San diego slip and fall attorney - Walton Law Firm

Fall-Related Injuries are Increasing Among the Elderly, But Hearing Aids Might Help

North County Injury Lawyers — Sat, 06 Apr 2024 02:02:53 GMT

When older adults fall in Rancho Bernardo, they often suffer severe injuries that require medical intervention. For quite some time, healthcare providers and researchers have known that falls are a leading cause of injury among older adults, resulting in devastating hip fractures, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), and other serious harm that often requires long-term care. According to a recent article in The Washington Post, falls have increased among America’s elderly population in the last decade, and falls are now the leading cause of injury among older adults. That article notes that falls have become “the leading cause of injury among those 65 and older, even though not all falls result in an injury.” To be clear, older adults fall at a markedly high rate, and about 37 percent of people aged 65 and up who do fall require medical care as a result of the injury.

It is critical to know that falls are preventable, as the article points out, and a new report from NPR suggests that hearing aids may be a key way to reduce the rate of fall-related injuries among the elderly. What should you know? Our Rancho Bernardo personal injury attorneys can say more.

Hearing Loss Increases a Person’s Risk of Falling

What is the connection between wearing hearing aids and reducing the likelihood of a fall? In short, as the NPR report highlights, “research shows older adults with mild hearing loss are at greater risk — more than double — of falling.” Although researchers do not know precisely why hearing loss is linked to an increased risk of falling, they know that the connection is there. Accordingly, as a new study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reveals, “restoring hearing through the use of hearing aids may be protective, especially when people wear them consistently.”

That study showed that people with mild hearing loss who wore hearing aids reduced their odds of suffering a fall-related injury by about 50 percent. The reduction in fall risk increased even more significantly for people who wore their hearing aids for four hours or more per day. For many people, hearing aids ultimately improve their sense of balance, based on anecdotal evidence. That information suggests that there may be a connection between a person’s balance and their vestibular function, according to the NPR report.

Beyond reducing the risk of a fall, wearing hearing aids to improve hearing for older adults can also reduce the risk of other types of injuries, especially pedestrian accidents that may result from a pedestrian failing to hear an oncoming vehicle or another hazard on the road.

Liability for Falls

Who is responsible when a fall-related injury occurs in an elderly adult or in a person of any age? Liability will largely depend on the facts of the case. If a fall results from a dangerous condition on another person’s property, that property owner may be liable. Examples include retail store owners, restaurant owners, healthcare facilities, and more.

How much time do you have to seek compensation after a fall caused by another party’s negligence? Under California law, the statute of limitations for most negligence claims, including fall-related injury cases, is usually two years from the date of the injury.

Contact a Personal Injury Attorney in Rancho Bernardo

If you have any questions about fall liability or filing a claim after a fall-related injury, you should seek advice from a Rancho Bernardo personal injury attorney. Contact the Walton Law Firm for assistance.

Who is Liable for a Slip and Fall Injury in Carlsbad?

North County Injury Lawyers — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 16:24:28 GMT

If you slip and fall in Carlsbad — whether you are at a local store or restaurant, in a public park, or at the home of a friend or family member — is someone likely to be liable for your injuries? In other words, are you able to file a claim against a liable party in order to seek financial compensation? Determining liability for a slip and fall may be complicated, and it is important to discuss the details of your case with an experienced Carlsbad premises liability lawyer who can assess your case for you. In the meantime, you can learn more about parties who may be liable for slips and falls, depending upon the circumstances, and what you will need to do in order to file a civil lawsuit in order to seek compensation.

Parties Who are Commonly At Fault for Slips, Trips, and Falls

Who is usually at fault for a slip and fall? It all depends on the circumstances of the accident. Generally speaking, a property owner, property manager, or any other party in control of the property can be liable for a slip and fall if they fail to maintain the property in a reasonably safe manner. Accordingly, any of the following parties may be at fault in a slip, trip, and fall case:

Business owner, such as a restaurant or retail store owner;
Homeowner;
City or local government for injuries on local public property; or
State government for injuries on state public property.

