Injuring yourself in someone’s business can be painful, awkward, and embarrassing. After you get through the initial daze of what happened, you need to start thinking about whose fault the accident might be. If it’s completely your fault and the business owner can prove negligence on your part, there’s not much you can do. But if the business owner can be proven to have had negligence on their part, there are many damages you can recover from an unfortunate situation.
Before trying to place blame and worrying about the end result, seek whatever necessary medical treatment you need. It’s important to take care of yourself first. The full severity of injuries may not be apparent without a trip to the doctor or emergency room. Sometimes proof of injuries don’t show up for hours or even days after an accident and are not properly cared for since they may not be associated with the accident. Furthermore, you cannot make additional claims for medical bills after the fact if you found out the extent of the injuries was worse than what you initially reported. Claims must also be submitted in a reasonable time frame, depending on what state the accident happened. A personal injury lawyer will be able to help you navigate deadlines and necessary documentation.
Besides seeking medical care, you should make sure to get additional documentation as evidence for the situation. Make sure that you take pictures where the injury occurred, successfully capturing what may have led to an injury. It’s also important to get a picture of the extent of visible injuries to be used in conjunction with a doctor’s report and bills for services. Besides pictures, are there any physical pieces of evidence from the scene of the injury? Maybe you scuffed up your shoes in a fall or got blood on your shirt as a result of what happened. Save these articles as they may come in handy for your case. A personal injury lawyer will make sure that evidenced is gathered and handled appropriately so that it can be used to defend your story in a claim.
Was there any witness to the accident? Even if someone was not physically present, you should get the name and statement of someone who can describe the conditions present where the injury occurred. The more witness statements you can collect, the better! There is no such thing as having too many witnesses.
Whoever’s in charge at the time of the accident will likely make an incident report. Be sure that you don’t leave the premises without a copy of the incident report – but don’t let yourself be pressured into signing it! Signing an incident report implies that you accept some or all fault, especially as it is written from the businesses perspective with their unique biases. Furthermore, if someone who’s representing the business, like a claims adjuster, contacts you… don’t give a statement. Tread carefully, for this is another chance for your own statement to be used against you. Their goal is to persuade you to settle the claim at a low price if they suspect they will lose a legal case, and sign a release.
To summarize, in order to prove that the premises where the injury occurred is liable, you’ll as many of the following as you can get your hands on:
- Photos of the scene of the incident.
- Witness information including names and contact information.
- Evidence like clothing you wore the day of that may have evidence of what happened. Don’t change it in any way, like washing it.
- Copies of the incident report, if available, or other relevant reports.
- Medical records as proof of an injury and bills to show how much the damages were.
As soon as possible after the accident, get in contact with a personal injury lawyer to discuss how to proceed. They can help you to determine what’s important and what isn’t in proving your case. In addition, they can make sure that you achieve the best possible claim before the case is settled. Each Attorney Big Al represents clients in respect region. Contact your local Attorney Big Al by calling 1-800-HURT-123 or visiting www.HURT123.com and selecting your location.