St. John’s Slip and Fall Lawyers

St. John’s, Newfoundland is home to a rich history of cultural and architectural heritage, as Indigenous, Irish, English and French cultures have come together. There are many beautiful landmarks to visit by foot in St James, Corner Brook, Grand Falls-Windsor and the surrounding cities, though the province’s cold weather can be a hazard to those traveling by foot.

Slip and fall injuries are often extremely painful and can incur long lasting injuries, requiring even lengthier rehabilitation. They can happen at any time, and any place, usually when you least expect it.

The problem is, when you are not expecting to fall, you often don’t have time to brace yourself, and this can cause severe injuries like twisted arms, rolled ankles, bruises, cuts and, in extreme cases, damage to your spinal cord and brain. These injuries often amount to expensive medical bills and extended, sometimes lifelong rehabilitation periods.

At NOVA Injury Law, our compassionate team of personal injury lawyers can provide you advice as to whether you have a claim against a third party due to their negligence.

Adding to our experience, we have a practicing emergency room physician with special training in occupational medicine consulting on all of our cases, as required. Having this expertise built into our practice means two things:

We have ready-made access to a doctor to provide advice on your injuries from the moment your Free Case Review starts.
Depending on your injuries, our doctor can then organize fast advice from a specialist. So if you have a fracture or a torn muscle or ligament, we would consult with an orthopedic surgeon or if you believe your eye-sight has been affected following a bad fall, we would seek advice from an ophthalmologist. Likewise, our in-house physician can organize prioritized access to other occupational therapists who not only help our client’s recover from injury, but help us develop accurate forecasts of future recovery and rehabilitation needs.

This is why we are considered one of the premier law firms in Atlantic Canada. From the moment you talk with us about your needs, you have immediate access to medical support and advice, and you give our lawyers the greenlight to build medically-backed watertight compensation claims in a way no other personal injury law firm can. Reworded: We offer a no-win, no-fee arrangement, which means that you do not pay anything until we win your case and you receive compensation. This allows you to have access to our legal services without any upfront costs or financial risk.

The injury lawyers at NOVA Injury Law provide the following legal services in St. John’s:

St. John’s slip and fall accidents are often outside of the victims control

Slip and fall incidents are usually caused by a number of key factors. For example, the winter months can cause surfaces in Newfoundland to be slippery, icy and uneven, particularly when they are exposed to outdoor conditions.

Inconsistent and unstable surfaces like broken or cracked concrete on sidewalks are a common cause of slip and fall incidents, as are slippery supermarket floors that aren’t properly signposted.

Parking lots and garages can pose a threat as uneven surfaces, debris, and potholes can cause people to trip and fall.

In these cases, property owners and proprietors have a responsibility to maintain safe environments on their premises and to take reasonable steps to prevent slip and fall incidents occurring. This can include regularly inspecting and maintaining flooring, promptly addressing spills and other hazards, ensuring walkways are clear, well-lit and stairs have appropriate handrails. Employers may also be required to provide slip-resistant footwear for some work environments.

Astoundingly, studies predict that over 1,100 people per year suffer serious enough injuries from slip and fall incidents that they need time off work to recover – and the average amount of time off is 71 days.

What measures can you take to prevent a slip and fall incident from happening?

Being mindful of your environment and identifying potential hazards is crucial for maintaining safety. It is also recommended to wear appropriate footwear with a firm grip and exercise extra caution in wet or icy weather. Always stay vigilant for potential hazards and promptly report them to your employer if you’re at work, or to the local authority if it’s a public location.

Unfortunately it’s just not possible to be alert at all times, and human nature often means we are rushing from one place to the next.

If it happens to you, what kind of injuries can you sustain from slip and fall incidents in St. John’s, Newfoundland?

Slip and fall accidents can happen unexpectedly on both private and public property, resulting in a range of injuries. These injuries can range from minor scrapes and bruises to severe, life-changing injuries that require ongoing support and care.

Head injuries: slip and fall incidents are a leading cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI), the least serious of which is concussion. The more serious TBI injuries can cause hematoma’s hemorrhaging, skull fractures and other types of brain injuries that can result in seizures and in some cases death.
Knee and ankle injuries: ankle fractures and sprains are common injuries of slip and fall incidents, as the muscles and tendons stretch and tear. Twisting and tearing your knee can result in tears to the meniscus, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), requiring expensive surgery and laborious rehabilitation.
Spinal cord injuries: victims can suffer from herniated discs, pinched nerves and fractured vertebrae, resulting in severely restricted movement, or even paralysis.
Hip fractures: a common and extremely painful injury often sustained in slip and fall incidents; on impact the thigh bone (femur) can break and fracture. Most times it requires corrective surgery and sufferers have ongoing difficulty walking.
Wrist, elbow and shoulder injuries: our natural reaction is to protect ourselves with our arms when falling, and this can cause rotator cuff tears, shoulder dislocations, tendinitis, and bursitis (painful, inflamed cushioning between joints).
Facial injuries: unfortunately when we fall down our faces take the brunt of the fall, causing painful nose and jaw fractures, shattered teeth and nasty gashes, requiring painful and costly corrective surgery.