Common Causes of Slips and Falls in Carlsbad

What kinds of negligent property maintenance can lead to liability for the above parties? The following are some common causes of slips and falls:

Wet floors due to liquid spills;
Damaged flooring or carpeting;
Inadequate lighting;
Tripping hazards on the property;
Poorly maintained footpaths; and
Broken or improperly maintained handrails.

Understanding the Timeline for Filing a Slip and Fall Claim

If you slipped, tripped, and fell in Carlsbad, how much time do you have to file a claim? On private property — such as a private business or a private residence — you will generally have two years from the date of the injury to file a claim according to California law. However, it is critical to be aware of the shortened timeline for slips, trips, and falls that occur on public property. For example, maybe you slipped and fell on a hazard at Poinsettia Park, or perhaps you slipped and fell on a wet floor at Carlsbad City Hall. Under California law, if you get hurt on public property, you will have only six months or one year to file a claim with the relevant agency. To ensure that your claim is filed in a timely manner, you should get in touch with an attorney as soon as possible.

Contact a Carlsbad Slip and Fall Lawyer

Did you slip and fall as a result of a property owner or property manager’s negligence? You may be eligible to file a claim in order to seek compensation for your injuries. To learn more about your options, you should get in touch with an experienced Carlsbad slip and fall lawyer today. Contact the Walton Law Firm for more information about the services we provide to injury victims and their families in Southern California.

Sources: I Slipped and Fell in Poway: Now What? What Should I Do About a Slip and Fall in an Oceanside Supermarket?

I Slipped and Fell in Poway: Now What?

North County Injury Lawyers — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 16:07:32 GMT

Nobody plans to slip and fall when they are out to dinner in Poway or walking on a sidewalk for leisure or exercise. Yet slips, trips, and falls can happen almost anywhere in Southern California. While pedestrians can sometimes bear responsibility themselves for injuries sustained in a slip and fall, many slips and falls happen because a person who owns or rents property has been negligent in maintaining that property. Negligence can take many different forms, from failing to clean up a liquid spill on the floor to failing to repair or warn people about torn carpeting that poses a tripping hazard. What should you do if you slipped and fell in Poway? Consider the following steps.

Photograph the Area Where the Slip and Fell Occurred

First, take photographs of the area where the slip and fall occurred. In particular, be sure to document the hazard on the premises that caused you to slip, trip, or fall. That hazard might be a liquid spill, rough flooring, torn or damaged carpeting, or an area where lights were not working properly.

Report the Slip and Fall Accident to the Owner or Manager of the Premises

You should tell the person in charge of the premises about your slip and fall, but it is important not to provide any personal assessment of the situation or to apologize. You will want to do everything you can to preserve your right to full compensation for your losses.

See a Doctor for a Medical Assessment

You need to see a doctor after you have slipped and fallen so that your injuries can be assessed, and so that you have a medical record that clearly links your current injuries to the fall you experienced on another party’s premises.

Speak With a Lawyer to Determine if You Have a Claim

Seek advice from a personal injury lawyer in Poway as soon as you can. A lawyer can assess your case and provide you with information about the best path for seeking financial compensation and holding the negligent property owner accountable.

File Your Lawsuit Before the Statute of Limitations Runs Out

Finally, you must file your slip and fall lawsuit before the California statute of limitations runs out. For most slip and fall cases, California law gives you two years from the date of your slip and fall accident to file a lawsuit. Yet it is critical to keep in mind that a slip and fall on public property could require you to file a claim within six months from the date of the accident, so it is best to seek advice from a lawyer as quickly as possible to ensure that you do not end up with a time-barred claim.

