Davenport and the rest of the Quad Cities are no strangers to winter weather. Unfortunately, this comes with an increased risk of slip and fall accidents. According to the Mayo Clinic, one-million adults in the United States are injured in slip and fall accidents. Most of these injuries occur in the winter months. With numbers that high, it is likely that you or a loved one will experience a slip-and-fall accident this winter. Here, our personal injury attorneys offer a few tips to prevent winter slip and fall accidents in Davenport.
How Property Owners Can Prevent Winter Slip and Fall Accidents
Property owners owe everyone who comes onto their premises a duty of care to prevent injuries. When someone is injured on your property, you can be held liable for their injuries.
The most critical step property owners can take to prevent winter slip-and-fall accidents is to clear all walkways of snow and ice. The slippery surfaces caused by snow and ice are hazardous to those vulnerable to falls, including older adults, those with physical limitations, and children. Business and property owners should ensure that those areas where customers or visitors commonly walk are sufficiently cleared, such as:
- Parking lots
- Parking garages
- Outside stairs
- Sidewalks
- Entrances and exits
- The walkway from the parking lot or garage to the entrance
Depending on the weather, ice, and snow need to be cleared multiple times per day. Staying on top of keeping areas clear of ice and snow will keep everyone safe. In addition, salting these areas will help melt the ice and snow and provide traction.
Along with maintaining the areas mentioned above, depending on the property, a few more locations can be hazardous during winter due to ice buildup caused by snow and water that re-freezes when the temperature drops again. Here are some other places and possible locations and scenarios that might lead to ice and snow accumulation around your property:
- Downspouts and gutters that flow onto walkways, including clogged gutters that spill water onto the ground below
- Large piles of snow in parking lots that melt and freeze again
- Potholes or uneven pavement which can collect snow and ice
Outdoors isn’t the only area that needs special attention during winter weather. Indoors, melting snow and ice can create a significant hazard. Business and property owners should have water-absorbing rugs at doorways to help absorb water from melting snow tracked in on shoes. Also, property owners should alert guests of any possible dangers of slip and falls by placing “wet floor” signs in the areas where snowmelt often collects.
What to Do If You Are Injured in a Winter Slip and Fall Accident
Not every property owner will take steps to ensure the safety of their visitors or customers. When that happens and you are injured in a slip-and-fall accident, here’s what you need to do:
File a report with the property owner: ensure the business or property owner is aware of the situation as soon as possible. Request an accident report and include all the details of the situation that caused your slip-and-fall accident. Document who you spoke with and what was discussed if a report is unavailable.
Look for possible witnesses: if there are witnesses, obtain their names and contact information so they can testify on your behalf. Having witnesses will aid in the investigation after you start the slip-and-fall claim process with a personal injury attorney
Seek medical attention: seek medical attention as soon as possible after a fall, especially if you suspect broken bones or you hit your head. Sometimes slip-and-fall accidents can cause soft tissue injuries, which do not always show symptoms right away. Therefore, it is vital to see a doctor after the accident. Visiting a doctor and obtaining documentation of your injuries, including medical records, x-rays, or other reports, are crucial to your personal injury claim.
Gather evidence: winter slip and fall accidents happen because of negligence. At the time of the accident, take photos, record videos, and write down your account of what happened to back up that evidence. If you can, look around for anything that could have contributed to your fall, such as an icy walkway, uneven pavement, or debris left in a walkway. If you are severely injured or do not have your phone with you to document the scene, call a trusted friend or family member to help you document the evidence.
Contact a Slip and Fall Injury Lawyer
If you’ve suffered from a winter slip and fall injury, you deserve justice and compensation for your injuries, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. Our caring and compassionate team of Davenport slip and fall injury lawyers can help you get just that! We have over 120 years of combined legal experience helping clients who’ve been injured by someone else’s negligence.
Contact us as soon as possible after you or a loved one has suffered from a slip and fall injury. Our team can fight for you while you concentrate on recovery. Along with Davenport, we serve clients in Rock Island, Henry, Mercer, Whiteside, and Knox counties in Illinois or Scott, Clinton, Muscatine, Cedar, and Jackson counties in Iowa. Start your claim today by scheduling a free case consultation. Reach us 24/7 by phone at (309) 794-1515, via LiveChat, or by filling out our contact form.