Elbow Injuries from Slip and Falls: Legal Steps to Take

Public venues owe customers and visitors a duty of care to take steps that prevent accidents from causing injuries. If a public venue such as a hotel, shopping mall, or grocery store fails to protect customers and visitors from sustaining one or more injuries while on the venue’s property, the public venue might be held legally liable if an act of negligence caused injuries that resulted in financial losses. As one of the most common types of accidents that unfold at public venues, slip and fall incidents cause a wide variety of injuries that range in severity from minor cuts and bruises to severe brain trauma.

Losing balance and starting to fall is one of the most unsettling events that most of us have dealt with at some point in our lives. Although it can be a short fall to the floor or ground, the few seconds that pass can seem like they take an eternity. Our immediate reaction once we lose balance after slipping is to brace for a fall by throwing out one or both arms to provide support on impact. However, losing balance because of a slip sometimes does not leave enough time for us to react, which means we hit the floor or ground with full impact. Vulnerable areas of the body that sustain damage include the hips, shoulders, and elbows.

If you sustained an elbow injury from a fall, you should contact an experienced slip and fall lawyer to explore your legal options. A slip and fall lawyer conducts an extensive investigation to first determine the cause of your injuries followed by a determination as to whether another party should be held legally liable for committing one or more acts of negligence. Another helpful type of legal support offered by an experienced slip and fall lawyer concerns assisting a client with filing a persuasive insurance claim. If you decide to take legal action, your legal counsel ensures you file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages before the expiration of the statute of limitations.

At Morgan and Morgan, we have represented clients that sustained injuries caused by personal injury incidents for more than 35 years. Since 1988, our personal injury attorneys have recovered more than $20 billion in compensation for our clients, with some of the compensation coming from favorable judgments issued for slip and fall cases. With offices located all over the United States, Morgan and Morgan assigns you a slip and fall lawyer to determine whether you have enough physical evidence and witness support to take legal action against another party.

Be proactive by scheduling a free case evaluation with a Morgan and Morgan slip and fall lawyer to discuss an elbow injury from a fall.

What is a Traumatic Elbow Injury?

Also referred to as an acute elbow injury, a traumatic elbow injury is the result of significant damage caused by a sudden impact, such as a slip and fall accident. A traumatic elbow injury after a fall can result in damage that takes months to heal properly. You might lose full mobility of the affected arm, which means you must take time off from work to recover from the traumatic injury.

A traumatic elbow injury from a fall covers the following types of injuries:

Fractured Elbow

Considered the worst type of traumatic elbow injury, a fractured elbow requires the setting of a cast to prevent the impacted area from sustaining additional damage. An elbow fracture can develop in one of the three bones that connect the forearm, elbow joint, and upper.

Dislocated Elbow

A slip and fall can generate enough force to knock the elbow joint out of the supportive socket. The pain can be excruciating enough to require immediate surgery. As with a fractured elbow, a dislocated elbow requires a stabilizing medical device to prevent movement of the affected arm and elbow.

Sprained Elbow

Damaging the medial collateral (MCL) ligament results in a sprained elbow. This type of elbow injury typically results from a strong impact, such as hitting the floor or ground with full force. Although stabilizing the elbow is important, healthcare providers usually recommend a sling instead of a cast to keep the elbow stationary at all times.

In addition to sudden, intense pain, all three of the most common types of traumatic elbow injuries can produce several other symptoms. You might notice bruising or another form of discoloration around the impacted elbow. Quick inflammation around the elbow indicates damage to the nerves that run through the elbow and into the hands and upper arms. A dramatic loss in the range of motion for the affected arm represents another sign of a traumatic elbow injury from a fall. 

How Does a Healthcare Provider Diagnose a Traumatic Elbow Injury?

After you detect the first symptoms of a traumatic elbow injury from a fall, you should take immediate action by meeting with an elbow specialist. You can expect to reveal your medical history, with a special focus on any arm and/or elbow injuries sustained in the past. The healthcare provider conducts a comprehensive physical examination to determine whether you sustained any other injuries after a slip and fall incident. Imaging tests like an x-ray and/or MRI discover the type of traumatic elbow injury you have sustained. The completion of a series of imaging tests allows you to receive an accurate diagnosis, which results in the implementation of an effective treatment regimen.