Contact a Poway Personal Injury Attorney

Slips and falls can occur almost anywhere in Poway, from the entryway to a neighbor’s home or a retail store to a public sidewalk or a workplace. Depending upon what led to your slip and fall accident and whether the owner or manager of the premises was negligent, you may be able to file a lawsuit in order to seek compensation. An experienced Poway slip and fall lawyer at our firm can tell you more about premises liability law in California and can speak with you about filing a claim. Contact the Walton Law Firm to learn more about the services we provide to injured plaintiffs and their families in Southern California.

What Should I Do About a Slip and Fall in an Oceanside Supermarket?

North County Injury Lawyers — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 15:59:47 GMT

While grocery stores or supermarkets in Oceanside, California are a required weekly stop for most individuals and families, these are also retail establishments where serious accidents and injuries can occur. Although many injuries that happen at supermarkets result from slips and falls, grocery stores can also be places where struck-by injuries occur when products fall off a shelf unexpectedly, or where other types of premises liability accidents and motor vehicle collisions can occur. In many instances, the retail establishment is liable for injuries that occur on the property. Our experienced Oceanside personal injury lawyers want to tell you more about different types of slip, trip, and fall accidents that occur frequently in supermarkets in Southern California.

Liquid Spills and Oceanside Slips and Falls

Liquid spills are a common cause of slips and falls in grocery stores throughout Southern California. It is often easy for liquid spills to occur when a customer accidentally knocks a jar off a shelf, and a liquid ends up spilling in the grocery aisle. If these kinds of liquid spills—of sodas, cooking oils, sauces, dressings—are not quickly cleaned up, a shopper might not even realize the floor is slick and can slip and fall.

Slips, Trips, and Falls From Aisle Obstacles

Obstacles in supermarket aisles or other customer pathways can also lead to trip and fall accidents. For instance, boxes of products that are yet to be stocked may result in tripping hazards, as can products that other customers remove from shelves and do not return.

Falls in Outdoor Areas Due to Poor Lighting

Slips and falls can also occur in the entry and exit areas around a supermarket when lighting is poor, or when broken lights are not repaired, to illuminate potential slipping or tripping hazards. Whether a slip and fall resulted from a liquid spill, a tripping hazard in an indoor aisle, poor lighting, or another hazard, the injured party may be able to file a claim for financial compensation.

Filing Your Slip and Fall Claim on Time

If you were injured in a slip, trip, or fall accident at a grocery store or other type of retail establishment in Southern California, it is essential to pay attention to the statute of limitations. This is the time window in which an injured person is allowed to file a lawsuit under California law. The California statute of limitations for most personal injury lawsuits, including slips and falls, is two years. As such, most slip and fall claims will need to be filed within two years from the date of the slip and fall accident, but you should always discuss the specifics of your case with an Oceanside injury lawyer who can help.

Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer in Oceanside

If you or someone you love recently slipped and fell inside a supermarket or another retail store in Oceanside, you should get in touch with our Oceanside personal injury attorneys to find out more about filing a slip and fall claim. Contact the Walton Law Firm today for more information about filing a premises liability lawsuit in Southern California.

What Should I do if I am Partially at Fault for a Slip and Fall Injury in Encinitas?

North County Injury Lawyers — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 13:02:44 GMT

Slips and falls can happen in many different ways and for many different reasons in and around Encinitas. Whether you got hurt in a slip and fall accident due to a liquid spill at a restaurant, or your child suffered a concussion in a slip and fall injury on a pool deck at a Southern California hotel, it is important to speak with an experienced Encinitas personal injury lawyer to learn more about your options for filing a claim for financial compensation. Yet you may be concerned that your own fault could prevent you from obtaining compensation after a slip and fall. For example, you might be thinking, “Even though that restaurant or grocery store did not clean up the liquid spill on the floor that caused my injuries, I was distracted because I was walking while texting on my smartphone.” Or, for instance, you might be wondering, “If my child slipped on a slick area of a hotel walkway, is the hotel still liable even if my child was running at the time?”

