Loose Handrails Lawyer Buffalo, NY
While many falls that people suffer result in minor injuries, there are a significant number of slip and fall accidents that can cause serious injuries to the victim. Every year in New York and across the country, there are more than 800,000 people who end up in the hospital because of a serious fall incident. Many of these falls take place on stairways as a result of broken, loose, or missing handrails. Victims can suffer from brain injuries, broken bones, internal organ injuries, and more. When a fall is caused as the result of negligence on the part of the property owner or other party, a loose handrails lawyer Buffalo, NY victims recommend can help obtain financial compensation for the losses those injuries have caused.
Damages
When a victim suffers serious or severe injuries in a fall accident, they can end up with not only physical and emotional suffering, but also financial suffering. The medical bills for serious fall injuries can be astronomical, especially if they involve emergency room treatments, hospitalizations, surgeries, rehabilitation, medications, physical therapy, medical devices, and more. A victim who suffers a serious fall injury can end up with medical bills in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In addition to the medical bills, they end up with, many victims are unable to work while they recover from their injuries. Because recovery is often long-term, paid sick leave and/or vacation time soon runs out, leaving the victim with no income. A slip and fall lawyer Buffalo, NY clients trust knows that without an income coming in, many victims face foreclosure, eviction, utility shutoff, and other financial distress. They are also often unable to perform daily activities, such as caring for their children or maintaining their home.
These economical damages can be legally recovered in a slip and fall lawsuit. Your attorney can determine who the liable party was responsible for the accident – often a negligent property owner – and file a lawsuit against that party. This is referred to as a premises liability lawsuit. New York law says that a victim can recover past, present, and future medical bills, lost income and benefits, and reduced future income.
In addition to those economic losses, victims can also be compensation for non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, emotional anguish, permanent disability, scarring, and more. If victims are unable to enjoy activities they did before the accident, they can also be awarded financial damages for those losses too. If the court finds a property owner was intentionally or extremely negligent, the victim could be awarded punitive damages, as well. These damages are meant to punish the at-fault party and send a message to society that this behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
If you have been a victim of a stairway slip and fall accident – or any other type of personal injury incident – contact Hurwitz, Whitcher & Molloy to meet with a loose handrails lawyer in Buffalo, NY, and find out how we can help.