Slip and Fall Accidents News
Sidewalk Liability Suits Curbed Against Mostly Residential Condo Associations
Primarily residential condominium associations can't be sued for injuries on adjoining public sidewalks, a New Jersey appeals court has found. The opinion is the latest in a string of cases that have created a double standard of property owner liability resulting from poorly maintained abutting sidewalks. That the condo complex in question was residential, owner-occupied and run by a nonprofit association, which was unable to spread the risk of loss by increasing fees or charges, were all factors that went into the court's decision to affirm a grant of summary judgment dismissing the claims. The plaintiff claimed he hurt his ankle and leg when he slipped and fell on the public sidewalk outside a 104-unit complex, alleging a sheet of black ice covered most of the sidewalk and a pile of snow reached up over the curb and partially onto the sidewalk. The condo company, which was responsible for maintaining the sidewalk, had hired a property management company, which contracted for snow-plowing services with another company. The man sued all three for negligence and named the city as a defendant, claiming it failed to enforce an ordinance requiring property owners to clear away ice and snow within six hours. A Superior Court judge granted summary judgment, dismissing all defendants except the snow-plow company, which then settled for an undisclosed amount. The condo company was let out of the case based on the judge's conclusion that it was not a commercial entity for purposes of sidewalk liability.
Court OKs State Tort Action by Airline Passenger
In a setback for airlines, a federal appeals court has ruled that a passenger who falls while disembarking from a plane has a right to sue under state tort laws because the pre-emptive effects of the Federal Aviation Act do not apply once a plane has come to a complete stop at its destination. A unanimous three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals clarified the meaning of a 1999 decision and explained that seemingly broad language in that ruling nonetheless has limits. "Although we stated that the Aviation Act preempts 'the entire field of aviation safety' from state regulation, we hold that the 'field of aviation safety' does not include a flight crew's oversight of the disembarkation of passengers once a plane has come to a complete stop at its destination," the panel found. The appellate court concluded that a judge had erred by granting summary judgment in favor of the airline on a man's negligence claim stemming from his 2004 fall while exiting a commuter jet. His leg was amputated above the knee in 1978, and he relies on a pair of crutches to walk. When he boarded the flight in Boston, he had no difficulty ascending the stairs from the tarmac to the cabin. But the descent proved more difficult, because the staircase on the jet had a railing only on the left side. Although he recognized that he "needed assistance" to descend the staircase, he testified that he chose not to request help because he believed the only aid the airline could offer would be to carry him down the stairs. However, he would have accepted the assistance of a wheelchair or an electronic lift if he had known that such assistance was available. As he began to descend the stairs, he lost his balance and fell off the staircase, striking his shoulder on the pavement, resulting in severe injuries, including torn cartilage in his shoulder that required surgical repair.
Danger Underfoot: Many Hurt Tripping Over Pets
Dogs and cats are a lurking household danger, according to a new report showing the pets cause all kinds of injuries related to falls. The pet trips - estimated at more than 80,000 a year - occurred while people were chasing after them, stepping over them, breaking up a Fido fight, and other scenarios. Dogs are the biggest hazard. Those injured noted various circumstances for their injuries, including: "tripped while crossing the street with their dog," "fainted while training her dog," and "walking dog and fell up steps," among other circumstances. The results come from a nationally representative sample of emergency department visits to about 60 hospitals from 2001 to 2006, finding some 7,456 records were linked to pet-related falls. From this, the researchers calculated the national estimate would reach 86,629 for fall injuries associated with cats and dogs in the United States in 2006. Though an alarming number, it's just 1 percent of the 8 million fall injuries treated in emergency departments. Even though cats are known to follow at your heels, or right beneath your feet, dogs were involved in nearly 7.5 times as many injuries as cats.
Jury Sides with Movie Theater Chain in Suit Over 'Wet Floor' Sign
A movie theater chain that lost a trip-and-fall case before a unanimous Georgia Supreme Court earlier this year has been redeemed by a Georgia jury. The jury decided that AMC is not liable to a woman who claimed she was injured after tripping on a 'wet floor' sign at the company's theater. The plaintiff had visited the AMC theater on Christmas Day in 2003, a traditionally busy day of the year for movie theaters. A few minutes before the movie ended, an AMC employee set up an A-frame "wet floor" sign over a small spill about 10 to 20 paces outside the auditorium door. By the time the plaintiff reached the sign, it had fallen over and was lying flat on the floor. Her vision was obstructed by the mass of people around her, and her toe caught in the sign's handle and she fell to the floor. She and her husband then filed suit. The Supreme Court ruled that a 1997 Supreme Court decision meant that routine issues of slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall cases - such as how closely a retailer should monitor is premises and how vigilant patrons must be for their own safety in various settings - must be answered by juries, not judges. The plaintiffs have argued that there were alternatives to the "wet floor" sign AMC had used, such as a more stable sign that's knocked over less easily and a rope line barrier around a sign. However, the jury agreed with the defendants' argument that the "wet floor" sign used in this case was the standard sign that everyone sees everywhere they go. The two sides also argued over whether the plaintiff's back injury was caused by the fall. The plaintiff argued that she suffered a broken foot, dislocated toe, and back injury that led to surgery two years later. She asked for $383,000 to cover pain and suffering, medical expenses and loss of consortium for her husband. The jury was unable to differentiate between the plaintiff's back injury and another that she had suffered separate from the incident.
