Steps to Take After a Slip and Fall Accident

Most people tend to treat simple slips and falls as negligible incidents comparable to stubbing a toe—inconvenient and painful, yet ultimately nothing to worry about. This is generally false, however; slip and fall accidents are extremely common causes of severe head injuries, broken bones, and other traumas, which may only grow worse if not quickly addressed. As such, you should know what steps you should take if you get into a slip and fall accident.

Things to Do Immediately

In the moments after your fall, you may be panicked, or alternatively, excessively calm; shock and an adrenaline rush are likely to dull or nullify any pain you may be experiencing, which could render you unable to correctly diagnose yourself without proper examination. Stay calm, but be wary, and consider these key steps immediately:

• Seek emergency attention if you’re bleeding or notice any other obvious symptoms of a serious injury. To diagnose whether or not you’ve suffered a severe injury, perform a visual and hands-on examination of yourself, and keep an eye out for tell-tale cognitive symptoms like confusion or dizziness.
• Document the fall. Take photos of any conditions that contributed to the fall, and get a formal report or written citation of the incident, to verify that you fell on the premises. This can come from the property owner or via police report, but whatever the case, you’ll want a copy of that documentation. This is especially important if you plan to file a premises liability claim, as you’ll need to prove that the property owner failed to maintain something or otherwise caused your accident.

Next Steps for Arizona Slip and Fall Accidents

Even after you’ve left the premises, you’ll still have additional steps to follow through on after a slip and fall accident:

• Seek medical attention. Slip and fall accidents are the leading causes of traumatic brain injuries, which can present themselves with delayed, subtle symptoms well after a fall; being examined by a doctor is the best way to maintain a clean bill of health. On top of this, seeking medical attention will generate important medical records, and will bar adjusters from claiming that you were unreasonable or failed to protect your health in some way.
• Watch what you say. Posting about your personal injury on social media or talking to others about the fall can generate evidence that insurance adjusters can use against you to devalue your claim; as an extreme example, if you broke your arm, you wouldn’t want to post a picture of a recent baseball outing of yours or other activity that’d suggest that your injury wasn’t really so bad.
• Open a claim and talk to an attorney. Proving fault in slip and fall accidents can be a challenging affair, as the defense will be quick to claim that you fell of your own accord via clumsiness or recklessness. As such, it’s strongly advisable to seek assistance from an attorney before getting too far into the process, to gain valuable advice and legal expertise.

ELG has the experience and legal know-how to help. If you’ve been injured in a fall, give us a call at (623) 877-3600 to schedule a free consultation with an Arizona slip and fall lawyer, and learn more about your legal options. We can walk you through the claims process and take things off of your hands, giving you time to focus on an unburdened recovery.