slip and fall accidents

Published on: November 26, 2018

Avoiding Slip and Fall Accidents in Winter

There are certain times of the year when the risk of being in a slip and fall accident is higher. It is no surprise that winter, and especially the holiday season, brings with it conditions that increase the likelihood of a fall accident.

The coldest weeks of the year bring with them roads, driveways and sidewalks covered with ice, snow and sleet that make for very slippery and dangerous conditions. It’s no surprise that you have a greater risk of a slip and fall when you have to walk on roads and surfaces that are wet with ice and snow. What’s worse, these slip and fall accidents can leave you with serious injuries that can have long lasting impacts on you and your family. This is especially true with the black ice conditions that Atlanta and the north Georgia area commonly see during the winter months.

The winter holiday season also brings with it its own conditions that increase the risk of a slip and fall accident. This is not only because the holidays occurs during the coldest part of the year, but holiday shopping, entertaining and attending parties all increase the likelihood that you will be out and about in the dangerously slippery conditions, instead of being safe at home. Even more, if the area where you are walking has not been properly maintained for winter conditions, your risk of sustaining a fall and being injured is even greater.

Published on: July 22, 2011

Sharon Stone Ordered to Pay Compensation to Worker Injured in Slip and Fall Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Slip and fall accidents are some of the most common ways in which persons may be injured on someone else’s property.A jury in California has decided that actress Sharon Stone must pay compensation to a worker, who was seriously injured in a slip and fall accident on her premises in 2006.

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.

Published on: July 19, 2011

Slip and Fall on Rain-Slicked Hotel Floor Gets Million Dollar Verdict

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Described by her attorney as a “young, attractive executive,” Christine Garland was attending a sales conference that was interrupted by her slip and fall on the rain-clicked marble floor of the hosting hotel. She’s endured excruciating pain in the four years since, undergone numerous surgeries and was eventually forced to give up her lucrative job.

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.

Published on: May 2, 2011

Rotator Cuff Injuries Are a Frequent Result of Slip and Fall Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Rotator cuff injuries often occur as a result of slip and fall accidents, or because of repetitive stress or strain over a period of time.A severe rotator cuff injury can leave a person in constant pain and with difficulty in shoulder movement.Now, a new experimental surgery is offering a ray of hope for people who suffer from these debilitating injuries. Injury attorneys in Atlanta and elsewhere welcome any surgery that is helpful with this injury.

In the case of moderate rotator cuff tears, there are surgeries that can help.However, in the case of severe rotator cuff injuries, surgical options are fairly limited.Typically, physical therapy is used to treat such injuries.Besides, doctors may also prescribe steroid injections or minor surgery.However, these treatments may have a limited effect, and over a period of time, rotator cuff injuries may lead to arthritis.In fact, in severe cases, the person may need partial or total shoulder replacement.Now Dr. Spero Karas, who also happens to be the associate professor of orthopedics at Emory Healthcare Sports Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, is using a new procedure that can help fix serious injuries to the rotator cuff.

The surgery involves using a surgically placed cadaver tissue graft to replace and reattach the injured tendon.So far, studies have indicated that the experiment with this graft-to-bone technique is very effective in treating defective tendons and repairing the injury.Some patients who have had the surgery performed on them have been able to go back to their normal routine activities, including golf. However, this procedure will not work for all rotator cuff tears.

Published on: December 22, 2009

Georgia Slip and Fall Jury Verdict in Favor of Movie Theatre Chain

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A jury in Clayton County, Georgia has held that movie theater chain AMC is not liable to a woman, who was injured in a slip and fall accident after she tripped on a wet floor sign at a theater.

The woman, Sue Brown was at the AMC Southlake Theater in 2003. It was Christmas day, and the theater was packed. Just before the end of the movie, a staff member put an A-frame “wet floor” sign to warn about a small spill a few paces outside the theater door. However, by the time Brown reached the spot, the sign had fallen down, and caught as she was in the throngs of people, she wasn’t able to see the sign. Her toe got caught in the handle of the sign, and she fell.

Brown and her husband filed a suit against AMC. Initially, a Clayton Court judge granted a summary judgment for AMC, but a court of appeals reversed that decision. The Supreme Court ruled that slip and fall accident issues, especially those that relate to a retailer’s responsibility to safeguard its premises’ and the responsibility of patrons to look out for their own safety on other’s premises, must be left to juries. The case went to a Clayton County jury, which has now delivered a verdict in favor of AMC.