After a Slip and Fall Accident: Five Things You Should Do

When it comes to slip and fall cases, time is of the essence. It’s vital to collect evidence regarding the circumstances of your case. Acting promptly can ensure that you’ll be able to protect your rights if you have been injured in a slip and fall accident.

As experienced slip and fall attorneys, Negretti & Associates recommend taking the following five steps after a slip and fall accident.

Step 1: Seek Medical Attention

After a slip and fall accident, your top priority should be to seek medical attention.

Remember, following a fall, most people do suffer some sort of injury. If you’ve been injured, you’re certainly not alone. Those who emerge unscathed are in the minority.

Your injury should be documented through a medical provider, so that the medical report can be included in your slip and fall claim. It is imperative that you tell your medical providers how your injury occurred and that you follow through on the medical guidance you receive to help you get better.

Step 2: Gather Contact Information

Create a list of the names and phone numbers of any eyewitnesses for your accident, as well as business managers and staff members who were on the premises during your accident.

Step 3: Ask to Have an Incident Report Generated

If practical, ask the business or place where the slip and fall occurred, in an effort to create an incident report that formally acknowledges and memorializes the accident.

Step 4: Document the Scene of Your Accident with Photographs

Photograph the location where the slip and fall occurred, as well as its surroundings. You should also photograph any surveillance cameras and lighting near the area of your accident.

Step 5: Compile Medical Records

Be sure to give to your medical provider a detailed report about how and where the fall happened.

A slip and fall accident can require expensive medical treatment. Further, you may incur a loss of work, time, and wages.

If you’re unable to return to work, you should get a doctor’s note. This will act as written documentation supporting your loss of earnings.

If you are able to return to work, but in a limited capacity, be sure to report your injury to your supervisor or human resources department, so that they document your limited capacity.

Remember to Act Promptly

After a slip and fall accident, you must act quickly. Because the law requires that the business owner clean up or repair the area where you fell, the evidence that you could collect surrounding your fall is considered perishable. If you don’t get it right away, it is unlikely that you will get it at all.

This also rings true for witnesses. If you don’t jot down the name and number of someone who witnessed your fall, it is unlikely that you will ever see that person again. Witness testimony could be the key to a successful recovery in a slip and fall case.

Need Help? Contact Negretti & Associates

If you or your loved one has been injured in a slip and fall accident in Arizona, California, or Colorado, Negretti & Associates can help. For a free initial review of your case, call us at (602) 531-3911 in Arizona, (619) 777-3370 in California, or (720) 636-3444 in Colorado. You can also contact us online or send us a text.