According to the National Safety Council (NSC), an estimated 8.9 million people visit emergency departments each year seeking treatment for injuries sustained in slip and fall accidents. A significant number of these accidents happen in commercial establishments, whether they are restaurants, grocery stores, shopping malls, or movie theaters. If these incidents are caused by the negligence of the person or party responsible for the maintenance of the property, victims can often bring a legal claim in Florida state court seeking compensation for their injuries and other losses. For this reason, anyone who has been injured in a slip and fall accident should have the circumstances of their accident reviewed by an experienced Boca Raton personal injury lawyer.
Collect and preserve evidence
A serious slip and fall accident can leave victims hurt, confused, upset, and uncertain about what to do next. Unfortunately, the things that you say and do immediately after an accident can have a significant impact on whether or not you will be able to recover. While every case is different, below are some steps that almost everyone involved in a slip and fall accident in a commercial establishment should take.
- Seek emergency medical treatment for serious injuries – The most important issue after a slip and fall accident is your physical well-being. As a result, victims should be sure to seek immediate medical attention for any serious injuries that they may have sustained.
- Make sure an incident report is generated – Stores and other places that are open to the public generally have internal policies regarding documenting incidents that result in injury. Victims should make sure that an incident report is generated and should request a copy of it to share with their attorney. In the event that the establishment fails to provide you with a copy, there are steps that your lawyer can take to obtain it.
- Undergo a thorough medical evaluation – People who are involved in slip and fall accident should undergo a thorough medical evaluation even if they do not believe that they are seriously injured. In some cases, an injury may not cause pain or other issues for some time after an accident occurs, while in others, the full extent of a person’s injuries may not be apparent to the untrained eye.
- Contact an attorney – The assistance of a lawyer can often result in significantly greater recovery than people can obtain on their own. Consequently, people injured in slip and fall accidents should be sure to retain an attorney as soon as possible.
Contact a Boca Raton personal injury lawyer today to schedule a free consultation
People who are hurt in slip and fall accidents that happen on someone else’s property are often eligible for significant financial compensation. The Boca Raton attorneys of Lavalle Brown & Ronan have over 130 years of combined experience representing individuals who have been injured by the negligence of others, and we work hard to ensure that each client we represent obtains the full and fair value of their claim. To schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our lawyers, please call our office today at 888-646-1315 or send us an email through our website.