Common Mistakes After A Slip And Fall Accident

If you fall on someone’s property because of their carelessness, it hardly seems like you could have done anything wrong. But there are things that people can do—or not do—which can jeopardize their ability to file a lawsuit, or risk the ability to obtain the full amount of damages they would otherwise be entitled to.

It’s important to note that some of these mistakes are completely avoidable if you have a good slip and fall attorney—many of these errors are made by people who don’t get an attorney, or who don’t visit an attorney after their fall.

Keep Those Clothes

The number one mistake many accident victims make is throwing away the clothes they were wearing during the fall. This may seem like a natural thing to do—after all, those clothes are likely soiled with dirt, whatever it was that you fell on, your own blood, or may even be torn.

But be wary—your clothes (including your shoes) have vital evidence about your case—evidence the other side, and possibly their experts, are entitled to see and investigate.

Your throwing away clothes may be innocent and understandable—but the other side in your case could try to punish you, by arguing to the judge that you deprived them of the ability to investigate the clothes you were wearing during the fall.

Did You Report the Fall?

If you fell and you were very injured, the accident will be reported by whomever the store employee is that comes and attends to you. But if you fall, and you are able to get up on your own power, many people simply walk out of the store, without telling anybody there.

That means that nobody in the store knows to investigate the accident. No witnesses are being identified. Video surveillance or cameras, which may have vital evidence to help your case, may be destroyed, simply because the store or property has no idea anything happened giving them a reason to preserve this information.

Not only that, but when you do make a claim for compensation for your injuries, insurance companies, and juries, may ultimately not take you seriously—if you were seriously injured, the logic goes, you would have made a report at the time of the accident.

Waiting to Get Medical Attention

If you fall and you don’t immediately have pain or limitations, many people wait before seeing a doctor. But many types of injuries are slow to manifest. Depending on the injury, you may not have a pain, or a given symptom, until days after the accident.

It is never too late to see a doctor—but you should see a doctor as soon as possible after your accident, so the doctor can monitor your progress, and take inventory of how you are doing. In many cases, the doctor may find something wrong that you didn’t even immediately realize was wrong.

Injured in a fall accident? Don’t make these common mistakes. Contact our Rhode Island personal injury lawyers at Robert E. Craven & Associates at 401-453-2700 today for help.

Sources:

safetyculture.com/topics/incident-report/

incidentreport.net/whatisincidentreporting/