What you do after an accident or slip and fall can make or break your case. As private investigators who specialize in investigating personal injury accidents, we know first-hand the complexity and stress involved in some of these cases. Sometimes key witnesses are excluded from the accident/incident report, or vital details go unnoticed, both crucial to establishing your case. Most people will suffer a slip, trip, fall, or vehicle accident at some point in their lives. Worse yet, the accident likely won’t even be their fault. The first steps taken after an accident or slip and fall can often determine the success of your case. We have outlined the four steps you should take immediately following an accident or slip and fall.
- Seek medical attention from a professional. Many times, the injuries can be minor and negligible, but it is still important to get checked out by a professional as soon as possible. There are two reasons why you should do this: one, to make sure you are okay and don’t need any immediate medical treatment, and two, it is crucial that you receive medical attention and obtain, in writing, a professional diagnosis of any injuries caused by the incident. This will become extremely useful in your case.
- Inspect the area where the accident or injury took place. If you are unable to, have someone you know look around closely for anything that may have caused the fall or accident. You should be looking for things such as lane blockages, faulty equipment, spilled liquids or food, maybe even uneven flooring. As soon as possible, put down in writing your detailed version of the accident. This will give the personal injury attorney a better idea of how the accident took place.
- Identify all witnesses at the scene. Make sure that you take down the names, addresses and phone numbers of anybody who was involved in or near the incident scene when the accident happened. You may need these individuals to come forward in the future, as witnesses. Even if an individual didn’t exactly see the incident as it happened, they might be able to describe your pain after the accident, the conditions of the scene, lighting, anything that can be used by your personal injury attorney to demonstrate liability.
- Take as many photographs as you can. If possible, take some pictures of the scene immediately following the accident. If you are unable to do this, ask somebody else to kindly take them for you. Without pictures for proof, the other side can easily clean up the scene and tell their own version of what happened.
Following these steps will not only help give your story credibility, but it will also help your personal injury attorney build a stronger more successful case.