Your first worry in a serious fall is likely to protect your head or avoid hand fractures when trying to catch yourself. Unfortunately, there are other ways a slip and fall can interfere with your life, such as an unexpected foot injury. If you have to be off your feet for weeks while recovering, you may find yourself in a precarious financial situation. Thankfully, you can pursue compensation with the help of a trip and fall attorney.
Common Foot Injuries in Slip and Fall Accidents
Private property owners and Philadelphia businesses are legally required to uphold a basic duty of care to ensure visitors or customers aren’t hurt. If they fail in that duty and don’t fix potential hazards, they can become liable for your damages after a fall. Failing to resolve issues like broken handrails, loose cables in walkways, malfunctioning escalators, poor lighting, or wet floors can lead to slip and fall foot injuries.
- Bone fractures. Bones like the talus, tarsals, metatarsals, phalanges, and sesamoids may break when falling. The calcaneus located at the bottom of the heel is one of the strongest bones in the feet, but if you fall far or hard enough, it can also fracture after losing your balance.
- Dislocations. Toe bones breaking free from corresponding joints in a fall may cause severe and lasting pain.
- Sprains. You may suffer damage to the posterior or anterior talofibular ligaments in the foot when tripping, especially if your foot lands in an awkward position. While ligaments are normally flexible, they can become overly stretched or even tear entirely in a fall.
- Strains. Muscle strains in the foot or rolled ankles are more debilitating than you may expect, and can require weeks to months of recovery time.
- Torn tendons. The crucial Achilles tendon may become torn or ruptured from the violent force of a fall.
The recovery process for any of these injuries may involve surgery, anti-inflammatory medication, extended downtime when you can’t be on your feet, and potentially even physical therapy. Obviously, that can all add up to expensive medical bills, which often put accident victims in a difficult spot if they aren’t able to go back to the office yet.
Important Steps to Take After a Slip and Fall Foot Injury
While having to deal with these physical issues from a foot injury, you still need to think about protecting yourself legally and financially. After absolutely any slip and fall accident in Philadelphia, be sure to:
- Report the fall before leaving the scene. Notify your employer if you fall at work, the property owner at a private residence, or an on-duty manager at a public place of business.
- Speak with witnesses who can describe what occurred in the accident and gather their contact information.
- Get a full medical checkup immediately to establish a paper trail on your injury.
- Contact an attorney quickly, so you don’t run into problems with the statute of limitations on personal injury cases in Pennsylvania.
Seeking medical attention and legal help as soon as possible are both crucial to a financial recovery. You want to find long-term medical issues early during the process, especially if insurance won’t cover the full amount and you need to file a lawsuit. That’s important in this sort of case because worn cartilage or torn ligaments may become worse and interfere with your ability to work in the future.
That’s one extremely important reason to seek a skilled slip and fall attorney. Your eventual compensation may need to include an estimation of future medical costs if your doctor believes symptoms from the injury are likely to worsen over time. Of course, your damages may also involve other costs like your initial hospital bills and lost income.
Talk to the Heslin Law Firm if You Suffered a Foot Injury
Did you hurt your foot in a slip and fall caused by a negligent property owner? Get help from a qualified legal professional who can handle insurance negotiations and file a personal injury lawsuit within the statute of limitations. Call the Heslin Law Firm today at 215-332-0300 or send a message online to schedule a consultation.
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