Slip and Fall Injuries

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If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall accident in your local supermarket, mall or other place of business, the right personal injury lawyer can make certain that you recover the maximum benefits you deserve under the law. Please feel free to call us or drop by any of our fifteen locations if you have any questions regarding your slip and fall claim, let’s get together for a free consultation. Tell the insurance companies you mean business, let one of our personal injury attorneys get to work for you now!

A "slip and fall" is the generic term used by lawyers for an injury that occurs when someone slips, trips or falls as a result of a dangerous or hazardous condition on someone else's property. Examples of these sorts of dangerous conditions include sidewalks or stairs covered with snow and ice. These conditions cause thousands of serious injuries each year. Food and foreign substances can cause danger in restaurants and supermarkets. Badly aligned walkways or sidewalks as well as stairs that are in poor condition, poorly lighted or without handrails are sources for a possible slip and fall accident. If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident, the right attorney can help you to recover damages from those responsible for your fall.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE INJURED IN A SLIP & FALL ACCIDENT

If you are injured in a slip and fall accident it is very important that you protect the evidence of your fall. This is because the conditions that caused a slip and fall injury can more easily and quickly be "cleaned up" or "lost" than can the physical evidence resulting from other kinds of accidents. Here are some things you should do to ensure that you have maximized your potential for recovery:

1. Take Photographs

As soon as you can, take pictures of location where you fell, especially the floor surface, in order to capture the condition at the time of your fall.

If you sustained a visible injury such as a bruise, cut, scrape or stitches, take photograph(s) of the injury.

Take photographs of any mats, rugs, or slip prevention fabrics at the location, if the location of the accident had any at the time of your fall. If the location of the accident does not have any of these fabrics or any other type of safety items, take photographs to show the absence of safety items.

Take photographs of the condition of your clothing and shoes immediately following the accident

Take photographs of any warning signs that might be in the area of the location of the accident

Take as many photographs as you would like of what you think may be important. Your attorney can decide later which pictures are most useful.

2. Get Names and Contact Information from Witnesses

Take the name, address and telephone number of any potential witness and save this information someplace where it will not be lost.

Return to the accident scene and visit any nearby homes or businesses, if you can, to see if you can find any witnesses to the accident.

Revisit the scene of the accident several times at the same time at which the accident took place. Some people may have a habit of stopping or driving by the location of the accident as part of their normal day. You may be able to find a witness this way.

If you have obtained witness information, do not contact or speak to the witnesses again or try to get any written statements from them. Let your attorney contact any possible witness.

3. Preserve and Protect the Physical Evidence

Most importantly, save the shoes that you were wearing at the time you slipped and fell. Place them inside a plastic bag and tape it shut so that any materials stuck to the shoes will remain on the shoes for use as evidence.

Store all of the articles of clothing that you were wearing at the time of the accident in a plastic bag in a safe place where they will not be lost. Do not wash them.

If possible, do not leave the scene of the accident without obtaining a copy of the accident report that the manager, owner, employee or other person has filled out while in your presence.

Go to the hospital emergency room immediately if you are in any pain whatsoever. Do not be afraid to tell the doctor about every area of your body in which you are experiencing pain.

If the item that you slipped on is non-perishable, save a sample in a safe place where it will not be lost.

If the item is perishable, i.e. vegetables, or fruit, try to preserve the item in a liquid chemical preservative or in a freezer.

What NOT to do if you are Injured in a Slip & Fall Incident

DO NOT discuss or make any statements about your case with any employees or insurance representatives of the property owner, without first speaking with your own lawyer.

DO NOT accept any forms of payment or sign any releases without speaking to your lawyer. Doing so could waive your right to recovery.

DO NOT apologize for the incident. Any statement you make can be used against you by insurance companies and their attorneys to defeat your claim for compensation. Do not sign any document admitting fault.

DO NOT contact or speak to the witnesses again or try to get any written statements from them. Let your attorney contact any possible witness.

If have been the victim of a slip and fall accident, you should consider contacting an attorney who specializes in slip and fall cases. The attorneys of d'Oliveira & Associates, P.C., would like to meet with you and discuss the investigation of your injury. Our law firm has represented and assisted numerous slip and fall victims in bringing lawsuits against owners and insurance companies alike. We never charge our clients any fees or expenses, unless we are successfull.


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