Slip-and-falls are perhaps the most common of all premises liability scenarios. Someone at a business or visiting a friend at an apartment complex will trip over a wrinkled rug or slip in a puddle on the floor, leading to injuries and then file a premises liability claim in the wake of sustaining harm.
Even though slip-and-fall injuries are well known, people still make major mistakes when they are the ones who fall and become injured. They don’t know what steps to take, and they end up making mistakes that can significantly compromise their rights. What two mistakes often negatively impact an individual’s rights after a slip-and-fall?
Failing to report the incident
Businesses may have security cameras that captured the entire incident. There could also be witnesses who saw what happened and who could validate someone’s claims related to a slip-and-fall incident. However, a business won’t know to gather or preserve that evidence if the person who falls doesn’t alert a manager to what happened. Those who report slip-and-falls before leaving a business or who contact a property owner after seeking medical attention can help preserve evidence and will generate a paper trail, as most businesses have to put together reports whenever someone gets hurt.
Choosing to not see a doctor
People frequently brush off what could be serious injuries falling a slip-and-fall, possibly because they feel embarrassed about what happened. Injuries including stable fractures and traumatic brain injuries often don’t have symptoms right away, especially if someone experiences an adrenal reaction to falling. Their body’s response to the fall may cover up pain and other warning signs that there is something wrong internally. Those who fall and hit their heads, in particular, often need to see a doctor as soon as possible to ensure they have an appropriate diagnosis and can get treatment.
Those who report their incident to a facility manager after it occurs and who seek appropriate medical evaluation will better protect their right to make an insurance claim or file a civil lawsuit later. Knowing the big mistakes common after slip-and-fall incidents may benefit those who get hurt and may have grounds for a premises liability claim.