Slip and fall accidents in stores and restaurants are much more common than believed. Most of the time, such accidents are embarrassing, and the victim of a slip and fall accident in a public place, like a store, tries to leave immediately without even assessing any damage or injury resulting from the incident. Contrary to what you might assume, a fall in a store can sometimes lead to rather severe injuries, including fractured legs, fractured wrists, or traumatic brain injuries.
In this article, we want you to know what you need to do after such an accident, and what steps you can take to safeguard yourself against any medical bills, and how to seek compensation from the store where the accident happened.
Collect Evidence
The first thing you must do after falling in a store is to collect pictures of the accident spot using your mobile device as nowadays almost every smartphone is equipped with a powerful camera. You can also shoot a video to provide more detailed evidence during your compensation claim.
Seek Medical Attention
Immediately seek medical attention even if it seems that you’ve suffered minor scratches or bruises as often people get hidden injuries that they can feel after a certain length of time. Ask the doctors to diagnose the area of your body which was hit in a fall along with the surrounding organs for any other injury. You may also get an X-ray or an ultrasound to check if there are any internal injuries.
File an incident report
Always file an incident report with the store manager and get a signed copy. You should be aware that there are store owners who would outright deny that an incident happened to avoid paying damages. Insist on getting a signed copy of the incident report along with the complaint or report number.
Contact a lawyer
Before contacting the store owner or their insurance company for your damages or any compensation, we would advise you to get the opinion of an experienced lawyer who specializes in such cases. Slip and fall cases in stores are quite complex as the burden of proof is on the victim, which means that you need to prove that the store is liable for the injury or the accident happened due to negligence on the part of the store. So, always contact a lawyer before you proceed with your claim.
Slip and Fall Lawyers at Shocklee Paolino
Shocklee Paolino can help if you are the victim of a fall in a store as our reliable attorneys have experience of such cases and have successfully helped numerous victims of slip and fall accidents in the past. You can call us for a free consultation at (727) 498-8771 or contact us by leaving a message at our site.