Falls remain one of the biggest causes of injuries and visits to the emergency departments across the United States. As per the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over 800,000 people are hospitalized due to fall injuries every year in the country. Similarly, in New York, falls are the topmost reason for hospitalization among children, young adults, and the elderly.

Types of falls

A fall can leave you with minor bruises, long-term injuries, or can even be fatal. However, the extent of the injury, among other reasons, also depends on the type of fall – whether you slipped or tripped. While the difference between a slip and trip may not seem important to you but from a legal standpoint, even a minute difference in the kind of fall can make a big difference in the compensation and the approach to the case. This becomes even more critical to understand if you slip or trip due to someone’s negligence. 

Here’s the difference between a slip & fall and trip & fall. 

What is slip and fall?

A slip often occurs due to loss of footing or loss of contact with the ground. This usually happens when you come in contact with a wet floor, slippery flooring, etc. When you slip, the fall is often backward. Hence, there is a high risk that you may injure your neck, back, hip, or head – these injuries can be mild to severe depending on various factors such as the force of the fall, age, general health condition, etc. In fact, among injuries due to falls, hip injuries are the most common, especially among the elderly.

Slipping due to negligence is also far more common than you may think. For example, you’re in a restaurant and while walking to the table you miss that someone has dropped a glass of water. It is the responsibility of the restaurant owner to ensure that it is immediately cleaned or at least place a “wet floor” warning. In such a scenario, if you slip and get injured, you can hire a personal injury lawyer to represent you. 

What is a trip and fall?

A trip often occurs when you fall over a hard or fixed surface, usually at a level different from the floor. One such instance would be tripping over a staircase. When you trip, you usually fall forward, hence, one may injure their face, neck, arms, knee. The extent of the injury can vary from a scratch to a broken elbow. 

Similar to slipping, tripping due to someone’s negligence also occurs frequently. Let’s take the same example as we did for slipping. In this scenario, the staff cleans the spilled water but they leave the mop on the floor. You do not see the mop in time and trip over it. Here as well, if you trip and injure yourself, you can recruit a personal injury attorney to get the compensation you deserve. 

Legal implications

Since the cause, injuries, and extent of damage varies by the type of fall, the legal approach may also vary. If you slip & fall or trip & fall due to someone’s negligence, we recommend you to recruit a personal injury lawyer. They will help you receive compensation for your physical injuries, mental trauma, and any other pain or suffering (loss of income). 

If you or someone you know has suffered an injury due to a slip & fall or a trip & fall and need a winning law firm, complete our online form on this page to schedule a case evaluation with one of our experienced personal injury lawyers. Our consultation is free and we do not charge a fee unless we win your case.

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