4 Steps in Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer After a Slip and Fall

According to research conducted by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), slip and fall accidents account for around 25 percent of all workplace-related injuries. They also represent one-third of all preventable deaths.

Slip and fall incidents can unfold at any type of venue that is open to the public, including convenience and grocery stores, as well as entertainment venues such as arenas, stadiums, and movie theaters. Injuries sustained by slip and fall victims range in severity from mild bumps and bruises to compound fractures and long-term whiplash symptoms. Slip and fall incidents represent one of the most common cases handled by a personal injury lawyer.

If you sustained one or more injuries as the result of a slip and fall incident, you should follow four steps when hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer.

Seek Immediate Attention

Regardless of how you feel after a slip and fall incident, the first item on your to-do list involves getting checked out by a licensed physician. As with cases handled by a car accident lawyer, a slip and fall incident can cause injuries that do not develop symptoms for several hours or up to a couple of days, including whiplash, concussion, and soft tissue damage.

Without copies of medical bills and a detailed description of your injuries, you have no chance to get an insurance claim approved, much less win a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

Gather Physical Evidence

As with a car accident lawyer who collects physical evidence, the personal injury lawyer that you hire builds the strongest insurance claim and legal case possible by gathering physical evidence. However, you can give your personal injury lawyer a head start by presenting some of the physical evidence associated with your case.

Start by taking photographs of what you think caused your slip and fall incident. This can mean a photo of a wet spot on a floor and/or an object sticking out in a high-traffic area. You also should speak with witnesses to find one or more people to confirm what the physical evidence tells you. In addition, asking for footage from security cameras can identify the culprit that caused you harm, as well as determine whether the venue where you slipped and fell should be held legally liable for your injuries.

File an Incident Report

Employees injured by a slip and fall while at work must file an incident report within a certain amount of time. Although you are not under a similar deadline, you should file an incident report as soon as possible after a slip and fall incident. Present all the information you have collected to the owner or manager of the venue, and copy every piece of evidence to ensure your incident report does not leave out any important information by the time the venue owner or manager processes it for insurance purposes.

Receive Legal Support

The time has come to meet with a personal injury lawyer to discuss your case. Your attorney helps you submit a persuasive insurance claim, as well as monitor it to ensure it receives prompt attention from an insurance adjuster. If you encounter resistance trying to obtain video footage, your personal injury lawyer takes the steps necessary to acquire it by going through the legal system. Your personal injury lawyer also files a personal injury lawsuit against the venue if negligence played a role in you sustaining one or more injuries as the result of a slip and fall incident.

Is a Car Accident Attorney Necessary if There is Only Minor Fender Damage?

It was just another day running errands when Murphy’s Law kicked in. What can go wrong will go wrong becomes true when you get involved in a car accident. However, it turned out to be a fender bender, which brings up one important question.

Is a car accident lawyer necessary if there is only minor fender damage? In short, contacting a personal injury lawyer who specializes in handling car accident cases is the right thing to do for several reasons.

Your Car Might Be More Damaged Than You Think

At first look, a minor fender appears to be nothing more than an unsightly bump in the fender that a licensed mechanic can hammer out in just a few minutes. However, your car might have absorbed enough of an impact to develop one or more serious issues that you cannot detect at first glance. For example, the impact might have been strong enough to push the suspension out of alignment or decrease the operational performance of one or more safety features.

Even for a minor fender bender, one of the first things to do after an accident is to take your car for an inspection by a qualified mechanic.

Your Body Might Have Sustained More Damage Than You Think

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), motor vehicle collisions send more than 2.3 million victims to an emergency room each year. After a minor fender bender, you might not feel the need to seek medical attention, but you should because some injuries take more time to develop than other types of injuries. For example, whiplash and a concussion might not show signs of development until hours or even a day or two after a car accident. A car accident attorney cannot help you recover the financial losses associated with medical bills if you do not seek medical attention in a timely manner after a collision.

You Need Help Filing an Insurance Claim

One of the most important types of legal support that is provided by a personal injury lawyer who specializes in handling car accident cases involves helping clients file persuasive insurance claims. Auto insurance adjusters love it when policyholders do not receive legal support when filing an accident claim. Not only does a car accident lawyer help you submit convincing physical evidence, but you also gain an advocate who closely monitors your claim to ensure it receives the attention that it deserves.

Here is important advice to remember: Do not contact your insurance company until after you have consulted with a state-licensed car accident lawyer.

You Deserve Compensation

Let’s assume your injuries and the damage done to your car turned out to be much worse than you initially thought. How do you recover the financial losses generated by medical bills and the repairs done to your motor vehicle? The answer is by working with an experienced personal injury lawyer who specializes in handling car accident cases.

You have two primary types of compensation to request after an auto crash. First, you request compensation to pay off medical and car repair bills. Submitting copies of the bills typically is enough physical evidence to get a car accident claim approved. You also might qualify for noneconomic damages, which include living with emotional trauma such as the symptoms triggered by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The Bottom Line

Regardless of the severity of a motor vehicle collision, your insurance company and the car accident lawyer representing the other party will not be on your side. This means you should hire a personal injury lawyer who handles car accident cases to represent your best legal and financial interests.