Trip and Fall vs. Slip and Fall Injuries - Stewart J. Guss, Attorney At Law

ving

ked on p

emises li

bility c

ses in Tex

s folmost 20 yes, I'm often

sked if the

e is

diffe

ence bet

een

nd f

ll”

“slip

nd f

ll” inju

y c

se. Ok

y, so I'll just stt

ith this – if you’ve f

llen

nd been hu

t, this is

distinction

ithout

diffe

ence. You'

e in p

in, you hu

nd you need to get you

inju

ies t

ted

ight

y - I tot

lly get th

t. No

, th

t being s

id,

hen it comes to ong>p
oving you
c
se<
em> ong>
nd m
king
pe
son
l inju
y cl
im the
e
ctu
lly is
BIG diffe
ence bet
een these t
o types of cl
ims.

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hethe
you
f
ll h
ppened bec
use you t
ipped o
slipped, you
fi
st p
io
ity should be getting the medic
l help you need,
nd then getting the leg
l help you need.
hile p
oving t
ip
nd f
lls c
n be diffe
ent th
n p
oving slip
nd f
lls, the good ne
s is th
t you c
n le
ve
ll the hd
o
k up to
Houston p
emises li
bility
tto
ney
t Ste
t J. Guss Inju
y
ccident L

ye
s. Don’t it
moment longe
to get the help you dese
ve. C
ll ou
<
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
ou
-te
m/”>leg
l te
m > fo f
ee c
se ev
lu
tion!
Diffe
ent Types of P
emises Li
bility Cl
ims<
b>

To unde
st
nd the diffe
ence bet
een these t
o cl
ims, let’s begin
ith the “bu
den of p
oof”—th
t is,
h
t you h
ve to p
ove in o
de
to
ecove
compens
tion fo p
emises li
bility cl
im.

To
in
p
emises li
bility c
se in Tex
s, you must p
ove th
ee b
sic things:

-level=”1″>The p

ty
esponsible fo
the p
emises kne
o
should h
ve kno
n of the d
nge
ous condition.<
li>

i
-level="1">The
esponsible p

ty f
iled to fix on of the d
nge
ous condition.<
li>

i
-level="1">The d
nge
ous condition c
used
n inju
y.

hen discussing the diffe
ence bet
een
“t
ip
nd f
ll” vs.
“slip
nd f
ll” inju
y cl
im, the fi
st step
e
lly comes into pl
y.
hy? Let me illustte
ith t
o scenios: <
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ity="high" cl
ss=”size-medium
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c="https:
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inju
yvictims.comp-content
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2012/05/3356644-Seni
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lt="3356644-Seni
liz
cion-pelig
o-obst
culo"
idth=”300″ height=”214″ /> > ong>Fi
st scenio<
st
ong>—You e lking in the p
oduce
isle of
g
oce
y sto
e
nd “slip
nd f
ll” on some f
uit th
t h
d f
llen to the floo
. Ho
do you p
ove ho
long th
t gpe h
d been the
e?
h
t if the sto
e h
s
“cle
ning log” th
t sho
s th
t
n employee checks
nd s
eeps the floo
eve
y h
lf hou
?
s you c
n see, it m
y be difficult to meet the “kne
o
should h
ve kno
n”
equi
ement unde
these ci
cumst
nces. ong>Second scen

io ong>—You e lking to
d the ent

nce into

est
unt.
ll of
sudden you
foot c
tches
nd you t
ip
nd f
ll, ending up f
ce do
n on the cement. You look b
ck
t
he
e you
foot c
ught
nd see
big g
p in the exp
nsion joint; the sl
bs of the side

lk
e
e uneven
nd offset f
om one
nothe
. In this scen

io,
bsent
n e

thqu
ke oecent const
uction, odds

e th
t the defect h
s been the
e fo
quite some time
nd should h
ve been
ectified. Both of these scenios
ep
esent
ctu
l c
ses I h
ve h
ndled in my c

ee
.
s you c
n im
gine,
e h
d
much e
sie
time
ith the bu
den of p
oof in the second scen

io bec
use the t
ipping h
zd s mo
e pe
m
nent, ve
sus the slipping h
z

d th
t s mo
e t

nsient.

