New York Slip And Fall Lawyers

Stay calm, if you your child, family member or other person falls. Take time getting up. If you are in extreme pain, if you cannot get up, seek assistance, and call 911.

When anyone falls and is knocked unconscious, he or she should be immediately taken to a hospital for evaluation. Any delay could be life-threatening.  Even if the injured person did not lose consciousness, a blow or jolt to the head can have serious consequences. The possibility of a concussion or other type of brain injury should not be ignored.

If these symptoms develop seek immediate medical attention:

• Headache, nausea, vomiting, sleepiness, or problems concentrating
• Changes in behavior such as irritability or confusion
• Dilated pupils (pupils that are bigger than normal) or pupils of different sizes
• Difficulty with walking or speaking
• Drainage of bloody or clear fluids from ears or nose
• Vomiting
• Seizures
• Weakness or numbness in the arms or legs

• All walkways and stairways must be designed, constructed, and maintained to be safe and free from hazard.
• Window guards need to be installed to prevent children from falling out of windows. New York City law requires building owners install window guards if a child age 10 years or younger lives there, or if the tenant or occupant requests window guards in all buildings with three or more apartments.
• Playground surfaces must be made of shock absorbing material to cushion falls.

Falls are a leading cause of injury and death in construction in New York State. Falls are preventable injuries through proper planning, proper equipment, appropriate supervision and training.

Before construction and at all phases of the construction project, contractors must determine what fall protection measures should be taken to reduce the risk of falls.

• Temporary and safe stairways, ladders, scaffolds, and aerial lifts need to be provided which are properly maintained and equipped with proper fall protection.
• All floor openings need to be properly covered to prevent falls
• All aerial equipment must have proper and safe railings and tie-off points
• Personal fall arrest systems must include lanyards appropriate for the work taking place and must have proper tie off points.
• All ladders must be of proper height, and must be regularly inspected, repaired, and replaced when parts are worn, broken, bent, frayed, or otherwise damaged.
• The construction site must be routinely inspected for fall hazards and immediate and corrective action must be taken to remedy dangerous and unsafe conditions. 

Why should a fall prompt consideration of a traumatic brain injury?

Falls, particularly in the young and the elderly, are a leading cause of traumatic brain injuries.

Why is it important to consider a traumatic brain injury when a low impact fall takes place?

• Individuals who experience falls, especially those considered low energy transfer events such as falls from ground level while standing or from low heights, rarely receive proper evaluation or treatment for traumatic brain injuries.
• A recent large-scale study, involving data from 56 acute trauma centers across 18 countries and over 21,000 individuals, challenges the assumption that the energy involved in a fall can predict the severity of intracranial injury or even death.
• The study revealed that the elderly, particularly females taking pre-injury blood-thinning medications, were most likely to sustain traumatic brain injuries from low-impact falls. This finding challenges the common belief that energy transfer determines the severity of brain injury.
• Falls are the leading cause of TBI in individuals over the age of 65.  Age-related changes to the brain and blood vessels increase the likelihood of a significant intracranial injury and decreased recovery.
• Those who suffered from a low energy fall are as likely as those suffering from a high energy fall to have an abnormal CT scan, and equally likely to sustain significant morbidity and mortality.
• Most individuals who fall and sustain a traumatic brain injury never lose consciousness.

These important findings emphasize the need to be more vigilant in screening and assessing all fall victims, and especially the elderly for a traumatic brain injury.

And the best cure for any brain injury is prevention.