Hospital Accidents and Slip and Fall Injuries

Advancements in modern medicine have improved outcomes in many ways. Unfortunately, modern medical processes also create numerous potential hazards for people in the hospital, either receiving care or visiting a loved one. These hazards can multiply if hospital personnel or others are negligent. 

Hospitals located in Los Angeles serve about 240,000 patients a year. It’s estimated that about 0.5% of patients suffer an injurious fall during their hospital stay, which means that it’s likely 1200 hospital patients have an injurious fall in Los Angeles each year. Based on statewide statistics, it’s likely that another 500 people visit the emergency room for injuries sustained while visiting the hospital. If you suffered one of these injuries, it’s likely attributable to negligence by the hospital and its staff. You should not have to pay the additional costs of these injuries. At Fisher & Talwar, we are ready to use the law to get the compensation you deserve when hospital negligence causes your fall. Please contact us today for a free initial consultation.

What Is a Slip and Fall Accident?

A slip and fall accident is any time you fall and hurt yourself. This is a common shorthand for all types of injurious falls, which can include:

• Slipping
• Tripping
• Stumbling
• Losing your balance
• Losing your footing
• Staggering
• Falls on the same level
• Falls up or down

We use slip and fall as a shorthand because it is the common label for this category of personal injury lawsuit. A personal injury lawsuit is when one person makes the claim that someone else caused them harm, and that other individual or organization should pay the cost of resulting damages. 

Slip and fall accidents usually fall under the category of premises liability. This is when the owner of the property where the fall occurred is at least partly liable – responsible – for the injuries. 

In a hospital, slip and fall accidents may also fall under the category of medical malpractice.

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Slip and Fall Accident in a Hospital?

Each slip and fall accident is different, and the individuals and organizations that can be held responsible depend on the exact circumstances of the accident, the hospital, and the individuals involved. However, some of the people and organizations that might be held responsible include:

• The hospital owner
• The hospital operator
• Doctors, including residents, visiting physicians, and interns
• Nurses, nurse’s assistants, and nurse’s aides
• Janitors
• Maintenance personnel
• Supervisors
• Temp agencies that supplied staff
• Manufacturers of defective equipment that caused the fall

In general, hospital owners and operators are responsible for accidents and injuries that occur on their property. They have a responsibility to make sure their property is maintained and operated in ways that reduce the risk of accidents. When conditions exist that were either caused by their personnel or should have been detected and corrected by their personnel, they can be held responsible. 

Sometimes, individual doctors, nurses, and other personnel can be held personally responsible for a hospital injury. Other times, they are shielded from personal liability, and their share of responsibility falls on the hospital. Equipment manufacturers can only be held responsible if their equipment is unsafe when used as designed and intended, or at least a reasonable approximation based on the intended user.

How Do You Prove Negligence on the Part of the Hospital for Premises Liability?

In a premises liability case, there are typically five elements necessary to prove negligence, and therefore get compensation for your injuries. Here are the elements and how they apply:

• Ownership or control: The party you are making a claim against must either own or otherwise control the property. Sometimes this can mean multiple entities. If, for example, one company owns the hospital building and one or more companies operate the hospital within, all might be held liable in some situations, though in others the specific relationships and contracts between the entities might shield one or another from liability. 
• Negligence: This means that one or more of the owners or operators are not living up to the conditions of California’s reasonable care standard. This means that in some way, they failed to take care of the property and ensure that it was free from hazards. 
• Hazardous conditions: Property owners are only liable when their negligence creates hazardous conditions. Thus, while not taking down Christmas lights before July might technically be considered negligence on the part of the property owner, it can’t directly be used as the basis of a lawsuit (though it might be considered evidence of the hospital’s low care standard). Instead, you have to show that negligence created a hazard that led to injury. This might be something like a wet floor, a raised threshold, a missing or broken stair, or some other hazard that would increase a person’s risk of falling.
• Knowledge: No one can be held liable for conditions that they had no way of knowing about. To get compensation, you must establish that the hospital owner or operator knew or should have known about the hazardous condition. This might include showing that the condition had been reported to hospital staff, was caused by hotel staff, or had existed long enough that hospital staff should have detected and remedied it, or at least provided adequate warning.
• Causation: You have to show that the hazardous condition led to your fall. Simply tripping on your shoelaces near an electrical cord is not a solid basis for your lawsuit. Nor can you claim compensation for injuries sustained elsewhere (though you can claim compensation for previous injuries aggravated by your fall). You need to link your injuries to the hazardous condition. 

It’s complicated to know whether you can get compensation for slip and fall injuries that occurred in the hospital. That’s why we offer a free consultation: there’s no risk, cost, or obligation when you ask us about your accident.ccurred in the hospital. That’s why we offer a free consultation: there’s no risk, cost, or obligation when you ask us about your accident. 

How Much Is a Slip and Fall Accident Case Worth?

Each slip and fall accident case is unique, and it’s impossible for us to estimate how much your case is worth until we talk to you about the details of the case. However, here are four factors that might influence the compensation you receive for your injuries. 

• Damages: You can only receive compensation for the total amount of damages linked to your accident. This can include economic damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, and equipment you had to buy because of your accident. It might also include non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering or diminished quality of life. If you only have $10,000 in damages, for example, you won’t get more than that in compensation. 
• Degree of fault: California law follows a strict comparative liability system. In this system, you can seek compensation even if you are mostly to blame for your accident, but your compensation is reduced by the degree of your responsibility. If the court decides, for example, that you are 50% responsible for your slip and fall accident, you will only get compensation for 50% of your damages. The degree of fault is only directly relevant if your case goes to trial, which most don’t. However, the other parties will factor this into their calculations of whether it is worth it to go to trial or not, and they will reduce their settlement offers if you are partly responsible for your accident.
• Jury: Speaking of going to trial, if your case goes to trial, the jury can make a huge difference in the amount you are paid. They can sometimes make a huge reward, or perhaps they might be hard to convince, leading to no damages. Going to trial entails risks for your slip and fall accident case. 
• How much money is available: In the end, it doesn’t matter how much money you are rewarded if the responsible parties can’t pay. In practical terms, this often depends on how much insurance the parties carry. A hospital might seem flush, but a private equity firm could run it out of a shell company that barely has enough cash to operate, as all the profits are extracted from the system. A large verdict might cause the hospital to fold, and then you have to fight for your share in bankruptcy court with the hospital’s numerous other creditors. 

During your consultation, we will talk through these different factors to help you understand how much you might reasonably expect in your case.

When Should I Make a Claim for My Slip and Fall Accident?

You should make a claim for your slip and fall accident when you have enough damages to justify the claim, and before the statute of limitations expires. 

How do you know when you have enough damages to justify a claim? Normally, you wouldn’t file a claim if your damages are relatively small and they’re fully resolved. That is: you’ve fully recovered from your injuries and have no ongoing disability, disfigurement, or expenses. Don’t forget to include your non-economic damages in the calculation. If your injury resulted in six months of veritable hell because of the pain and disability you experienced, it might be worth it to file a claim even if you feel those days are behind you. A premises liability lawyer can help you understand your damages and when you are justified in filing a claim. 

The other part of this question is making sure it’s not too late to file your claim. For most personal injury lawsuits, including slip and fall accidents, the statute of limitations is two years from the date of the accident. This means that if you don’t file your claim by that time, you simply can’t file a claim. 

However, when you are filing a claim against a government entity, whether that’s the state of California, the city of Los Angeles, or any of their agencies, you have only six months to file a claim.

Since it can sometimes be hard to know whether a hospital is public or private, it’s best not to wait before talking to a premises liability lawyer.

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