Don’t Do These Things After a Slip and Fall Accident

If you are injured on someone else’s property because they did something careless that caused you to fall, you are certainly the victim in this situation. But despite your status as a victim, there are things that people do that can harm their ability to collect compensation for injuries that are sustained in that fall.

Some of these are normal human reactions, or even common sense. And certainly, in the immediate aftermath of a fall, the last thing you may be thinking about is what you should or should not say for the purposes of a lawsuit. Still, it can be helpful to try to avoid doing or saying some of these things.

Don’t Apologize

Often, we apologize for too many things. Even for things that aren’t our fault. That can be a natural human reaction after a fall. You may say you’re sorry you didn’t see something or you’re sorry because you were looking somewhere else, or that you should have done X,Y or Z.

Try to avoid doing this. You may have absolutely nothing to apologize for—you may think you caused a fall, when in fact, legally, the fall was not your fault at all. You may not even have a sufficient memory to apologize; you likely weren’t doing a detailed analysis of your surroundings in the seconds before a fall.

Failing to Report the Fall to the Property Owner

Let’s face it—reporting a fall can be a hassle, especially if you feel like you “aren’t that injured.” You will have to fill out a report, talk to an employee, answer questions…and you may need to go about your day (even if you’re in pain).

But when you don’t report a fall, the scene is not documented. Nobody takes pictures. Witnesses aren’t interviewed. And later, if you do make a claim or file a lawsuit, nobody knows how or when you actually fell, or if it even happened, because you never reported it.

Don’t Throw Away Clothing

After a fall, your clothing may be dirty or torn or soiled. Your first reaction may be to throw them away. Don’t. Your clothes have valuable evidence on them. Evidence of your injuries, or the substance you fell on. Your shoes may have the same thing. And the other side has the right to inspect those clothes—if you throw them away, they could accuse you of trying to destroy or conceal evidence.

Don’t Move Items at the Accident Scene

After an accident, if the victim can move about, the victim may move things—even things the victim fell on. The victim may move a box or item he or she fell on, or wipe away debris or push aside liquid.

Don’t do that—try to leave the scene in the same condition as it exited right after you fell. That scene contains details which may be essential to proving your case in court and if you alter it a judge or jury may have no way of seeing what it looked like.

The Tampa personal injury attorneys at Barbas, Nunez, Sanders, Butler & Hovsepian can help you avoid these and other common mistakes after a slip and fall. Call to schedule a consultation today

Source:

uslaw.org/pdf-resources/understanding-evidence-spoliation-and-tips-to-avoid-it/