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What to Do After a Slip and Fall Accident

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to We have a right to expect a reasonable amount of safety when lawfully on someone else’s property, whether shopping in a big box store or delivering a pizza to a customer’s home.

Unfortunately, many property owners put off repairs or fail to address slip and fall hazards such as broken walkways, icy steps, damaged floor tiles, or wet floors. A sudden fall can cause serious harm with injuries ranging from back and neck injuries to fractures and traumatic brain injuries.

No one prepares for a sudden fall, but knowing what to do after a slip and fall accident is crucial to protect yourself from the economic consequences of the accident as well as the physical ones.

A Henderson slip and fall accident lawyer can help you understand your legal options if you’ve been injured due to a property owner’s negligence.

What to Do at the Scene of a Slip and Fall Accident

It can be challenging to keep a clear head and take purposeful action in the immediate aftermath of a slip and fall accident.

If you’ve suffered a head injury or other incapacitating injury, you may be able to do little other than rely on others for help; however, if you can safely use your phone at the accident scene, you can document evidence to help later.

If you’re in too much pain to sit upright, ask a companion or helpful bystander to take the following steps for you:

  • First, call 911 to request an ambulance or make arrangements for transportation to a hospital or urgent care center
  • Then, use the phone’s camera to take photos of the accident scene, including anything relevant to the cause of the accident such as a broken step, a puddle on the floor, or a dangling power cord
  • Photograph any visible injuries
  • Add the contact information of the property owner
  • Add the contact information of any eyewitnesses to your fall

Documenting evidence at the scene makes it much easier to prove the property owner’s liability and recover compensation. Compensation for a slip and fall accident typically comes from the property owner’s liability insurance.

Document the Incident

Most commercial businesses have forms they fill out for accidents, injuries, or criminality that occur on their property either to patrons or employees.

If your accident occurs in a business such as a store, restaurant, or hotel, ask the manager to fill out a detailed accident/incident report with the time, date, and details of the slip and fall incident.

It’s also helpful to ask the property owner or manager if they have security cameras that might have captured the fall. If they have video evidence of the fall, request that they do not erase the footage and keep it for evidence in case your attorney requests it later.

Seek Medical Attention

Always go to a hospital or urgent care facility as soon as possible after a slip and fall accident to document evidence that your injuries occurred in the fall.

Ask the doctor for a thorough examination with a complete medical assessment as well as treatment for any obvious emergency injuries. Sometimes a thorough examination diagnoses and treats hidden injuries with delayed symptoms.

Ask the doctor for a detailed medical report that lists your injuries along with the provider’s recommendations for your medical treatment and your prognosis. This helps to secure compensation for future damages like the cost of additional necessary treatment.

Proving Liability for a Slip and Fall Accident

Property owners have a responsibility to keep their property reasonably safe to prevent injuries from happening to those lawfully entering. In most cases, this legal duty of care doesn’t apply to trespassers or those who enter a property to commit a crime.

However, even those approaching the front door of a home uninvited have a right to a reasonable assumption of safety. Individuals who enter a property for legitimate reasons such as delivery workers, neighbors, and solicitors are not considered trespassers.

Those who invite others onto their property for business purposes must ensure the property is free from slip and fall dangers and other safety hazards.

A property owner must regularly inspect their property and promptly repair or otherwise address safety hazards such as slip and fall dangers like broken pavement, curled carpets or floor mats, and icy walkways.

Proving liability for a slip and-fall accident with injuries requires showing evidence of the following:

  • That the property owner owed a duty of care to take reasonable measures to prevent slip and fall accidents on their property
  • They breached this duty through negligence
  • Their negligent breach of duty directly caused the slip and fall accident
  • The fall victim suffered significant injuries with damages

Slip and fall accidents can end in serious injuries, including head injuries, broken bones, soft-tissue injuries, and spinal cord damage.

Types of Compensation You Can Receive

Injuries are often expensive to treat as well as painful and life-altering—either temporarily or permanently.

Recovering compensation from the liable party in a slip and fall accident helps relieve the financial hardship that commonly results from a serious injury and also provides injury victims with a sense of financial accountability.

A successful slip and fall accident claim recovers common damages such as the following:

  • Reimbursement for medical expenses
  • Future medical expenses
  • Lost earnings
  • Future income loss
  • Diminished future earning capacity (if the injury causes disability)
  • Compensation for pain and suffering
  • Compensation for other non-economic damages that apply in specific cases such as loss of enjoyment of life, diminished quality of life, or loss of a body part or one of the senses

A careful calculation of your damages helps to maximize the compensation you recover after a slip and fall accident.

Mistakes to Avoid After a Slip and Fall Accident

It’s difficult to control your emotions after a serious fall, especially while you are in pain and uncertain of the extent of your injuries.

Unfortunately, it’s not unusual to make some common mistakes in the heat of the moment—or the embarrassment of the fall. Some common actions taken by fall victims can have unfortunate adverse impacts. Common mistakes include the following:

  • Assuring others that you are all right—this is a common reaction to a public fall, even when you know you might be hurt
  • Making statements like, “It was my fault,” or “I should have been more careful”
  • Failing to take the contact information of eyewitnesses—eyewitness testimony can be critical when slip and fall accidents occur in places lacking security cameras
  • Delaying a trip to the hospital or emergency room—an insurance company can claim that your injuries did not happen in the fall
  • Not following your doctor’s instructions
  • Posting photos and updates on social media

It’s important to follow your doctor’s instructions carefully, make every appointment, and avoid posting on social media. 

Work with a Henderson Slip and Fall Accident Lawyer as Soon as Possible

It’s best to avoid accepting an early settlement offer by the property owner’s insurance company. These are almost always for less than you’re entitled to and require signing away your right to file a lawsuit. 

Instead of dealing with the insurance company alone, contact an experienced Henderson personal injury lawyer for help with your slip and fall accident claim as soon as possible. Ensure that you have legal representation to protect your rights and safeguard your best interests.

Maximize your financial recovery while you focus on your physical recovery.

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If you’re not able to travel to our office, we are willing to meet with you at your home or hospital to discuss the way forward. We have already recovered over $2 billion for our customers and look forward to assisting you too.

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Talk to A Henderson Slip And Fall Accident Lawyer

Never leave your slip and fall accident compensation to chance — there is too much at stake. Find out what you’re entitled to, what to expect during the claim process, and the next steps you need to take.

Let us protect your legal rights. Contact us today if you have been in a slip and fall accident and suffered any injury.