Posted: September 27, 2017
If you slip and fall due to poorly maintained conditions on someone else's property, it can result in severe injury such as bone fractures, sprains, brain injury, or spinal cord injury. These injuries can result in hospital stays, medical bills, and lost wages due to inability to work. If your injury results in long term disability or months of rehabilitation, those lost wages and medical bills will only add up further.
This is why it is important to know what steps to take following your slip and fall accident. Following the steps outlined below will help you have a stronger case if you decide to sue the property owner to cover your expenses as well as pain and suffering.
If you've been injured in a trip, slip and fall accident, don't wait to contact New York personal injury attorney Reid B. Wissner at 212-406-9288. He will evaluate your case and fight for maximum compensation on your behalf.
Seek Medical Help
Even if you don't think you've been injured badly, you should still visit a doctor for an examination. Slip and fall injuries can become worse over time, so it is important to see a doctor as soon as you can. Your doctor's evaluation of your injuries will help in determining how much your claim is worth, and seeing a doctor right away strengthens your claim. If you wait to see a doctor, the other party's insurance may claim that your injuries were not that bad since you didn't bother to visit a doctor immediately.
If you have been seriously injured, call or have someone call 911 for immediate assistance. Injuries after a trip and fall accident can be life-threatening in some cases, and you want to make sure you get the medical attention you need.
Take Photos
If you can, it is important to document the scene of your fall with photos. Capturing photographic evidence of the exact conditions which caused your accident is invaluable for a successful case should you choose to pursue compensation. If you do not take photos immediately, the property owner may take his or her own misleading photos that do not properly show the dangerous conditions.
If you have time, you could also write down or record your own account of the incident while it's fresh in your mind. However, do not share this information with anyone but your lawyer, and do not give out any official statements. Anything you say can be used against you to deny or devalue your claim, so it's best not to say anything before consulting a lawyer.
Stay Off Social Media
Likewise, it's best not to post anything on social media for a time. Do not post anything related to your accident, and try not to post any photos or flippant comments that suggest you may not be as injured as you claim. This may seem like overkill, but insurance companies will use anything they can to avoid paying you what you deserve. If you have friends and family watching for your social media updates, inform them that you'll be taking a break for a while.
Contact Reid B. Wissner
The final step is to contact an experienced trip and fall lawyer for a free case evaluation. A lawyer will be able to help you with any paperwork or deadlines, and can fight for you in order to obtain maximum compensation for your injuries.
Insurance companies are only interested in their bottom line, not your well-being, and will offer the lowest settlement, if any. Reid Wissner will negotiate on your behalf in order to get you fair compensation so that you can focus on healing and recovery.
You may think that if there were no witnesses and you forgot to document your incident you do not have a case, but this is not so. Reid Wissner has experience winning unreported, unwitnessed slip and fall cases, and he will use his expertise to help you to the best of his ability.
Schedule Your Slip, Trip, and Fall Consultation
If you have been injured from slipping on a sidewalk, a wet floor, poorly maintained stairs, or another property hazard in New York, don't hesitate to contact the Reid B. Wissner Law Offices at 212-406-9288 for your free consultation.
We serve clients in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and other areas of New York City.