What should you do if you have been injured in a slip and fall injury?
Falling over in a public place can be embarrassing. You may want to leave the scene as quickly as possible. However, injuries often manifest themselves hours or days after the initial shock. Here are some tips that you can use to ensure that you obtain important evidence in your public liability claim from the very moment of your fall:
Take photographs at the time of your accident
- Take pictures of the area where you fell, especially the floor surface and any contaminants on the floor that may have caused you to fall. This is one of the most important pieces of evidence that can be obtained in a slip and fall accident.
- Keep the clothing and shoes that you were wearing at the time of the accident for any future use as evidence.
- Take photographs of any warnings signs or lack of warning signs in and around the area of your accident.
- Take photographs of your injuries at the time of the accident and periodically take photos thereafter if the visible bruising or contusions get worse with time.
Obtain witness details
- Even if you don’t think you will need it or are embarrassed to ask, it’s important to take the name, address and telephone number of any witnesses to your accident.
- If you have obtained witness information, do not contact or speak to the witness again or attempt to get any written statements from them. Let you’re the experts at Law Advice Compensation Lawyers contact any potential witnesses to obtain supportive statements in your matter on your behalf.
Other evidence to obtain
- Do not leave the place of accident until an incident/accident report has been completed by the responsible person. If possible, obtain a copy of the accident report that has been completed before leaving the accident scene.
- Get the details of the centre manager, owner, employee, or other person that has completed the incident report. Keep the details in a safe place as your lawyer may need to contact that person down the track.
- If possible, try to preserve a sample of the item that caused you to fall (whether it’s building material, fruit or vegetable, etc) for future use as evidence.
Taking the above simple steps after your slip and fall injury will help to prove liability and obtain the maximum compensation in your matter.
The information is current as at the date of publication of this article. The above article is of a general nature only and does not constitute legal advice. Law Advice Compensation Lawyers are experts in public liability claims. For a free, no obligation assessment of your public liability claim call us on 1800 122 555 or complete our Free Claim Advice Form and get the compensation you deserve.