How Should I Address a Slip and Fall Incident?

Although you might feel dazed after a slip and fall incident, you must quickly brush aside any confusion to take several steps that improve your chances of getting the compensation that you deserve. How you handle the aftermath of a slip and fall accident goes a long way toward determining how your slip and fall lawyer proceeds with your case.

Diagnose and Treat the Traumatic Elbow Injury From a Fall

You might not feel any pain right after a slip and fall accident, but that does not mean you should avoid seeking medical care to determine whether you sustained one or more injuries. If you feel healthy enough to remain at the scene of the slip and fall incident, you should eventually meet with a healthcare provider to find out whether you sustained one or more injuries that produce delayed symptoms. You might not feel pain around the elbow because bruising has numbed the elbow joint, as well as the bones and muscles that protect the elbow from incurring significant damage.

If you do not seek medical care promptly after a slip and fall incident, the attorney representing the other party will claim you did not sustain a traumatic elbow injury from a fall. 

Notify Management/Ownership

The manager on duty or the owner of the public venue where you slipped and fell is responsible for completing an incident report and sending a copy of the report to your slip and fall lawyer. This means you must inform a manager or the owner about the slip and fall incident. If you sustained a traumatic elbow injury from a fall, one of the venue’s employees should notify a manager or the owner of the establishment.

A slip and fall incident report should include the date and time of the accident, as well as the names and contact information of every witness. The report also should include descriptions of the physical evidence and where your attorney can access the physical evidence during an investigation.

Schedule a Free Case Evaluation with a Slip and Fall Lawyer at Morgan and Morgan

Contacting a highly-rated slip and fall lawyer from Morgan and Morgan helps you build a strong enough case to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. Your personal injury attorney reviews the physical evidence, with a focus on examining the photographs shot at the accident scene and the footage recovered from the venue’s security camera system. Security camera footage represents the most convincing type of physical evidence referred to during a slip and fall lawsuit.

Your slip and fall lawyer also interviews witnesses who verify your version of events.

What Are the Three Types of Monetary Damages for Slip and Fall Cases?

For an elbow injury from a fall, your Morgan and Morgan slip and fall lawyer seeks three types of monetary damages if you decide to file a civil lawsuit.

Economic Damages

Also referred to as special compensatory damages, economic damages cover the tangible costs associated with sustaining a traumatic elbow injury from a fall. Your attorney submits medical bills and records that confirm the monetary value of diagnostic tests, treatment programs, and physical therapy sessions. You also have the right to seek compensation that covers the costs of prescription medications and the use of an assistive device, such as a cast or sling.

Because a traumatic elbow injury can keep you out of work for a prolonged period, you also should ask the judge hearing your case to award your compensation to cover lost wages.

Non-Economic Damages

Unlike economic damages, non-economic damages do not cover tangible costs such as medical expenses. Instead, non-economic damages cover the costs associated with pain and suffering. Sustaining a traumatic elbow injury can cause much more than physical distress symptoms. You also might suffer from developing negative emotions, such as anger, anxiety, and depression. Losing income can produce emotional distress symptoms that negatively impact personal and professional relationships.

Your slip and fall lawyer calculates a value for non-economic damages by using a formula that factors in the value of economic damages.

Punitive Damages

Judges do not award punitive damages to help plaintiffs pay the expenses generated by a traumatic elbow injury. Punitive damages penalize defendants for committing one or more acts of negligence. If the defendant in your case committed an act of intentional negligence, the judge hearing your case might award you a value for compensation that exceeds the combined value of economic and non-economic damages.

Punitive damages also act as a deterrent to prevent future acts of negligence.

Contact an Experienced Slip and Fall Lawyer at Morgan and Morgan

Morgan and Morgan assigns you an experienced personal injury attorney who specializes in handling slip and fall cases. Slip and fall cases introduce several unique factors that require the legal support of an attorney who has litigated similar cases.

Schedule a free case evaluation today to take action against another party that committed one or more acts of negligence.