Slip and Fall

Steps to Take After Slip and Fall Accidents

Published on

Slip and fall accidents fall under personal injury. It is a type of liability wherein the injured person has the right to seek compensation for his injuries sustained from slipping and falling on the property of another person. Knowing what steps to take right after the slip and fall can help increase your chances of obtaining a favorable result for your claim.

Report the Accident

Image source: businessinsurance.com

It is important for you to report the event to whoever owns the property or is in charge of the premises where the injury occurred. If the injury occurred in a commercial property, you should report the event to whoever is in charge. Always report it to the person with the highest rank. If it occurred on public property, you can report it to the town or city hall.

Reporting the accident at once can help you establish the legitimacy of your claim. This is especially true if no one witnessed the event. Insurers can always claim that you sustained your injuries from another location and not from the place cited in your claim.

Make an Accurate Documentation of the Accident

Some slip and fall accidents may not allow you to gather as much information as you want. You can use your smartphone’s camera to take pictures of the scene. Take pictures of your injuries as well. If your injuries prevent you from taking pictures, you can have someone else take images of the scene. You can also take a video recording of the event scene.

According to the lawyers at aronberglaw.com, it is critical to make accurate documentation of slip and fall accidents. This is especially true if you slipped and fell on ice. Ice can melt in an instant or people can clear it out. You may no longer have the evidence you need to support your claim.

Get the contact information of any witness to the accident. This will help you in your slip and fall case.

Attend to Your Injuries

Image source: brigglepolan.com

You should seek medical treatment for your injuries. This will also serve as one of the pieces of evidence that you will need to build and support your case. A doctor can help document your injuries, including the various treatments that you will undergo. Make sure to keep all assessment findings, laboratory and diagnostic results, and your plan of care. 

Call a Personal Injury Lawyer

Make sure to call an attorney who specializes in slip and fall accidents. There is a good chance that an insurance adjuster will get in touch with you to get your version of the event. Under no circumstance should you communicate with the other person’s insurer? Let your attorney be the one to communicate your concerns. Insurers often undermine the validity of your claim. Personal injury lawyers know these tactics and know-how to counter them.

It is best to adhere to these steps if you want just compensation for your injuries in a case of accident like that. Gathering as much evidence as possible and employing the services of a personal injury lawyer can help you achieve a favorable outcome for your claim.

Should you hire a Lawyer for a Slip and Fall Accident?

Published on

Are you thinking about should you hire a lawyer for a slip and fall accident? The answer to that is not always easy, usually, it is a maybe. There are various factors that will influence the decision and each of the factors needs to be carefully thought about before you proceed. Of course, after a slip and fall accident, it is natural that you might question yourself on consulting or hiring a lawyer. It is never a bad thing to use your free consultation to present the aspects of the case to a lawyer. The layer will then take a look at your injuries, whether the party was unaware of maintaining a safe environment, and the amount of money the insurance company is offering to you.

Only then can you actually decide on proceeding with a lawsuit or not. Before going on to the main point of this article, here is a little information about slip and fall accidents. According to cordiscosaile.com, this accident can occur from something referred to as “premises liability” which is the responsibility of the owner of the property. They need to ensure the safety of their workers, visitors, or resident. Property owners can be liable both financially and legally for slip and fall accidents that happen on their property.

Img source: houstonmsmith.com

Owners of office buildings, malls, and apartment buildings, as well as other property types, are responsible for the safety of the people who are on their property. This means that they need to implement care in order to keep the premises safe by inspecting the building and surrounding area are safe for people. Hence, if a slip and fall accident happens, they can be held accountable as a direct result of them not being able to provide a safe environment.

When should you call a lawyer?

There are specific circumstances when you should consult an attorney. These circumstances include:

1. If you believe the owner knew about the dangerous conditions

If you believe that the owner knew about the potential dangers that caused your injury, you should immediately get in touch with a lawyer. The owners who do not properly and regularly inspect their premises can be held accountable for not maintaining their property. However, you will have to prove that the location has not been inspected properly. Also, if the landlord or other people got complaints about the conditions at the property, but did nothing to solve the problem, this can work in your favor.

2. What led to the fall

Img source: alliant.edu

This is where it becomes a bit tricky. Just because you fell somewhere does not mean that it is their fault. For example, if you fell down the stairs. There are questions that might arise, like how did the fall happen? What type of shoes did you have on? Where you holding the handrail or perhaps did you carry something? These are important information that the defense lawyer, the insurer, and if it comes to going to the court, the jury will want to know as well.

3. The extent of your injuries

Even if you did fall due to bad maintenance, a twisted ankle might not be worth the time and money that is involved in a lawsuit. However, if you fell and hit your head, causing it to bleed, then yes, getting an attorney is a good idea. The bigger the injury, the more impact it will have on your life.

Conclusion

As you read in the article, sometimes it is quite important to hire a slip and fall attorney and in other cases, you can simply fill in a claim with your insurance agency and take their offer. Keep in mind that you should always consult your lawyer and then, together with them consider what your next step will be.