Slip and fall accident and feel like no one cares?

I frequently take phone calls from individuals injured in a slip and fall accident who say to me, “They didn’t even come see if I was okay!”  “They didn’t ask if I needed a doctor!” or “They didn’t even call 911!”

While I do think that business owners would likely save themselves a lot of stress if they would train their staff to assist in a slip and fall accident, they certainly are under no obligation to do so.  Oftentimes people think that this means they are admitting they did something wrong.  Unfortunately, it simply means that people don’t care and don’t have to.  You have to take responsibility for yourself and make sure you are taken care of after your slip and fall accident, in Abilene, Texas.

A premises owner is under no obligation to do anything to assist you simply because of your slip and fall incident on their property.  You must assist yourself.

If you think you have a slip and fall claim, you must take the steps to preserve your own evidence.

What should you do?

• TAKE PICTURES! This is the number one problem I have in premises liability cases…proof.  If your slip and fall happened due to a substance, take a photo of the substance and the area.
• File an incident/accident report with the manager or owner.
• Get the medical attention that you need.
• Do NOT speak to the representatives of the premises owner until you have consulted an attorney.
• Speak to a slip and fall lawyer / personal injury attorney, in Abilene, TX.

Slip and fall cases otherwise known as premises liability cases are some of the most difficult cases we have in Texas.  For purposes of this blog, I am focusing primarily on slip and fall and trip and fall type premises injuries.  There are many types of premises cases that involved different areas of law, we can cover those later.  For now let’s talk simply about cases involving a slip and fall or trip and fall due to some sort of negligence.

In these types of cases you have the burden of proving several things.  I won’t delve too deeply here into the law surrounding premises owners and injured parties because it gets confusing and this is just a blog!  However, the basics are these:

1) You must show that the premises owner owed you a duty to make the property safe,

2) You must show that a dangerous condition existed on the premises,

3) The landowner knew or reasonably should have known of this dangerous condition,

4) The premises owner failed to warn you of the condition or failed to remedy the condition; and

5) Because of the premises owner’s failures you were injured in your slip and fall incident.

As the injured party you have what we call the “Burden of Proof.”  What that means is that it is up to you to prove to a judge or jury that the condition was there, they knew about it and they failed to fix it and because of that you are suffering.  This is an incredibly difficult burden to meet; because of that it is important that you preserve as much evidence as possible.

I can’t stress to you enough how important it is that you take pictures.  If your slip and fall injury is due to a substance on the floor oftentimes there will be a leak or spill of some kind that you can obtain pictures of, as well.  Obviously, the most important thing is your physical well being, pictures are secondary.

If you are able to fill out the slip and fall accident/incident report, do so.

Again, this is secondary to your medical treatment.

Which brings me to the most important issue: Medical treatment.  If you are injured in a slip and fall, go get treatment.  I have clients tell me they didn’t go get treatment because the insurance company didn’t call them and tell them who to go see.  I have clients tell me they weren’t sure what to do so they waited to come see a lawyer, in Abilene, TX.

Here is the deal:  The premises owner is not going to pay for your medical treatment up front.  You are responsible for your medical treatment.  I frequently ask clients, “What would you be doing if you had fallen off of your own porch?” It doesn’t matter HOW you were injured, that part we deal with later.  What matters is IF you were injured and if you were injured you need to get medical treatment immediately.

Another common issue that I see is potential slip and fall clients attempt to resolve their cases without the benefit of counsel.

Often times by the time a case comes to me for help, the client has given recorded statements, made outrageous and unreasonable demands and already positioned the case poorly.  I encourage everyone to go get a free consultation with a slip and fall attorney / personal injury lawyer in Abilene, Texas.  Low Law Firm gives free consultations and most other personal injury attorneys in Abilene, Texas do, as well.

Obviously, this is just a blog so an in depth analysis of any case cannot be accomplished here.  However, if you would like to consult with an Abilene, Texas slip and fall attorney call me!  Tara Gilmore-Low, Low Law Firm 325-455-1889.