If you have experienced a slip and fall accident, you’re probably dealing with confusion, pain and uncertainty about what to do next, maybe both legally and medically. If that’s the case, you don’t have to worry; we’re here to help you through these challenging times.
First of all, it’s okay, slips and falls are way more common than you might think – in fact, they’re one of the leading causes of injury according to The Healthcare cost and Utilization Project, according to them, one-third of all injury-related emergency room visits accounts for falls.
So you don’t have to worry about being on ungrounded territory, and to be safe, this guide will walk you through exactly what you should do when you’re dealing with a slip and fall incident- from dealing with immediate medical care, to ensuring you’re legally compensated. So let’s get started.
8 Critical Steps to Take After a Slip and Fall Accident
Step 1: Assess your injury and seek immediate medical attention
It doesn’t matter if you’re feeling “okay” or if it was just a “bruise” many severe injuries don’t show symptoms immediately. They can cause brain injuries, internal bleeding or subtle fractures that you might not even notice until it’s too late.
Step 2: Report the accident
This is extremely important, don’t just nudge it away, and don’t feel embarrassed about it. You’re not doing a scene or causing a commotion, you’re reporting an injury in a property which you’re more than allowed to do. Report to the property owner and/or the authorities. This is important since it creates a report of what took place and how.
Step 3: Document the scene
Take pictures of everything, the location, the hazard that caused the fall, the date and any missing warnings of the hazardous location.
Step 4: Collect witness information
If anybody saw your fall, don’t be afraid to politely ask for their contact information. Their testimony could be potentially crucial to your case.
Step 5: Preserve Evidence
Keep everything that belongs to you related to the accident; your clothes, your shoes, any item that was involved in the accident. Do not wash them or clean them since preserving them can help to prove the conditions that caused your accident.
Step 6: Keep all the medical records
Archive your medical records since they will help the extent of your injuries, the cost of your treatments and how it impacted your daily life.
Step 7: Avoid giving statements to insurance companies
Be very cautious with talking to insurance adjusters, preferably avoid talking to them without the presence of an attorney since they will use your statements to try to minify your claims.
Step 8: Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer
This is a crucial step, since acquiring proper and competent representation will make or break the type of compensation you can get for your injuries.
So what are your rights after a slip and fall accident?
It’s important to know your rights after suffering a fall on someone else’s property, so keep this in mind:
Property owners have responsibility to keep their properties safe.
This includes:
- Regular inspections for hazards
- Repairing faulty conditions
- Having warning signs for dangers that have not been fixed
- And following protocols and regulations
Responsibility varies on a lot of factors, including the reason why you were in their property in the first place, but they all have some basics safety standard to begin with.
Common types of negligence property we’ve seen in our cases
Wet floors without warning signs
Uneven walkways
Poor lighting
Missing handrails
Not removing ice in winter.
Time limits to file your claim
This is why you need to take prompt action, time isn’t indefinite when dealing with slip and falls. In Florida, the statute of limitations is two years exactly after the date of the incident; this was changed after March 24, 2023. So any injury after that has only 2 years after the incident, if it happened before that, then you have the original 4 year window. In Ohio as well. We know it sounds like you have a lot of time, but it’s not only the time of the filing you need to look into. The longer you take, the weaker your case might get.
Types of compensation after a slip and fall
According to the Florida Senate, after you suffer from a slip and fall on someone else’s property, you may be entitled to:
Economic Damages: Loss of income, future or past, that was directly caused by the injury.
Medical Expenses: The amounts necessary to satisfy the charges of medical treatment caused by the injury.
Non-economic damages: Apply when you suffer from a significant loss of bodily function, autonomy and/or scarring.
Punitive damages: to four times the amount of compensation when the accident was caused by unreasonable financial gain.
Claims against government entities: If the accident occur on government property.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Benefits: Florida’s no-fault insurance laws provide that personal injury protection benefits are primary and may cover initial medical expenses.
Why you need a personal injury lawyer
The legal system and the process of claiming a slip and fall can be an incredibly complex and challenging process, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. So it’s crucial to contact a personal injury lawyer to represent you properly, since they can help you with:
Thorough investigation: A personal injury lawyer can gather evidence of the incident, interview witnesses, obtain surveillance footage if available, review past incidents and work with experts to make sure they can paint the picture on exactly how this incident happened.
Dealing with insurance companies: Insurance companies can be very persistent to minimize your case whatever means necessary, a personal injury law firm can handle communication with adjusters protecting you from their deceiving tactics.
Calculate a fair compensation: It’s extremely common that victims undermine the value of their claim, experienced attorneys can calculate all the possible damages a slip and fall incident might have caused to their client and fight for that compensation.
Fight for your case: Injury cases can be extremely complex and require constant attention and dedication, you will need a team of attorneys to advocate and fight for you 24/7 to make sure you get the compensation you deserve.
Moving Forward After Your Slip and Fall Accident – Contact us Today
We understand deeply how disruptive in your life an accident like this can be, from that terrible back pain that simply doesn’t go away for weeks, that mental anguish from having to pay your medical bills and not knowing what to do after this incident. But you don’t need to worry, here at Podor Law we have more than 47 years of experience in personal injury and we only want what’s best for you, and will fight and fight and fight until you get the compensation you deserve.
We treat every client like family, and we are available for you 24/7 to provide you with personalized attention and an unwavering advocacy for your claim. We focus on all the legal complexities while you can focus on the most important thing of all in this type of incident… you.
So don’t face this challenge alone, scheduling a consultation with us is absolutely free and with the best team of attorneys, we’re available to answer your questions and discuss your options with no obligation on your part.
And remember, you don’t pay a dime for our service until you win, so take the first step towards justice and contact us today.
Sources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Falls Data and Statistics Facts. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/falls/data-research/facts-stats/index.html
Florida Legislature. (2010). Senate Bill 1224: Premises liability for transitory foreign substances in a business establishment. Retrieved from https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2010/1224/BillText/Filed/HTML
Florida Statutes. (2023). §768.0427 – Medical Expenses. Retrieved from https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2023/0768.0427
Florida Statutes. (2024). §627.736 – Personal Injury Protection Benefits. Retrieved from https://www.flsenate.gov/laws/statutes/2024/627.736
Florida Statutes. (n.d.). §627.737 – Punitive Damages. Retrieved from https://m.flsenate.gov/statutes/627.737
Florida Statutes. (n.d.). §768.81 – Economic Damages. Retrieved from https://m.flsenate.gov/Statutes/768.81
Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. (2017). Statistical Brief #266: Injuries Resulting in Emergency Department Visits. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Retrieved from https://hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb266-Injuries-Causes-ED-Visits-2017.jsp
NOLO. Florida Slip and Fall Laws. Retrieved from https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/florida-slip-and-fall-laws.html
NOLO. Slip and Fall Accidents: Proving Fault. Retrieved from https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/slip-fall-accidents-proving-fault-29845.html
Ohio Revised Code. §2305.10 – Statute of limitations for personal injury. Retrieved from https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2305.10
