Slips, Trips, and Falls

Tripping or falling while walking can be a traumatic experience. Furthermore, these types of incident can often cause serious injuries and leave you with serious anxiety. If you’ve been injured, getting the right help immediately after a trip or fall can be the difference in how quickly you get back to your normal life. Here are five steps to take if you’ve been involved in a slip and fall.

Get help

If you’re involved in a fall, do not try and immediately get back to your feet unless you are certain you can do so safely. Ask for assistance and if no one is nearby, consider dialing 911. It is important that you do not make any potential injury you suffered worse by moving around.

Seek Medical Attention

After an incident an injury is not always obvious. It is very important that you schedule an appointment with your family doctor and see them sooner rather than later. Your doctor will conduct a physical examination and determine the severity of any injuries you may have sustained. Your doctor will also help outline any future treatment your injuries may require.

Take pictures

You should try and take pictures as soon as it is safe to. What should you take pictures of? Take several pictures from different angles of the area where the incident occurred. These pictures should be clear and identify if there was any debris or substance on the ground that caused the incident. You will also want to take pictures of the shoes you were wearing at the time of the incident. 

Take names and file a report

File a report as soon as you can following, an incident. It is very important that your trip or fall is documented. If you are unable to obtain a report, request and record names, phone numbers and any other pertinent information from anyone that is present. This includes witnesses.

Retain a personal injury lawyer

If you’ve been involved in a trip or fall that resulted in an injury, you should contact a lawyer. Generally, a person has two years after the incident to start a lawsuit. A qualified personal injury lawyer will identify how to proceed with your case and guide you through the process. More personal injury lawyers work on contingency, which means the will not take any money upfront and they only get paid once a settlement is reach on your behalf. 

Feel free to contact our office to discuss your options and get answers to any questions you may have.