Hurt at Home? Fall Most Likely to Blame
Every year about 33 million Americans are injured badly enough to require medical attention, and the most common cause of nonfatal injury in every age group is falling down. Most falls happen at home. From 2004 to 2007, there was no statistically significant difference between the sexes in rates of injury from overexertion, poisoning or transportation. But women were more likely than men to be injured in a fall and less likely to be struck by an object or injured by a cut. The analysis found that people 15 to 24 were by far the most likely to be hurt in transportation accidents, and piercing and cutting injury was most common in the 25 to 44 age group. People with some college education were more likely to be injured than those with a bachelor's degree or higher or those with a high school diploma or less.
Study Finds Steady Drop in Hip Fracture Rates
Rates of hip fractures, an often devastating consequence of osteoporosis, have been steadily falling for two decades in Canada, a new study finds. And a similar trend occurred in the United States, researchers found, but it is not clear why. Drugs that slow the rate of bone loss may be part of the reason, but they cannot be the entire explanation, osteoporosis researchers say. And although experts can point to other possible factors - like fall prevention efforts and a heavier population - the declining rates remain a medical mystery. The study analyzed Canadian hospitalization data. From 1985 through 2005, the researchers report, hip fracture rates, adjusted for the age of the population, fell by 32 percent in women and by 25 percent in men.
Study Warns of Hazards for Elderly Using Walking Aids
About 47,000 older Americans are treated in emergency rooms each year from falls associated with walkers and canes, according to a study that suggests that there is room for improvement in the use and design of walking aids. The study found that 87 percent of fall injuries involved walkers and 12 percent involved canes. Researchers examined emergency room medical records at 66 hospitals from 2001 to 2006. They focused on patients 65 and older who had been treated for 3,932 nonfatal, unintentional fall injuries in which a cane or a walker was involved. A statistical analysis estimates that there are 47,312 falls a year. The study found that fractures, bruises and abrasions were the most common injuries associated with the falls. Almost a third of all injuries were to the lower trunk, including the hips. Sixty percent of fall injuries associated with walkers and canes occurred at home, while 16 percent of falls involving a walker occurred at nursing homes.
Four Feet and a Tail: The Cause of Many Falls
Today, about 235 people will wind up in an emergency room with an injury caused by a fall involving a cat or a dog. This adds up to more than 86,000 people a year, and although it is only 1 percent of the eight million injured in falls annually, it is five times the number of emergency room visits caused by unintentional gunshots, and almost three times as many as caused by accidental suffocation. About 43 million households in the United States have dogs, and 37.5 million have cats. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data from 2001 to 2006, and found that about 88 percent of these falls were associated with dogs. Women were about twice as likely to be hurt as men, and although fractures were more common among the elderly, most of the injuries were in people under 14 or between 35 and 54.
Once Just an Aging Sign, Falls Merit Complex Care
Once considered an inevitable part of aging, falls are now recognized as complex, often preventable events with multiple causes and consequences, calling for a wide range of interventions, both psychological and physiological, that many patients never receive. Even falls that cause only minor injury need to be taken as seriously as diabetes because they can be a real warning sign that something serious is wrong. The elderly do not always report falls or seek help for fear their families will try to put them in nursing homes. Many older fall victims admit that they find a fall tantamount to admitting that they are no longer competent to take care of themselves.
Aging: Study Links Falls to Lack of Sleep
Women over 70 who get five hours of sleep a night or less may be more likely to fall than those who sleep seven to eight hours, according to a new study. The study found that women who slept less than five hours a night were about 47 percent more likely to have fallen twice or more in the course of the study.
Program Reduces Falls by Elderly, Study Finds
Falls among the elderly, a common source of injuries, have largely been considered inevitable. But a recent study shows that a combination of adjusting treatment, assessing risk and educating patients can substantially reduce serious falls. Utilizing these methods, the rate of serious falls by the elderly in the region where the study was conducted resulted in 11 percent less than that in the region that followed normal care.
For Elderly, A Little Fall is a Big Worry
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, falls are the leading cause of death from injury among people over 65. Though an older person may seem independent, friends and relatives should routinely survey their homes and the places they frequently travel for slippery surfaces, clutter and other fall-inducing conditions.
Brain Injuries Linked to Senior Deaths from Falls
A U.S. government study indicates that seniors hitting their head during a fall can have deadly consequences: Brain injuries account for half of all deaths from falls. The study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the first comprehensive national look at the role brain injuries play in fatal elderly falls. The CDC found that slightly more than half of all senior deaths that listed unintentional falls as the cause of death were attributed to brain injuries.
Escalator Injuries Rise in Older Adults
A new study reports that from 1991 to 2005, nearly 40,000 people older than 65 were injured while rising an escalator, an average of 2,660 a year. Slips and falls caused 85 percent of the injuries.
Fall at Wal-Mart Prompts Lawsuit
A local couple is suing Wal-Mart because they don’t think the store did enough to warn the man about a wet spot on which he slipped and injured himself nearly three years ago.
Slip and Fall at H.E.B. Leads to Suit
A suit was filed against H.E.B. Grocery Co. on claims that a man “slipped and fell on some type of foreign object or substance," which has caused him to "sustain severe, permanent and disabling injuries."
If you think you may have a Slip and Fall Accident case, we can help. Contact us today.
|
