Number 1 Tip After a Slip and Fall Accident

Hey everyone, in this video, I’m going to give you my number 1 tip after a slip and fall accident to make sure you recover for your damages. My name is Barry Zlotowicz and I’m a Chicago slip and fall lawyer. First and foremost, it is absolutely critical that you always report a slip and fall accident after it occurs. I know what you’re thinking, if you are lying on the ground after falling at a Walmart or Home Depot or wherever your accident occurred, the first thought is not to file an incident report. Problem is that filing an accident report after the accident is so important. It really can make or break your case. According to the Center for Disease Control, one out of five slip and falls result in a serious injury such as a concussion or fractured bone. And then the victim will call a slip and fall lawyer and the first question I always ask them is did you file an incident report after the fall? Amazingly, more than half the time the answer is no….. That’s a big mistake. If you are injured in a slip or trip and fall, it’s critical that you report the accident as soon as possible after it happens. Reporting the accident is the strongest evidence you have that the accident took place along with of course independent witness testimony, video and other evidence. Often what happens is that someone suffered a slip and fall a parking lot or on a sidewalk, didn’t think they were that injured so they went home and took no action. Later that day or the next day, when their arm starts really hurting, they finally go to the doctor and find out they had a fractured arm or torn cartilage in their shoulder. They call and want to file a claim or lawsuit against the owner of the property. Not having filed a claim right after the accident in this situation is going to be a big obstacle to prevailing in this type of case. Because the owner or really the insurance company is going to argue that your accident could have occurred anywhere and at any time. The burden is on the victim to prove that the accident occurred where he/she says it did. Of course, there are exceptions. If you didn’t report the incident to the property owner but you called an ambulance to pick you up for example. That’s pretty good evidence it occurred where you said it did. Or, if you left the scene and went straight to an emergency room and told the nurse or doctor what just happened and where, you could overcome this issue. But the best option is to report it and hopefully get an incident report at the scene. So who you should you report the incident to? If the accident occurred on private property, at an apartment complex or shopping mall, or at a public store, call building or store management immediately. Make sure they document the existence of the fall in a written report. Get the name of the security officer or store manager filling out the report and try to get a copy of the report as well. You could also call 911. Even if you’re not sure if you’re hurt, reporting the incident to the police will get it on the record that the fall occurred and you could subpoena the 911 call log later if needed. You can also go to the local police station and file a report. But whatever you do, don’t delay. As an aside, if you fell on city property like a public street or city sidewalk, you may have a governmental claim which is governed by different rules. The most important being that you have a shorter timeline in which to file a claim and then a subsequent lawsuit. To show how reporting the incident affects your case, I want to give two examples of cases I worked on. First, I had a client who suffered a slip and fall on a patch of ice which resulted in a fractured her arm. Ice related slip and falls are a different type of case. My client didn’t report the incident, went home, couple days later she’s still in pain. Finally gets medical care and sure enough she’s got a fracture. We file a claim and of course the insurance company denies the claim. The injury could have happened anywhere they argued and technically they’re right. In a different case we had the opposite result. In that case, an elderly client fell on the walkway in front of a chain restaurant. The pads of concrete were not level – one pad rose up two inches above the other. He didn’t see the rise, tripped and fell and suffered an injury to his arm. He reported it to the restaurant manager immediately after the incident. The manager filled out a report on the scene and gave a copy to our client. She documented the varying levels of the concrete in the report. To our amazement, the manager even admitted that others had fallen before and that she had previously notified her superiors of the condition. The case was over at that point and we were able to recover significantly for his injuries. So, make sure you always report a slip and fall accident to the police or building or store management after it occurs.