Among all other types of accidental deaths, slips, trips, and falls share approximately 15% of them, and more than 25% have been reported to result from a fall in the workplace. They rank second in terms of occupational injuries and time loss from work, next to physical overexertion.
Approximately 25 percent of seniors experience a fall in their later years at least once a year. This corresponds to roughly 3 million emergency department admissions, 1 million hospitalizations, and 320,000 hip fractures in the group every year.
A slip-and-fall incident almost always occurs suddenly. Often, it leads to severe bodily harm and enormous hospital payments. Victims of falls may be confused regarding the next steps they should take. That said, there are proper courses of action you should take that can affect your health, your ability to recover damages, and your chances of pursuing valid legal action.
Let’s examine the steps to take after a slip & fall accident, which include prioritizing your well-being, securing critical evidence, and making the case stronger for you. Completing these steps will help you to receive the compensation that you are entitled to.
Understand What You Have to Prove
A slip and fall is a premises liability claim. Justia’s premises liability overview lists four elements that you must show. These four things are:
- The property owner owed you a duty to keep the area in safe condition
- The property owner failed in upholding their duty towards you
- The property owner’s failure to do their duty led to your injury
- Your injury lead to real damages
The contested question in almost every case is whether the property owner knew, or should have known, about the hazard before the fall. This is called the notice requirement. A property owner who had no notice of a dangerous condition and no reasonable chance to discover and correct it before your fall might not be liable, no matter how badly you were hurt.
In these conditions, the key aspect is knowing whether there was an actual notice or constructive notice, i.e., that the owner had already known or the defect had been on the premises for long enough that even a reasonable inspection would have uncovered it.
Act at the Scene
Surveillance footage usually gets overwritten within 30 to 72 hours. The physical condition of the hazard also changes once it is tidied up or repaired. One should quickly secure proof that shows the notice issue, how long the condition existed, whether staff were around, if warning signs were missing, and if it was at the scene and not later.
- Try to photograph the hazard from a few different angles before it is handled. Get a picture of the whole area, including the lighting context, nearby signage, and how far the problem seemed to stretch.
- Write down the exact situation, not only that the floor was wet. Include important details such as the spill volume, availability of a wet floor sign, and the whereabouts of the closest employees at that time if you do fall down.
- Request an incident report from the owner of the premises or the manager. The report will produce an official record of what happened on the premises.
- Get the names and contact details of any witnesses. Their statements about how long the hazard had been around, or whether someone else had already slipped or warned others.
Seek Medical Attention the Same Day
Regardless of how minor the injuries may seem, it is still important to seek medical attention the same day. Medical records created close to the time of the fall establish the link between the fall and your injuries.
Insurers benefit from delays, arguing that injuries were acquired elsewhere or worsened from the failure to obtain timely medical attention. In cases such as concussions or internal bleeding, this damage might not become fully visible immediately after suffering the blow.
Nationally, researchers have well documented the scale of this risk. More than 800,000 people are hospitalized annually for fall-related injuries nationwide.
Falls on Government Property: A Shorter Deadline Most People Miss
Should your injuries result from falling on any property owned by the government, such as a sidewalk, a government building, a park, a public transportation center, or even a post office, there is an additional legal obligation that most people become aware of only when it’s too late.
Most states require you to submit a formal notice of claim to the proper government entity before any lawsuit can move forward. According to an Orange County premises liability attorney, accidents on government property may require a shorter formal notice before filing a lawsuit. The deadline for submitting a claim against a government entity is separate from the standard personal injury statute of limitations. In many jurisdictions, it is 90 days from the date of the accident. Missing this deadline permanently bars the claim.
A notice of intent to file a claim should consist of the date, time, and place of the incident. The type of hazard behind the accident should also be mentioned. This notice should also concern the injuries inflicted and the administrative division in charge of the territory upon which the accident happened.
A failure to submit a notice of claim or an incomplete or delayed notice is considered the same as no notice at all.
Keep a Complete Record From the Start
From the day of the fall forward, make a record of everything that’s connected to the injury. Every medical appointment, diagnosis, treatment, and prescription should be documented. Include all the medical bills and the out-of-pocket costs too.
Track lost wages and how it affected your ability to work in real life. Record any lingering pain, any ongoing functional limitations, or changes to your day-to-day routine.
For the damages part in a premises liability claim, there has to be proof of actual, measurable harm.
What the Notice Requirement Means for How You Respond
The notice requirement shapes every step that follows a slip and fall. The basis for the claim is characterized by three factors: the knowledge of how long the danger existed, whether the owner’s staff knew or was supposed to know the danger, and whether any logical inspection could have noticed the danger.
Justia’s slip and fall overview explains how notice and comparative negligence interact with the duty and breach elements under premises liability law. For falls on government property, the 90-day notice-of-claim window is the hard deadline that begins the moment the accident occurs.
Acting immediately does not just protect your health but it also protects the legal foundation of your claim.