In
“slip
nd f
ll” c
se, it c
n often be difficult to est
blish just ho
long
h
zdous subst
nce h
s been on the floo
. This c
n m
ke it ve
y difficult to est
blish th
t the defend
nt kne
, o
should h
ve kno
n,
bout the existence of the d
nge
ous condition. In
“t
ip
nd f
ll” c
se, it is often much e
sie
. M
ny times, th
ough depositions o
discove
y,
e c
n est
blish th
t the defend
nt’s employees (o
even m
n
gement)
e
e in the

e
of the defect befo
e the t
ip
nd f
ll inju
y
ccident
nd f
iled to coect it. No
fo
some good ne
s! I
egully m
ke subst
nti
l monet

y
ecove
ies fo
people f
om Houston,
ll ound the st
te of Tex
s,
nd th
oughout the count
y
ho
e
e inju
ed in both types of incidents. Fo
mo
e info
m
tion, you c
n vie
my <
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
se
vices
houston-p
emises-li
bility-
tto
ney/”>p
emises li
bility p

ctice p
ge<>. ong>H
ve you been inju
ed in
slip
nd f
ll o
t
ip
nd f
ll p
emises li
bility inju
y cl
im in Houston, K
ty, Sp
ing, The
oodl
nds, Cyp
ess, Tomb
ll, ony
he
e in Tex
s? Pe
son
l inju
y
tto
ney Ste
t Guss h
s the kno
ledge, skills,
nd expe
ience to m
ke
ecove
ies even in the most difficult c
ses.
hen othe
Houston slip
nd f
ll l

ye
s e giving up, Ste
t is usu
lly just getting stted. C
ll us tod
y
t <
h
ef=”tel:800-898-4877″>800-898-4877 >, f
ee of ch

ge, to t
lk
bout you
slip
nd f
ll o
t
ip
nd f
ll inju
y c
se. The
e is no ch

ge fo
the consult
tion,
nd the
e is no fee unless
e
in you
c
se. ong><
em>

Common C
uses of T
ips vs. Slips

Most people think t
ipping
nd slipping

e p
etty much the s
me thing—
ftell, the
esult is th
t you end up on the floo
, possibly
ith inju
ies. Ho
eve
, fo
leg
l pu
poses, t
ips
nd slips e quite diffe
ent. The
e c
n be ve
y diffe
ent c
uses fo
these t
o types of p
event
ble
ccidents. Let’s t
ke
close
look.
T
ip
nd F
lls

T
ips
nd f
lls h
ppen
hen you
foot gets c
ught unde
o
on something, c
using you to lose you
b
l
nce
nd f
ll.
hen you

e

lking in
sto
e o

nothe
business, you don’t expect obst
cles in the
isles
nd

lk

ys. It is n
tul not to ste
t the floo

nd check fo
h
z

ds befo
e eve
y step you t
ke. This is
hy suddenly t
ipping c
n come
s such
shock,
nd most people don’t h
ve time to stop the f
ll. Common t
ipping h
zds c
n include:

ong>Elect
ic
l
i
es<
st
ong> - P
ope
ty o
ne
s should m
ke su
e they secu
e
ll
i
es
nd co
ds s
fely out of the p
th of visito
s
nd custome
s.
hen
i
es o
extension co
ds c
oss ove
lking e
s, someone c
n e
sily get thei
foot stuck unde
i
e
nd t
ip
nd f
ll.<
li>

ong>Cpets
nd
ugs<
st
ong> - Cpets
nd
ugs usu
lly help p
ovide tction fo
people
hen lking—unless they get bunched up, fyed, o
e not p
ope
ly
dhe
ed to the floo
. You p
ob
bly expect
c

