CHARITY FREEMAN: We are here today to talk about a public health problem that does not receive a lot of attention or press coverage, but it's a serious health problem that's affecting millions of people every year. I am talking about injuries from falls and the statistics are sobering. Among those aged sixty-five and older falls are the leading cause of injury. In 2007 over eighteen-thousand older adults died from falls. Falls are the most common form of hospital admissions for trauma. In the year 2000 alone direct medical costs of falls total a little over nineteen-billion dollars. Our guest today is David Farnbauch attorney with the Sweeney Law Firm who has over 25 years of experience handling cases involving falls. David thanks do much for being here today.
DAVID FARNBAUCH: Great to be here today.
CHARITY FREEMAN: David can you give us some examples of cases where a home owner or a business owner might be legally responsible if someone falls and is injured on their property.Â
DAVID FARNBAUCH: I can give you a couple examples that I think are fairly common. First example that I will give you is a fall on a premises involving snow or ice on a sidewalk. In Indiana a premises owner, say the owner of a store or a shopping mall has a duty to exercise reasonable care, for example sidewalks should be in a reasonably safe condition. So if there is snow and ice that accumulates on a sidewalk and the business owner does not take any measures in shoveling the snow off or spreading some salt. If someone falls on an icy sidewalk there is a potentially legal liability.
CHARITY FREEMAN: There seems to be a lot of misconceptions on whose responsible if someone falls. I have run into a lot of people who believe that a business is always reliable if someone falls on their property and I have run into people who believe that the person who fell is responsible because they were not being as careful as they should have been. Can you explain how the law works when it comes to people falling on someone else's property?
DAVID FARNBAUCH: I think that there are a lot of misconceptions about legal liabilities stemming from a fall. Oftentimes people will come into our office after a fall and they mistakenly believe that if they fall on a business premises, the business is automatically legally responsible for their injuries and that is simply not the case. A business owner has a duty to exercise reasonable care and what is reasonable depends on the situation. It depends on what type of a fall it was and what the business owner did to cause the fall or prevent the fall that will determine whether there is liability. The other thing that is important to remember about a fall case is a person who is walking on a sidewalk or on a premises they have a duty to exercise reasonable care for their own safety. So if there are hazardous conditions or things that they should have observed to try to watch out for their own safety, they have a duty to exercise care for their own safety.
CHARITY FREEMAN: Now if our viewers has fallen or had a loved one who has been seriously injured in a fall and they believe that it is the fault of the property owner what advice would you give them?
DAVID FARNBAUCH: One of the biggest problems with fall cases in general is the absence of documentation or photographs right after the fall. One of the most important things I think after a fall is to have a family member or a close friend go to the scene where the fall occurred and obtain photographs of the scene right after the accident. It's very important to try to document or preserve what the scene looks like immediately after a fall. That is the first step. I think the second bit of advice that I would give to somebody who has been involved in a fall is oftentimes you will be contacted by an investigator or an adjuster for the owner of the premises. I would refrain from giving any sort of a recorded statement until you have had an opportunity to talk to a lawyer and get some legal advice. The other thing that i would say is that if you've suffered from a serious fall and you think that there was something that should not have been there or there was negligence on the part of the property owner that caused the fall. I think that it is important to contact an attorney early after the fall and get legal advice.Â
CHARITY FREEMAN: Our viewers may be concerned about the cost involved in this kind of case. Does it cost a lot of money to investigate a fall or to file a lawsuit against a business owner?Â
DAVID FARNBAUCH: Most law firms that handle these cases handle them on a contingent fee basis which means they will charge a client a percentage of the recovery and they will advance the expenses of these cases, so it really does not cost the consumer anything to investigate a slip and fall case on the premises.Â
CHARITY FREEMAN: David this has been very informative and given our viewers a lot of information about the legal aspects of a fall injury. We appreciate you taking the time to be with us today.
DAVID FARNBAUCH: It was a pleasure to be here today.
