Slip and fall accidents can happen just about anywhere. You can slip in the grocery store or fall while wandering around Central Park. Even city sidewalks can result in painful injuries.Â
Regardless of where the slip and fall accident happens, you’re probably wondering about recovering compensation especially if you suffer injuries.Â
While the average NY slip-and-fall settlement amount varies, you can take some steps to help protect the value of your claim. If you’re injured in a slip-and-fall accident in New York, here’s a look at what you should do.
Steps to Take After a Slip and Fall Accident
Regardless of where your accident occurs, the steps you take to help protect your potential claim stay the same.
Report the Accident
Whether you slip and fall in a public space or residential property, it’s common to feel a little embarrassed. You may want to skip the embarrassment of reporting the accident but this is always a mistake.
If you don’t report the accident, it’s going to be tough to show the incident occurred. Even if you sustain serious injuries, you still need to prove they occurred due to your slip and fall.
As long as your injuries don’t require immediate medical attention, stay at the accident scene until the authorities arrive. However, this can also be a problem when the accident occurs in a busy city like NYC. The authorities may not rate your slip and fall accident as a high priority so you may be waiting for a while. If this is the case, don’t panic. You can still file an accident report online or at a police precinct.
You also want to alert the manager, business, or property owner of your accident. This way, it doesn’t come as a complete surprise when they receive notice of your intent to file a compensation claim. This can also provide a little more support for your injury claim.
Seek Immediate Medical Attention
Even if you don’t seem to have any injuries after slipping and falling, you should still make an appointment with a healthcare provider.Â
Some injuries like soft tissue ones can take a while to start displaying signs and symptoms. You don’t want a hidden injury to get worse due to your lack of treatment. You’re also going to need your medical records if you’re planning on filing an accident claim.
Something else to consider is New York’s statute of limitations on personal injury claims. Typically, you have two years from the date of the accident to file a compensation claim. If you miss the filing deadline, there’s a good chance you can’t seek compensation for your slip and fall accident. Seeing immediate medical attention not only protects your health but also the value of your accident claim.
Try to Document the Accident Scene
Don’t worry about playing a detective or crime scene tech if you suffer severe injuries. Your primary concern should always be your health. However, if you’re able, try to document the accident scene.
Try not to go overboard. You’re not a badge-carrying detective. Instead, you’re only gathering some evidence to help support your potential injury case. Take pictures of any visible injuries. The camera app on your smartphone will work fine. Take pictures of where you fell and of any hazards that caused you to slip. This can be anything from a spill on the floor to an uneven or broken section of sidewalk.
Look around for any witnesses. Go ahead and get their contact information but don’t go into specifics about your accident. The defendant’s insurance adjuster will also interview witnesses and you don’t want anything you say to be used to reduce the value of your claim.
You should also look around for any surveillance cameras. Chances are there’s at least one in the area, even if your accident occurs on a residential property. Make a note of the camera’s location. Your personal injury attorney can subpoena the footage.
Save Every Scrap of Paper
If you prefer keeping everything tidy and generally toss receipts away, you’re going to want to temporarily break this habit.Â
While your personal injury claim is working its way through the legal process, you need to keep thorough records. This includes saving everything relating to your slip and fall accident. So, what should you plan on saving?
- Keep all of your medical bills and receipts, along with any prescriptions. If physical therapy or other types of follow-up treatment is necessary, save all of this information.
- To show property damage, keep any bills for repairs/replacements, along with receipts and estimates.
- Some slip-and-fall accidents result in serious injuries that force you to miss work. This can be a claimable damage if you save your pay stubs and other financial records.
A good tip is to create a folder dedicated solely to paperwork relating to your accident. You may also want to keep a journal describing your recovery progress. This can be helpful if you’re planning on including non-economic damages like pain and suffering in your injury claim.
Start Calculating Your Damages
Some damages are fairly easy to calculate like your medical expenses, property damage costs, and lost income. These are economic damages and adding up your bills, receipts, and estimates can give you an approximate value.
When it comes to non-economic damages like mental anguish, determining the value is a little tricky. Since your pain and anguish don’t come with a handy price tag, you need to use either the per diem or multiplier method to come up with the value.
Your personal injury attorney can help you calculate your economic and non-economic losses to help ensure you receive a fair settlement amount.
Partner with an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer
You can file a slip-and-fall accident claim without legal representation but it’s usually not the best idea. Even calculating your claim’s value can be challenging and you don’t want to make a mistake.
Partnering with an experienced New York accident attorney can help ensure you receive a fair settlement for your injuries. Your attorney can handle the legal details while you focus on recovering from your injuries.
Image by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels
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