Slip and Fall Accidents Requiring Surgery

Posted in Slip and Fall Accidents on August 19, 2025

Fortunately, the majority of slips, trips, and falls only cause a moment of embarrassment and a couple of bruises, but some slip-and-fall accidents cause serious injuries, including injuries that require surgery. After a serious slip-and-fall accident, the injury victim doesn’t just dust off their pants and move on; instead, they may experience serious pain and temporary or permanent disability, with necessary medical procedures, surgery, and lengthy recovery periods.

Slip-and-fall accidents that require surgery can cause financial hardship for the victim and their family. When the fall resulted from a property owner’s negligence, the injury victim doesn’t have to be responsible for the associated medical costs and economic losses.

Call a NYC slip and fall lawyer today at (212) 564-2800 to get started with a free case review.

What Causes Most Slip and Fall Accidents?

A slip and fall accident happens in an instant, but can have lasting painful consequences, sometimes including surgery. The most common causes of slip-and-fall accidents include the following:

Wet floors from mopping, spills, and tracked in rain and snow
Inadequate lighting
Icy or snowy steps and walkways
Uneven or cracked pavement in parking lots and walkways
Uneven floorboards
Loose or rolled carpets and floor mats
Unmarked floor level changes, like step-ups and step-downs
Loose debris on the floor or parking lot surface
Broken handrails and stair risers

When a slip-and-fall accident happens on someone else’s property and could have been prevented if only the property owner had taken the expected reasonable measures, the injury victim can seek compensation for their damages, including the expenses and pain and suffering of surgery.

When Does a Slip and Fall Injury Require Surgery?

During a sudden slip and fall, the fall victim often twists painfully out of balance before hitting the floor or ground surface, sometimes striking objects and obstacles as they fall. Slip-and-fall accidents can result in a variety of injuries, ranging from simple bruises and abrasions to serious and even life-threatening injuries that require surgical intervention. Injuries such as the following often require surgery:

Compound fractures
ACL and MCL tears in the knee
Knee, wrist, and ankle fractures
Herniated discs, burst fractures, and other vertebral injuries in the back or neck
Facial and dental trauma
Hip fractures
Traumatic brain injuries
Shoulder injuries like compound fractures and rotator cuff tears

Many slip-and-fall accidents that require surgery also involve long recovery times and often rehabilitative therapies.

Proving Liability In a Slip and Fall Accident Claim

After suffering a serious slip-and-fall accident requiring surgery, a negligent property owner can be held liable for the injury victim’s damages, like past and future medical expenses, lost earnings, future income loss, and compensation for pain and suffering. Recovering this compensation requires first proving that the case meets the standard of property owner liability.

Proving liability in a premises accident claim means the evidence must demonstrate that the property owner was aware of the hazard, they owed a duty of reasonable care to the injury victim, they violated this duty of care, and the violation of their duty directly caused the accident and injuries. Finally, the injury victim must have evidence of their damages, such as the medical costs and pain and suffering associated with surgery.

It often takes an experienced NYC premises liability lawyer to make a strong case and recover the compensation an injury victim deserves.

Contact our firm today online to speak with a professional.