Slip and fall or trip and fall accidents are some of the most common types of injuries in the workplace, but that’s not all bad news. Because there are so many documented slip and fall accidents on job sites every year, we can look at thousands of similar injury claims and parse out some common themes, including whether or not it is worth your time and money to hire a lawyer for your slip and fall case. We answer that question and more in today’s blog.
Slip and Falls on the Job
Here’s a look at a number of different findings from the 2015 Martindale-Nolo study on slip and fall injuries in the workplace. Every person in the study suffered a slip and fall injury and filed an injury claim.
- The most common injuries resulting from a slip and fall accident were to the back, neck, arms, and to a lesser extent the legs and feet.
- 48 percent of people injured in a workplace slip and fall accident earned compensation in the range of $0 to $10,000. 28 percent earned between $10,001 and $40,000, while 24 percent earned more than $40,000 for their injury.
- The average compensation for a slip and fall claim was between $17,200 and $27,500.
- On average, it took 14.9 months for workers who were injured in a slip and fall accident to have their claim fully resolved. This is actually shorter than the average claim duration for all cause work injuries, which takes about 15.7 months.
- Factors affecting how long it took a slip and fall case to resolve include whether the person receives an initial denial, whether you request a hearing, whether you file an appeal and whether you hire an attorney.
Is It Worth It To Hire A Lawyer For My Slip and Fall Injury?
A question a number of people ask is “Is it worth it to hire a lawyer for my slip and fall injury?” Some of the figures on the study help to answer that question. For starters, 69 percent of injured workers ended up hiring a lawyer for their slip and fall claim, while 31 percent did not. Obviously a lawyer is an additional cost, but the data suggests that you not only have a better chance of winning a claim, but you should be able to secure a larger payout.
On average, individuals who won an award or settlement without the assistance of a lawyer earned between $13,000 and $22,000. The important distinction here is that these sums only involve claimants who earned an award, so the average isn’t pulled down by people who got nothing for their claim. For individuals who hired an attorney and won a claim, their average settlement or award fell between $18,900 and $29,600. The compensation alone shows that hiring an attorney pay for itself in the long run.
Money aside, hiring a lawyer for your slip and fall claim has other benefits, the key being that you don’t need to worry about meeting deadlines or filing an appeal. Considering nearly 40 percent of workers injured by a slip and fall accident received an initial denial, you’ll be thankful that you have a lawyer by your side to take the headache out of the appeal’s process.
For more information on slip and fall accidents in the workplace, or to contact our firm about representing you for your slip and fall case, reach out to Hey Workers today.
