What to Do if You Were Injured in a Slip and Fall Incident

Most business try very hard to keep their floors safe to prevent slip and fall accidents, but sometimes you can still get injured. It’s important to know what to do when you do have an accident so that you protect your rights and get the information that’s important to manage your claim. You may not have to ever take the business to court, but just in case take care of the details so that you can pursue a claim if you find it necessary.

 

If you are injured in a slip and fall accident, notify the owner of the premises or a manager on-site immediately. Find the highest ranking person on the commercial property that you can speak to. If you’re on public property, and it didn’t require emergency service, notify the city, county, or state entity responsible. Failure to report this incident won’t preclude a lawsuit, but it can call into question the legitimacy of a claim.

Although you may not be in a position to take pictures following your accident, smartphones do make gathering evidence much easier. Try to get pictures of the scene, from as many angles as possible. You might need to send a friend back to the accident scene. If there are witnesses to what happened, get names and contact information so that if you do need them you have them.

 

The sooner you get medical treatment, the better your claim will appear if you do have to go trial. The assumption is that if you didn’t go immediately to the doctor, you weren’t injured that severely. Be careful what you tell the doctor, because inconsistencies can damage your case. Make sure to tell the doctor that you were in an accident.

You may be asked to fill out an incident report at the business where you were injured. The most important thing is getting medical treatment for yourself, so you don’t have to sign this or fill it out right away if you are not able to. However, they may want your contact information to follow up. Don’t give a recorded statement to an insurance adjuster. The general rule of thumb is not to put anything in writing or in an oral recording until you’ve spoken to your own lawyer.

 

Make sure to get follow up medical treatment. Missing appointments could hurt your claim that you were injured. Speak to an attorney about your claim, to make sure all of your expenses are properly covered and recompensed. Visit this website www.whorleylaw.com/personal-injury for an accident lawyer in Temple if you’ve been injured in a slip and fall accident.