Here is what you need to keep in mind: California uses a “pure comparative fault” rule when it comes to determining damages in a personal injury claim, which is beneficial for plaintiffs who may be partially at fault. However, you should also know that, even if the possibility of your own fault is raised, you may be able to show that you are not responsible for your injuries. The following are steps you should take if you are concerned you are partially at fault for a slip and fall injury in Encinitas or elsewhere in Southern California.

Document the Scene Where the Slip and Fall Happened

You should do everything you can to document the scene where the slip and fall happened, particularly the dangerous condition on the premises that led to the slip and fall accident. You will want to gather clear evidence of the dangerous condition, such as a liquid spill or a damaged floor, and you will want to document it from multiple angles and distances to help prove that the property owner was at fault for the slip and fall accident.

Seek Advice from a Personal Injury Lawyer About Your Case

Whether the property owner has alleged that you are partially to blame or you are worried that your own fault will reduce your damages award, you should seek advice from a premises liability lawyer before you go any further with your case.

Recognize that California’s Comparative Fault Law Likely Will Not Bar You from Recovery

Even if a court ultimately determines that you were partially at fault for the slip and fall accident, California law says that you can recover damages regardless of your percentage of fault (as long as you are not fully at fault). However, your total damages award will be diminished by your own percentage of fault, so it is critical to seek help from a lawyer who can help you to prove that you deserve the full amount of damages you are seeking.

Contact an Encinitas Slip and Fall Attorney

Do you have questions about filing a slip and fall claim, or do you need assistance handling allegations of comparative fault in your slip and fall case? One of the experienced Encinitas slip and fall attorneys at our firm can assist you. Contact the Walton Law Firm for more information about your premises liability lawsuit.

Slips and Falls Around Rancho Bernardo Pools

North County Injury Lawyers — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 02:36:13 GMT

The San Diego area is full of swimming pools, from the private Rancho Bernardo Swim & Tennis Club to public pools managed by San Diego Parks & Recreation. When you visit a hotel pool, a public pool, or a swimming pool at the home of a friend or family member in or around San Diego County, it is important to be aware of slip and fall risks. People who own or manage properties including swimming pools owe a duty of care to customers (for private club and public pools) and to friends and family members (for private residential pools) who are on the property.

Sometimes swimming pool slips and falls happen when nobody plans to swim but the area near the pool is slick from water, while slips and falls also happen to swimmers and sunbathers. We want to say more about preventing slip and fall injuries and provide clarification about liability in swimming pool slips and falls.

Keeping Areas Around Pools Safe

Whether it is a public pool or a private residential pool, it is important to ensure that the area is free from hazards that could cause a slip and fall accident. An article from Urban Pool Services discusses the following safety tips for preventing slips and falls around a pool:

Walkways adjacent to the pool should be covered with a non-slip surface and, if possible, should have added traction;
Pedestrian walkways around pools should be free from any obstacles that could lead to a trip and fall;
Any uneven walkways, or other potentially dangerous pathways, should have handrails for pedestrians to use;
Fencing and other protective barriers can prevent people from slipping and falling into a pool;
Warning signs around a pool deck can warn people about the risk of potentially slippery surfaces and the added dangers of running on slick surfaces;
Excessive areas of pool water in pedestrian pathways should be eradicated; and
Slick walkways farther distances from the pool caused by wet shoes and wet feet should be cleaned up and/or should be accompanied by warning signs.

Liability for a Pool Slip and Fall

In order for the property owner or manager to be liable for injuries in a slip and fall that happens near a pool, the injured party will need to prove the essential factual elements of a premises liability claim under California law. More specifically, the injured party will need to be able to prove:

Defendant owned, leased, occupied, or controlled the property including the swimming pool;
Defendant was negligent in his or her use or maintenance of the property;
Plaintiff was harmed; and
Defendant’s negligence was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s harm.

