First Things To Do After a Slip and Fall Case in Fairfax

If you have suffered a slip and fall accident in Fairfax, here are the first things you need to do according to a Fairfax slip and fall lawyer. To learn more or discuss whether you are eligible for compensation consult call and schedule a free consultation today.

#1 Seek Medical Attention

Just like in any other case, I would tell them to seek medical attention as soon as possible.

#2 Notify the Landowner or Authorities of the Incident

If they’re injured on someone else’s property, they need to notify the owner or manager of their injuries to let them know what happened. A lot of the time, especially in smaller stores, there might not be a security camera or there might not be any other way to show that the accident actually happened.

Making an incident report or at the very least orally reporting it to a manager is a good way to make sure that you protect your interests by making sure that things are accurately recorded. A lot of the time, litigation doesn’t start until a year or 2 years after someone’s injured, and a lot of things change in that amount of time. An incident report that records what the person’s apparent injuries were, what caused them to fall, where they fell, or at least showing that something happened there will help to form a basis for our client’s claim.

#3 Understand What Damages Might Be Recoverable

Typically, you’re going to have all the same sorts of damages you’ll have in any other negligence case, so medical bills, loss of wages, it’s less likely that a plaintiff is going to have property damage from a slip and fall, but it still could happen. If you have an iPad or laptop in your purse, you slip and fall, your iPad or laptop breaks, then you might have a property damage claim there too.

All of the same economic damages as other cases, and then non-economic damages as well. People, a lot of the times, don’t realize that slip and fall cases can cause severe injuries, and one of the most serious would be traumatic brain injury.

Concussions, post concussive disorder, or even further brain damage is surprisingly common for slip and fall injuries, and I think the parlance that we use to discuss these cases for whatever reason, a lot of the time, people hear slip and fall, and they’ll think oh, it must not be that serious, but that cannot be further from the truth.

Severe, debilitating injuries can occur from a slip and fall, and just by the nature of what’s happening with your lower body, even a same level fall can result in a broken ankle or leg, which often requires surgery. If you make impact on your elbow, you could break an elbow, you could break your arm, and oftentimes people break multiple bones in a slip and fall injury.

It’s extremely important to get medical care, especially because of brain injuries, because those are things that, someone might not really be looking for, and they can get worse as time goes on without treatment.

Anybody thinks if you’re in a car accident and you hit your head on the steering wheel or against the windshield or a window, people think that maybe they had a concussion, but if you slip and fall, it’s not something most people usually think of unless you hit your head on the ground. Traumatic brain injuries can occur even if there is no direct head trauma. With slip and falls, there are all sorts of injuries that occur.

#4 Contact an Attorney

Well, any time you’re injured, it’s important to at least contact an attorney to figure out what your rights are and if you might have a viable claim.

With slip and fall cases, it’s really important to get in touch with an attorney sooner than later just because of some of those things we were talking about with evidence, being able to interview witnesses to canvass the area, looking for somebody who might have seen something or who might have heard something, being able to look if there’s any video evidence or incident reports.

The sooner an attorney’s involved, the sooner they can investigate, interview witnesses, and request evidence. They can have an investigator go over to the scene to investigate, not just interviewing people that were witnesses, but maybe to take measurements if necessary, and to see other things that might pose potential problems. Sometimes, by looking at the scene of an accident, you can tell what potential defenses might be, so it’s just important to be able to develop a good understanding of a client and their case as soon as possible and head off any defenses that might come up. It’s also important to gather as much evidence as you can to build a strong case.

Slip and fall cases are tough, and if you don’t have witnesses, it makes it that much harder. If you do have witnesses and you do have good evidence to show notice, it can be a really good case. The sooner an attorney gets involved, the better, the more they’ll be able to preserve evidence, the better able they will be to contact witnesses, and the better chance that you will have at recovering for your loses.