Many people think of a slip-and-fall accident as something relatively minor. You slip on a wet spot at the store or an icy step at someone’s house. You fall over and catch yourself, and you wish it hadn’t happened, but it doesn’t seem that serious. It’s certainly not like a car accident or anything of that nature.
While it’s true that many slip-and-fall accidents do not result in serious injuries, it’s also important to know that you should never underestimate them. In many cases, especially if you strike your head, these can be catastrophic accidents. It only takes a split second for life to change forever.
Striking the back of your head
One of the most dangerous types of falls you can suffer is one where you slip backward. You can’t really catch yourself with your hands, and your back tends to hit a split second before your head. This means that your skull is often propelled backward at an excessive speed, and it can strike the ground with an incredible amount of force.
This is why you don’t have to be at any significant height to suffer a serious head injury. Just flipping over backward is often enough to cause skull fractures, bleeding, concussions and many other issues. If you don’t seek medical treatment, these issues could even be fatal. An example of this is a subdural hematoma, which leads to bleeding around the brain.
Plus, a head injury can be serious even if there is no external evidence of that injury. Your brain still goes through a traumatic experience and you could have a closed head injury. People often check for blood or other obvious signs of trauma, find none, and assume they got lucky. But it may still be important to seek out medical attention, especially if you’re experiencing things like nausea, dizziness, light sensitivity or gaps in your memory.
Seeking out compensation
In addition to looking for medical assistance, you may need to know how to seek financial compensation for those medical bills. If someone else was responsible for the slip and fall accident, they may have negligently caused some serious financial and health issues for you, and you need to know what options you have.