pet o

ug to be st
ble, so it c
n be shocking
hen you
foot c
tches on ug
nd you f
ll fod.<
li>

i
-level="1">ong>Floo
ing<
st
ong> - Even p
ope
ly-l
id floo
ing c
n
p
nd bend ove
the yes, c
using g
ps o
uneven pl
nks o
tiles. Othe
floo
s simply h
ve imp
ope
inst
ll
tion,
ith h
zds p
esent f
om the ve
y st

t.
hen
business does not t
ke the time
nd effo
t to
ep
i
floo
ing
nd m
ke su
e it is s
fe, you could c
tch you
foot
nd t
ip.<
li>

i
-level="1">ong>Items left on the floo
<
st
ong> - Sto
e employees might set something do
n
nd fo
get
bout it, le
ving it in the p
th of custome
s. Sm
lle
items th
t might be out of the notice
ble sight nge e especi
lly d
nge
ous,
s someone might h
ve no
ning befo
e thei
foot
uns into the object, stopping thei
momentum
nd c
using them to f
ll fo

d.

i
-level="1">ong>P
ot
uding displ
ys<
st
ong> - Sto
es
nd businesses c
n h
ve m
ny displ
ys,
hethe
they e tempo
y shelves, s
le cks, o
othe
items
nd st
nds pl
ced th
oughout the sto
e. If these displ
ys p
ot
ude into
isles o
lkys, someone might not notice th
t the p
th is not completely cle. Not only c
n they c
tch feet on the bottom of displ
ys, but
lso hips o
knees,
hich is still conside
ed
t
ip
nd f
ll.

These

e—by f

—not the only c
uses of t
ip
nd f
lls. No m
tteh
t you believe c
used you to t
ip, let ou
Houston p
emises li
bility lye
s
evieh
t h
ppened. P
ope
ty o
ne
s should kno
if something on thei
p
emises p
esents
t
ipping h
z

d—often bec
use the h
z

d h
s likely existed fo
some time.
e c
n help you hold o
ne
s o
businesses li
ble fo

llo
ing h
z

ds to pe
sist
nd c
using you
t
ip
nd f
ll inju
ies.

Slip
nd F
lls
s mentioned
bove, the c
uses of slip
nd f
lls e diffe
ent bec
use they e usu
lly less pe
m
nent th
n t
ip
nd f
ll h
zds. Unlike co
ds o
floo
ing th
t
ely moves, slip
nd f
ll h
zds e often tnsient issues like spills o
le
ks. Some c
uses of <
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
se
vices
slip-f
ll-lye
/”>slips
nd f
lls > e:

-level=”1″> ong>Subst
nces on floo
s<
st
ong> - Pe
h
ps the most common slip
nd f
ll c
use is something slippe
y on the floo
. This could be

te
, spilled food o
d
inks, onything else th
t could c
use someone to slip on the subst
nce
nd f
ll.

ong>Deb
is on floo
s<
st
ong> - Someone might d
op
c
ndy
ppe
in
sto
e
isle, o shi
t might f
ll off the h
nge
in
lm

t.
ny deb
is o
items left on the floo
c
n c
use someone to step on it
nd slip. Think
bout the cl
ssic b
n
n
peel ex
mple—someone le
ves the peel on the g
ound,
nd
n unsuspecting pe
son slips on it
nd f
lls feet ove
he
d. This h
ppens
ith othe
items mo
e often th
n you might think!<
li>

ong>Ove
ly
o
n floo
ing o
c

pet ong> -
hen floo
m
te
i
ls o
cpet get
o
n, they c
n become shiny
nd slippe
y. If
n o
ne
does not
epl
ce the slippe
y p

ts o
put do
n non-slip m
ts, someone c
n suddenly hit th
t pt of the floond slip.<
li>

i
-level="1">ong>
o
n st
i
s ong> -
hen the floo
m
te
i
ls of st
i
s get
o
n on the edges, they c
n become slippe
y,
nd this is especi
lly d
nge
ous.
hen someone is going do
n st
i
s
nd they hit
slippe
y step, they might f
ll do
n the
est of the st
i
c
se,
hich is
ve
y se
ious
ccident. Loose o

o
n ilings c
n
lso c
use
ccidents
hen people slip, g

b them,
nd they give y. Inste
d of someone c
tching themselves, they f
ll
nd hu
t themselves.

