Johnson & Alday’s Top 4 Steps To Take After a Slip and Fall | Trip and Fall

One minute you are walking into or out of a store, place of business, a parking lot and the next you are staring at the floor, or the sky.  What just happened? People slip and trip and fall on a daily basis.  It is a natural consequence of being bipedal (two-legged).  Fortunately, most of the time folks are not seriously hurt in these daily occurrences.  Unfortunately, slip and falls and trip and falls can sometimes cause serious injuries like broken bones, torn ligaments, and cartilage, disc herniations, closed head injuries and death. 

           Social factors, such as embarrassment and the sensation of “why is everybody staring at me” often cloud over a slip and fall victim’s mind in the immediate aftermath of a fall.  That leads to some common mistakes which can derail an otherwise strong slip and fall/trip and fall case.  Here is a small list of the steps to take that will be helpful if you suffer a slip and fall/trip and fall injury:

1.  Identify what caused the fall – Don’t jump up and worry about whether folks are laughing or judging.  Take a minute and assess injuries and identify what caused the fall. Is it a wet substance on the ground, is the floor slippery, is there uneven pavement or some other fixed object that caused the fall?  Not identifying the cause of the fall is fatal to any claim.
2. Make a report – If the fall occurs in a place of business, get the attention of the owner, manager or employee, ask for medical assistance and make a report.  The report will capture critical information that will likely be lost the moment you leave the premises.  Witnesses, weather conditions and identification of the cause of the fall will all be captured in the incident report.  Failing to make a report allows for facts, details and evidence to be forgotten and lost.
3. If you are injured, seek treatment immediately – Falls can often cause serious injuries like broken bones and torn ligaments and cartilage.  They can also cause some equally as serious but harder to detect injuries such as internal bleeding or concussion.  It is important to get treatment at a hospital or urgent care as soon as possible after the fall.  Delaying treatment may be fatal to your health and your claim.
4. Take pictures if possible.  Everyone has a camera phone in this day and age.  Use it.  Photograph the hazard that caused the fall.  Take pictures of the scene.  Photograph any visible injuries.  Not photographing the scene and your injuries fails to preserve crucial evidence for your claim.

The most important step to take if you are injured in a slip and fall or trip and fall is to call John and Bobby.  We handle these cases every day and have over a decade of experience in resolving these claims. Let us help you get your life back on course.