, and fell. The researchers studied the differences between the birds that were able to maintain their balance, and those that fell. They found that the birds that were able to maintain their balance while walking on the slippery patch, usually walked across the patch in a very upright position with their feet and the body. The birds that fell, typically took bigger steps out in front of their bodies.

The lesson for humans, according to the researchers, is to step on a slippery patch the right way. Most of us put a foot out in order to test the patch, while the best approach would be to lift the foot and keep it underneath the body, as we walk on the patch.

The results of this research could be considered while formulating fall accident prevention technologies for elders not only in their homes, but also in nursing homes and elder care facilities.

Some parts of Georgia, like Haralson County, have recorded a 2-inch accumulation of snow, and in some of these areas, it has been the first such recorded heavy snowfall in years. For instance, in Haralson County, it has been the first such snowfall recorded in more than 129 years. While the snow has meant a picture-perfect Christmas to Georgia residents, it is also important to know that these beautiful snowy conditions can contribute to a slip and fall hazard.

You can avoid many of these accident hazards, simply by wearing sensible footwear during such weather. Put away your stilettos and party shoes, and wear winter shoes or boots to avoid a fall. You can also use clamp-on accessories that can offer better grip to prevent a fall. Be especially careful when you step out of the main door every morning, and look out for treacherous ice. Most of the fall accidents during this weather occur because people aren't used to such icy conditions, and forget that they need to take special precautions when they walk in such weather.

If shopkeepers, department stores and mall owners fail to keep their entranceways clear of snow and ice, they can be held liable for injuries. However, it is important to contact an attorney immediately after a fall. Rest assured, the store owner will contact their insurance company which will immediately investigate the fall and any injuries. Atlanta slip and fall accident lawyers are here to help if you have a fall and believe that it was caused by the negligence of the property owner.  

Single Focal Lenses Could Minimize Slip and Fall Accident Risks in Elderly Persons

Wearing eyeglasses with multifocal lenses can actually increase an elderly person’s risk of suffering a fall accident when he or she is outdoors. Therefore, senior citizens, who spend a lot of time outdoors, may be better served if they shift to single focal lenses. Those findings come via a study conducted by Australian researchers at Sydney's Prince Of Wales Medical Research Institute.

The researchers studied a group of 606 senior citizens with an average age of 80, and gave half of them two pairs of glasses with single focal lenses. The remaining members of the group were asked to continue using their multifocal lenses as usual. Both groups were asked to record the number of fall accidents they suffered over a course of 13 months.

At the end of the study, researchers found that the risk of suffering a fall accident decreased by 8% in the case of the senior citizens who were using single focal lenses. However, this decrease amplified significantly when the elderly spent time outdoors at least three times a week. Among these persons, the risks of suffering a fall dropped by more than 40% if they were wearing single focal lenses.

This could be because when a person is wearing multifocal lenses while walking outside, his vision of the ground just ahead of him is blurred, thereby causing him to miss hazards, like a stone on the ground.. The person may not see the object, thereby suffering a fall.

Slip, trip and fall accidents involving the elderly are a special health concern for us. As Atlanta slip and fall accident lawyers, we believe that owners of both commercial and residential properties, should be taking more steps to accommodate the growing numbers of elderly citizens who will join the population as baby boomers age. 

New Studies Look at Ways to Prevent Fall Accidents in Elderly

Elderly persons aged 65 or above have a much higher risk of suffering slip and fall accidents. They are also more likely to suffer debilitating long term injuries from these falls that can severely impact their quality of life. In fact, about 20 percent of elderly persons who suffer a hip fracture after a fall accident, die within 12 months of the fracture.

With alarming statistics like these, it has always been a source of concern to Atlanta slip and fall accident lawyers that little research is done to find out why these people are at risk for such falls. However, as the New York Times says, new research involving the use of wireless sensors placed in elderly persons’ homes, are providing experts clues to understand what kind of conditions can increase the risk of falls, helping develop  preventative measures that can minimize the risk of falls.

The sensors are placed in carpets and clothing, and monitor the person’s walking patterns and general activity. This allows the researchers to study specific walking behaviors, like the length of the stride and body sway of the person to understand what factors increase the risk of a fall. When researchers are able to understand the factors that increase the person’s risk of a slip and fall accident, it becomes easier to develop preventative measures that can reduce the risk of a fall.

For instance, if a person is on medication that increases the frequency of urination, he may be at a much higher risk of a fall when he walks to the bathroom several times in the night. However, when he is taken off the medication, or the dosage is lowered, then it can change his urination frequency, thereby minimizing the need to walk to the bathroom at night, and lowering the risk of falls.

The studies show very promising results that could revolutionize the way we prevent geriatric fall accidents. Until now, there has been very little solid research into the prevention of falls in the elderly, and these new studies promise to shine a different light on fall prevention.

Awareness Campaign Focuses Attention on Slip and Fall Accidents and Senior Citizens

Last week, across the country and Georgia, senior citizens, healthcare agencies, and community organizations observed Falls Prevention Awareness Week, which is marked to raise awareness about the risks to seniors from fall accidents.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year 1 in 3 senior citizens aged 65 and above, suffer from a fall accident.  Of these, 20 to 30 percent will suffer injuries that are severe enough to impact their ability to lead active, independent lives. While slip and fall accidents can happen to just about anyone, these are more common in senior citizens who may have a variety of health issues that can increase the risk of a fall. Seniors may struggle with proper balance and gait, may have vision problems and a host of other issues that can impact their ability to prevent a fall. Also, seniors have a much higher risk of being seriously injured in a slip and fall accident than young adults or children.

For instance, as people age, they begin to lose mineral density in their bones, creating a condition called osteoporosis in which the bones become brittle, and are prone to breaking. When a senior adult who suffers from this condition falls, there is a greater risk of bone fractures. These fractures may take a longer time to heal because of the senior's advanced years. Seniors may also suffer from other medical complications that are exacerbated by the fall.

Slip and fall accidents can result in huge costs to patients. A person who has been injured in a fall can expect hospitalization expenses, doctor’s fees, medication costs, X-rays and diagnostics costs, physical therapy expenses and other related medical expenses. Patients may lose income because of days lost from work while they recuperate. When a patient returns home, he may find that he needs enhancements made to his house to help him enjoy the mobility he did before.

The CDC has the following steps for seniors to prevent fall accidents.

Exercise. It strengthens bones and improves your sense of balance.

Make sure that your medications are not placing you at risk for dizziness of drowsiness.

Make sure that you see your eye specialist for an eye test regularly.

Fall-proof your home by installing bright lights, and placing mats on shower and bath tub floors. Add railings on both sides of your stairs. Don’t forget the outdoor stairs. Install grab bars inside your shower or tub.

The Atlanta slip and fall accident lawyers at the Katz Law Firm represent victims injured in slip and fall accidents in Atlanta and across Georgia.