You should keep in mind that, in order to prove that the property owner or manager was negligent, the injured party will need to show that the property owner failed to use reasonable care to keep the property in a reasonably safe condition. One of the factors that can be considered in determining whether a property owner is negligent is the location of the property, as well as the difficulty of protecting against the risk of harm. Given that swimming pools are known to produce slick surfaces, it may be more difficult to prove liability in a swimming pool slip and fall than in another type of premises liability claim. However, that does not mean that the property owner cannot be held accountable.

Contact a Rancho Bernardo Slip and Fall Lawyer

If you have questions about filing a slip and fall claim, a Rancho Bernardo slip and fall attorney can help. Contact the Walton Law Firm for more information.

Young Boy Sustains Critical Injury in Hotel Fall

North County Injury Lawyers — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 16:00:58 GMT

Slips and falls can be especially dangerous, especially when a victim falls from heights. According to a recent article in U-T San Diego, a young 7-year-old boy sustained critical injuries after he fell “about 30 feet from a third-story window at a Del Mar hotel.” How did this catastrophic hotel accident occur? The Child Abuse Unit of the sheriff’s office currently is investigating the accident. In some cases where serious falls occur, the hotel may have been negligent and can be held responsible for injuries.

Falls can occur anywhere, including when we’re on vacation. If you or a loved one has sustained injuries at a hotel or motel, you should contact a San Diego hotel accident lawyer. The experienced attorneys at the Walton Law Firm can discuss your personal injury case with you today.

Details of the Del Mar Hotel Accident

At around 6:20 p.m. on the night of the accident, members of the local sheriff’s office, as well as firefighters and paramedics, were dispatched to the scene of the accident. According to the sheriff’s office, the boy had been on vacation with his family, and they had traveled to California from Korea. When the accident occurred, the child “had been playing alone in one of the rooms booked by the family.” Sgt. Dustin Lopez, who responded to the accident, indicated that when the boy’s family when to check on him in the hotel room, “they saw that he had fallen.”

Authorities don’t know yet whether the child opened the window himself or whether it was already open when he was left alone inside the hotel room. Due to the fall, the child suffered a broken leg and “major head trauma,” according to Lopez. A medical transport helicopter rushed him to Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.

Serious Falls at Hotels

How often do serious falls occur at hotels? These hotel accidents can affect both guests and employees alike. Indeed, according to data collected in a report by a Cornell University researcher, slips and falls are the “most frequent accident type by cost for both guests and employees.” When it comes to hotel guests, the following accidents and injuries are reported most commonly:

Slips, trips, and falls account for about 42 percent of all hotel guest injuries. These can happen when a hotel fails to warn guests that the floors are wet or slippery, or if a hotel fails to install proper railings on its stairways or balconies. A fall from a hotel balcony, much like the catastrophic hotel accident in Del Mar, can result in life-threatening and fatal injuries. According to the report, falls happen most commonly in hotel stairways, balconies, landings, ramps, parking lots, and bathtubs/showers.
Security-related accidents and injuries account for approximately 40 percent of all hotel guest injuries. What is a security-related accident? It’s an accident where the hotel’s failure to provide security or to make an area safe led to an accident. In some cases, for instance, an area should have been better lit with safety lighting.
Food-borne illnesses result in about 3 percent of hotel guest injuries.

While the numbers differ for hotel employees, slips and falls still cause a majority of those accidents. In fact, about 42 percent of all hotel employee injuries occur because of a serious fall. The second-leading cause of employee injury, however, relates to handling dangerous materials.

Have you sustained an injury while on vacation at a hotel? You should be able to feel safe when you stay at a hotel or motel. Contact a slip and fall attorney at the Walton Law Firm today to learn more about how we can help.

Photo Credit: Hugo-photography via Compfight cc See Related Blog Posts: Walkway Collapses at San Diego Hotel, Guests Fall Into Water Child Pool Drowning Figures Released by Consumer Product Safety Commission