How can slip and fall accidents impact a victim’s life?

In addition to the immediate pain and discomfort caused by the injury, victims of slip and fall incidents can also expect to incur medical expenses for hospital treatment, surgery, and rehabilitation such as physical therapy and medication. In some cases, victims may require long-term treatment and may need to take time off from work.

Anxiety and depression can often be felt by victims who do not seek out appropriate care and attention, and the prolonged recovery process can leave victims feeling helpless and frustrated.

That’s why it’s important to contact NOVA Injury Law right away, if you’ve been injured. In contrast to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland doesn’t have an occupiers’ liability act, and liability is determined by the principles of negligence. This means that you must prove that the other party owed them a duty of care, the efforts the other party has taken to keep the space safe, whether this duty of care was breached, and the extent of the injury suffered due to the accident. Our team will cover these factors, and we can also assist in helping you to find the best treatment and benefits available through your employer’s insurance policy or a plan you pay for yourself. This may include accessing long-term disability benefits. We want your recovery to be unhampered by financial stress.

Compensation for slip-fall incidents is not restricted by legislation, unlike many other personal injury law areas. The amount of compensation awarded can differ significantly and depends on various factors, including the severity of injuries, the age and earning potential of the injured party, the impact of the injuries on their daily life and employment, and the amount of medical expenses incurred.

We will look to determine the extent of the injuries sustained by reviewing your medical records and consult with medical experts to understand what type and the extent of treatment required.

Every injury claim is different – which means that our team will create a claim based on you and your losses. Fair compensation for an injury claim will reflect the full extent of your losses over the short and long term.

How do you know if you’re eligible for compensation?

In order to launch a successful claim, you need to show that the other party (usually the property owner) was responsible for your injuries. Our team of lawyers will look to answer the following questions:

Who is liable for the incident?

To determine liability, we will investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. We will examine the property where the incident occurred to identify any hazards or dangerous conditions that may have caused the slip and fall. If available, we will review any surveillance footage or witness statements to help establish fault. For example, if a person slipped on a wet floor in a grocery store, we would look to see if there was signage or any other warnings that could have alerted the person to the hazard.

Were you at fault in any way for the incident?

In some cases, victims may have contributed to the incident by engaging in negligent behavior themselves. For example, if someone was texting and not paying attention to their surroundings when they slipped and fell on a wet floor, they may be deemed partially responsible for the incident. This may still result in compensation being owed to you – only, it may be a reduced amount. Our lawyers will evaluate the facts of the case to weigh up whether you had a role in causing the incident.

Generally, a slip and fall claim will come down to whether the responsible party should have been aware of a dangerous condition and notified the victim before the incident, or whether the responsible party caused the dangerous condition that led to the incident.

It then comes down to whether both parties acted reasonably when trying to prevent the incident. Did the property owner take reasonable steps to stop the incident from happening? For example, we may prove that the property owner was at fault for failing to put up proper signage in an area with slippery floors or uneven surfaces. And did the victim go about their activities in a reasonable way, trying to avoid the incident.

In Clements v. Clements, [2012] 2 SCR 181, where Justice Rothstein stated:

“The law of negligence imposes a duty on both the occupier of the premises and the person entering upon them to take reasonable care to avoid injury. The occupier must ensure that the premises are reasonably safe, while the visitor must take reasonable care for his or her own safety. In cases where an incident occurs, it is necessary to determine whether the occupier or the visitor failed to meet their respective obligations.”

To build an airtight case for a slip and fall incident, it’s important to contact NOVA Injury Law right away

Reach out to us for a Free Case Review, where we help you with your claim. Once you have us in your corner, you will get access to medical advice and a team of experienced slip and fall lawyers to quickly assess injuries and start building a compelling medical evidence file to support your claim.

Working so closely with medical professionals is one of the reasons’ NOVA Injury Law has been able to secure greater sums of compensation for Newfoundlanders than other firms in Newfoundland, and is the reason why we are considered one of the premier personal injury law firms in Atlantic Canada.

Better yet, our team of lawyers are actually part of the Newfoundland community meaning we can work with professionals, community groups and volunteers all over the city to get you the support you need.

We understand the devastating impacts a slip-fall injury can have on your life and the lives of your loved ones. Know that you are not alone with our team of lawyers and medical professionals in your corner fighting for you every step of the way.

If you’ve been in a slip and fall incident, contact NOVA Injury Law, so we can help you to recover today, and get your life back on track tomorrow with our no-obligation consultation, and contingency fee agreements.

For more information or to set up a Free Case Review, you can reach us by calling 1-800-262-8104 or writing Jeff Mitchell at jeff@novainjurylaw.com now. Our team of lawyers is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to support you and help you learn more about your legal right to recover compensation for an injury claim in St. John’s or across Newfoundland. Get in touch with us now to learn how we can help you!