Slip and fall injuries vary in severity as many circumstances play a key role in the injuries sustained, such as the victim’s age and overall health, the force of the impact, if there were other injuring factors on the ground and others.
Treatment depends on the specific injury and its severity. Common slip and fall injuries include broken bones, sprains, strains, head trauma, spine and nerve damage, cuts and bruises, and soft tissue injuries.
If you suffered a slip and fall in New Year on someone else’s property, you should contact an NYC slip and fall accident lawyer and pursue a claim. A lawyer can help you establish liability and even pursue a premise liability claim against the property owners, which will help you receive the necessary compensation for your troubles. Here is what you should know about slips and fall injuries and how these sorts of injuries are treated.
Treating Various Types of Slips and Fall Injuries
Based on the severity of your slip and fall injuries, you are entitled to various types of financial compensation. The more severe your injuries are, the higher the settlement amount will be, which means treatment, how long it takes, and how it impedes performing your everyday life and working plays a crucial role in your final compensation amount.
Let’s take a look at some possible slip-and-fall injuries to see how they are treated and how long it takes.
Broken Bones
Broken bones or fractures are among the most common slip and fall injuries. These types of injuries can easily stop you from working and performing your everyday tasks. Depending on what type of bone was broken and its severity, treatment might include bone immobilization through a plaster cast or surgically inserting metal rods or plates to hold the pieces together, compressions, and other methods such as RICE to reduce swelling and pain.
The most complicated bone fractures often require surgery and surgical traction; most bone fractures heal between six to eight weeks. However, a patient’s age and overall health play a crucial role here, as people over the age of 35 have slower bone buildup. Hand and wrist fractures heal faster, between four to six weeks, but tibia fractures can take over 20 weeks to heal.
Sprains and Strains
When you twist a joint or wrench it, you suffer a sprain. When you suffer muscle or tendon damage, you suffer a strain. These types of slip-and-fall injuries can also impede enjoying your everyday life and might take up to two weeks to heal. In severe cases, the recovery time might take months and can impede your ability to work.
Treatment usually consists of repeated application of ice packs for 20 minutes every two hours. Rest is also required, along with compression and bandages, and massages. Treatment might also imply electrotherapy, physical therapy under the guidance of a doctor or health professional, taking pain-relieving medication, and gradually adjusting back to normal activity levels.
Head Trauma
Head traumas (TBIs) are among the worst injuries you can deal with after a slip and fall. Any head injury is extremely dangerous, so you should immediately seek medical attention. CT scans or MRIs might be required to assess the extent of the injury before treatment, but you might also be monitored for other concussion signs and traumatic brain injuries if the injury is severe.
Treatment strictly depends on what happens next; for example, your symptoms might worsen, or you could develop new ones. Victims might develop thinking and behavioral changes. Mild traumatic brain injuries might not require treatment other than rest and taking pain relievers.
Less severe TBIs or mild ones can be treated in a couple of days or months, but severe TBIs can take years.
Spine and Nerve Damage
Spine or nerve damage is just as dangerous as a traumatic brain injury. These types of injuries can render a person temporarily or permanently paralyzed. Treatments take several weeks and might imply nonsurgical or surgical treatment based on the severity of the injury. In some instances, treatments aren’t available, and the condition is permanent.
Cuts and Bruises
Cuts and bruises are also common slip-and-fall accident injuries, but they heal quickly. If the cuts aren’t deep, they should heal within a week. Otherwise, it might usually take three weeks. Yet, even cuts and bruises can prevent a person from working, especially if they are a performing artist.
Some cuts don’t heal and turn into permanent scars, forever damaging a person’s appearance based on their location. Cuts and bruises are treated through antibiotic ointments and petroleum jelly to prevent scarring, ice applications, using disinfectants, cleaning wounds, and other methods.
No matter what type of slip and fall injury you might have suffered, you should speak with a personal injury lawyer and initiate a claim to receive compensation for your troubles. It’s not your fault that someone else was negligent with their premises.