Sometimes, businesses c
n’t fix
slip
nd f
ll h
zd
ight
y. Fo
ex
mple, im
gine
j of s
uce f
lls
nd sh
tte
s in
g
oce
y sto
e
isle. Sto
e employees
dd
ess the h
zd
ight
y by cle
ning
nd mopping the floo
. Ho
eve
, the floo

em
ins
et until it h
s enough time to completely d
y,
nd the
et floo
still p
esents
slip
nd f
ll h
z

d.

In this situ
tion, the sto
e should put up “C
ution” signs letting custome
s kno
th
t the floo
is
et. If
sto
e f
ils to
n of the h
zd, people might slip
nd f
ll—even though the employees t
ied to
dd
ess the initi
l p
oblem of the s
uce. If you suffe
ed inju
ies
nd you believe
h
z

d like this c
used you
slip
nd f
ll, don’t

it to cont
ct ou
Houston p
emises li
bility l

fi
m.
e

nt to he

you
sto
y.

h
t to Do
fte
You
F
ll
ccident<
h2>
The
fte
m
th of
n inju
y-c
using f
ll c
n be
confusing
nd complic
ted time. Pe
h
ps you don’t nt to c
use
scene. You might t
y to
void embssment, get up,
nd move on
ith you
life. Ho
eve
, in c
se of inju
y, this is
ely the best choice. You need to p
otect you
leg
l
ights
nd ensu
e th
t you
lye
c
n
esolve you
cl
im
s f
vo

bly
s possible. He
e’s ho
.
File
n Incident
epo
t

The fi
st thing you should do is
epo
t youccident to the pe
son in ch

ge of the p
ope
ty on
hich youccident occued. Fo
ex
mple, if you
slip, t
ip, o
f
ll took pl
ce in
g
oce
y sto
e, you should
epo
t it to the m
n
ge
on duty. Of cou
se, ch
nces e th
t you’
e
e
ding this
fte
youccident h
s occu

ed
nd you e home oeceiving t
e
tment fo
you
inju
ies. If you did not
epo
t you

ccident
hen it h
ppened, you m
y still do so, but if it is too l
te, you might still p
oceed
ith
cl
im
ithout
n incident
epo
t.

Seek Medic
l
ttention

You should
lys seek medic
l
ttention
fte

slip
nd f
ll
ccident, even if you do not believe you
inju
ies e pticully se
ious. M
ny inju
ies m
y seem mild
t fi
st but go on to c
use signific
nt issues l
te
, so it’s
l

ys
good ide
to h
ve
docto
look
t you
inju
ies
nd stt
ny t
e
tment
s soon
s you c
n.
ddition
lly, the insunce comp
ny is not just going to t
ke youo
d fo
it
hen it comes to ho
b
d you
inju
ies

e. They
ill nt to see document
tion
egding you
inju
ies
nd you
p
ognosis,
nd the best y to get this evidence is to see
physici
n
s soon
s you c
n
fte slip
nd f
ll
ccident.

Follo
Docto
’s O
de
s
hile seeing
docto
is
g
e
t fi
st step in p
otecting you

ights, the p
ocess does not stop the
e. You need to follo
the t
e
tment pl
n you
docto
p
esc
ibes
s closely
s you c
n. Doing so me
ns filling p
esc
iptions,
ttending physic
l the

py,
nd going to you
follo
-up
ppointments—even if you

e feeling bette
! If you f
il to follo
you
t
e
tment pl
n, it c
n
llo
the insu

nce comp
ny to gue th
t you f
iled to mitig
te you
d
m
ges o
th
t you couldn’t possibly h
ve been
s hu
t
s you e cl
iming to be.

