What Factors Can Complicate a Slip and Fall Lawsuit?
Slip and fall accidents are sudden and can have many consequences that affect your life. Your injuries have the potential to cause chronic pain and could make you miss work while you take time to heal. These preventable accidents may not have happened if the people in charge of the premises hadn’t acted negligently. Your safety shouldn’t have been jeopardized. But you can seek justice. A slip and fall lawyer from Corban Gunn, Attorney at Law will do everything to get you the compensation you deserve.
Before getting in touch with your lawyer, you may be thinking that your claim will be a cut and dried deal. Someone was negligent, you were hurt as a result, and deserve compensation. However, not everyone will see it that way. You’ll need to prove that negligence caused your injuries and you weren’t responsible in any way.
Your Actions Affect Your Slip and Fall Claim
After your accident, you’re likely going to be feeling hurt and confused. But it’s important to do some essential tasks to protect your claim. If you don’t follow up with these items, you may run into trouble when you’re trying to fight for compensation.
When you are injured, you should report the incident to whoever is in charge of the premises. This could be a manager or a supervisor. In any case, you want the incident down in writing on the date that is happened and the person in charge will also know that an accident happened that day.
As you’re filling out the report, be as detailed and accurate as possible. It’s best to do this as soon as you can when the details are fresh in your mind. You shouldn’t try to fill in gaps in your memory or guess at details as further information may come out during the investigation. If your story doesn’t match, your account could be deemed unreliable.
An eyewitness to your accident could provide some crucial details or act as someone to back up what happened to you. You should inform your attorney of any eyewitnesses who are willing to speak up.
Failing to report the accident means there isn’t a paper trail or people to say that you were there on the date of the accident. It will also be difficult to remember exactly what happened. You may have more trouble proving your claim without an accident report.
Then, it’s imperative that you get a medical evaluation of your injuries. Your health must be your priority. If you’re injured, you need to know what’s wrong and start treatment. The sooner you begin treatment, the sooner you will heal. There are legal reasons for getting to a doctor quickly as well.
Waiting too long to see a doctor can have a number of negative consequences. If it takes you weeks to seek treatment for your injuries, the insurance company may question the severity of your accident. If you didn’t feel the need to get to the doctor as soon as possible, then how bad could your injuries really be? Then, there’s the matter of the injuries getting worse. This could mean that you will need more extensive treatment. It could take more procedures, require a longer recovery period, or you injuries may have worsened to the point where you will now have chronic pain.
Since you didn’t seek treatment immediately, your compensation may not cover those costs. You’ll get the amount for the initial injuries, but after that it’s going to have to come out of your pocket. You don’t want to let your injuries increase in severity and then have to worry about affording medical costs. It’s unnecessary physical and financial harm.
It’s also a good idea to only discuss this matter with your lawyers. In the age of social media, it’s difficult for some people to not document events in their lives. You may be tempted to share what happened so you don’t have to keep repeating the same story.
However, when you speak about your injuries on social media, it can be seen as more evidence that you’re not taking the accident too seriously and it wasn’t that bad. If an insurance company sees you posting photos of yourself while you’re out to dinner or have an entire conversation thread on your accident, they can use this information against you. Speak with your lawyer about social media. But when in doubt, it’s better to refrain from posting anything at all.
Corban Gunn, Attorney at Law Is Here for You
No one ever expects a slip and fall injury. When you’re dealing with the confusing aftermath of the accident, we’re here to help you figure out your next steps. Get in touch with us today and we’ll discuss your legal options and start to fight for your settlement.
