You may encounter a puddle of water while walking through the supermarket. Or maybe there is an ice patch in the parking lot. Perhaps you encounter some uneven steps on your way into a restaurant. The reality is that you could slip on something and lose your balance almost anywhere.
Sometimes, a fall leaves you with a bruised hip, and other times, your injuries may be more severe. Here is what you should do if you are involved in a slip-and-fall accident while on another person’s property.
Get yourself to the hospital
After a fall, it is important to get checked out by a doctor. You may feel like you sprained your ankle, but your ankle could be broken. If you hit your head, you could also have a concussion. Leaving a concussion untreated can have serious, long-term effects. Internal injuries may not be immediately apparent. Seeking medical treatment can prevent making things worse, and it will also establish when the injury occurred.
Report the accident as soon as you can
As soon as possible, you need to tell a manager, supervisor or the property owner about the accident. They should write an accident report, and you may want to request a copy of the report.
Take photos and speak to any witnesses
If your accident happened in a public place, it is likely people saw you fall. Collect names and contact information from the witnesses. Your injuries could prove severe, and you may want to file a claim to pursue compensation for your injuries later. You should also take pictures of where the accident occurred, particularly if there was a puddle or patch of ice that caused your fall.
Do not offer too much information
When you describe what happened to the establishment where the fall occurred, do not give extra details or speculate why you fell. Write down your own account of what happened, but you do not need to share that with the business. If your insurance company contacts you, you may want to wait to discuss the accident until you have spoken to a personal injury attorney. In the meantime, you should avoid posting about the accident on social media because these statements could be used against you.
A slip-and-fall accident can be minor, or it can lead to long-term injuries. When an accident occurs on someone else’s property, you have the right to pursue the care you need to recover.