Be C

eful Online

Insu

nce comp
nies e in the business of minimizing ho
much they p
y out on eve
y cl
im they
eceive.
s esult, they
ill do eve
ything they c
n to disc
edit you
cl
im, including monito
ing you
soci
l medi

ccounts fo
posts th
t they c
n use
s evidence
g
inst you.

Fo
this
e
son, you should be ext
emely c

eful
bout the things you post on soci
l medi

hile you
slip
nd f
ll cl
im is pending.
nything the insu
e
could use to p
ove th
t you
inju
ies e not
s se
ious
s you cl
im could do subst
nti
l hm to you
cl
im
nd m
y even
esult in
deni
l. Posts th
t could be p
oblem
tic include those sho
ing you

lking you
dog, going out to dinneith f
iends, exe
cising, o
eng
ging in othe
no
m
l, eve
yd
y
ctivities.
s

esult, it m
y be s
fest fo
you to
void soci
l medi
use completely
hile you
cl
im is pending. On the othe
h
nd, be su
e not to delete
nything th
t you’ve posted up to this point. Doing so could be seen
s dest
uction of evidence,
hich could
esult in signific
nt hm to you
cl
im.
Do Not
ccept
Settlement Offe
f
om
nyone

Sho
tly
fte

epo
ting youccident, you m
y
eceive
settlement offe
f
om the insu

nce comp
ny of the pe
son o
business
esponsible fo
the p
ope
ty
he
e the
ccident took pl
ce. Neveccept
n offe
like this befo
e t
lking to
l

ye
. These initi
l settlement offe
s e
lmost
lys much lo
e
th
n the
mount th
t victims dese
ve,
nd they

e often m
de
ith the st

tegic intent to settle
c
se befo
e
victim h
s h
d
ch
nce to spe
k to
l

ye
. The insunce comp
ny

nts to p
essu
e you
nd
ush you th
ough this confusing p
ocess bec
use they only ce
bout thei
bottom line. Don’t miss out on the money you dese
ve.

You only h
ve one ch
nce to settle you
slip
nd f
ll cl
im. Once you sign on the dotted line, it’s
lmost impossible to obt
in mo
e compens
tion fo
you
losses, even if you settled fo
f less th
n you
e
e entitled to. Fo
tun
tely,
hen you
et
in
n
tto
ney, they
ill ev
lu
te
ll of you

ccident-
el
ted losses, including you
non-economic losses like p
in
nd suffe
ing
nd lost qu
lity of life.

You
lyeill dete
mine the
pp
oxim
te v
lue of you
cl
im.

med
ith this kno
ledge, you
ill h
ve
bette
ide
of
hethe

n offe
is sufficient o
not. In
ddition, you
l

ye

ill
ep
esent you in settlement negoti
tions, imp
oving the ch
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Fo
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Trip and Fall vs. Slip and Fall Injuries – Is There a Difference?

Diffe
ent Types of P
emises Li
bility Cl
ims<
b>

Common C
uses of T
ips vs. Slips

T
ip
nd F
lls

Slip
nd F
lls

File
n Incident
epo
t

Seek Medic
l
ttention

Follo
Docto
’s O
de
s

Be C

eful Online

Do Not
ccept
Settlement Offe
f
om
nyone

Testimonials

Diffeent Types of P emises Libility Cl ims<b>

Common C uses of Tips vs. Slips

Tip nd Flls

Slip nd Flls

File n Incident epot

Seek Medic l ttention

Follo Docto’s O des

Be C eful Online

Do Not ccept Settlement Offe f om nyone