After a Fall, What Should You Do?

Fractures, head injuries, spinal cord trauma, back injuries, and neck injuries are just a few of the injuries that can be sustained in a fall. A serious fall can take months to recover from, leaving a person with long-term health problems and astronomical medical bills. If you've been hurt in a slip and fall accident caused by a business's negligence, the last thing on your mind is probably getting a police report, but it's in your best interests to do so.

Every year, tens of thousands of people are seriously injured in slip and fall accidents due to torn carpeting, jagged concrete, or slipping on a recently polished floor or a wet or slippery surface. One of the following conditions must be met in order to determine if the property owner is liable for the accident:

• The dangerous situation was created by the property owner or an employee.
• The owner or employee of the property was aware of the hazardous condition but chose to ignore it.
• Any reasonable person caring for the property would have discovered the hazard and dealt with it, so the property owner or employer should have known.

Following a slip and fall accident, you may experience a range of conflicting feelings and emotions, ranging from physical pain to a desire to minimize your injuries or embarrassment. Downplaying or ignoring your injuries, on the other hand, may leave you unaware of the full extent of your injuries.

After a Fall, What Should You Do?

Consider the following scenarios if you've been injured in a slip and fall accident. Even serious injuries can take a long time to manifest symptoms, allowing them to progress to something even more serious and difficult to treat. If something caused you to slip, such as a spill, torn carpeting, or jagged concrete, the business is almost certainly legally responsible for your losses because it failed to remedy the danger.

Prioritize your health and seek medical help as soon as possible. Even if you don't believe your injuries are serious, seeking medical help as soon as possible can help you prove your case later. Taking pictures of the accident scene, including what you believe caused the accident, any evidence that exists, a lack of proper lighting, cracks, potholes, obstructions, wet floors, and other details, if you are able, could aid in the development of a case.

Filing a Police Report After a Slip & Fall Accident

You may not think a police report is necessary after slipping and/or falling on a commercial property, but it is in your best interest to do so. The details of your accident will be documented by the police, and the resulting police record will back up your official statement about the accident. The officer will take statements from witnesses and record any code violations or obvious tripping hazards that may have contributed to your accident – all of which can help you prove your case.