What To Do After a Slip and Fall Accident
The hazard that caused the fall will be cleaned up within minutes and the footage overwritten within days. Almost everything that decides the claim has to be captured before you leave.
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Photograph the hazard before anyone touches it
This is the single most important thing and the one people skip, because the instinct after falling is embarrassment and a wish to leave. Within minutes a spill is mopped and a mat is straightened, and there is then no evidence the condition existed.
Photograph the substance itself, the surrounding floor, any track marks through it, the lighting, and the absence or presence of warning signs. Include something for scale. Wide shots establish where you were; close shots establish what was there.
Report it, and insist it is written down
Ask for a manager and ask that an incident report be completed. Give the facts and nothing about fault. Ask for a copy or at least a reference number.
Businesses do not always volunteer a report, and an unreported fall becomes an argument that it never happened or happened elsewhere. If a report is refused, send an email the same day describing what occurred, which creates a dated record either way.
Do not say you are fine
Adrenaline and embarrassment produce the same answer. That sentence goes into the incident report and is quoted for the life of the claim, and slip and fall injuries frequently present the following day.
Say that you do not know yet and that you will be seeing a doctor. Accept medical assessment if it is offered.
Identify witnesses and cameras before leaving
Other customers leave within minutes and staff change shift. A name and phone number written down at the scene is worth far more than any later attempt to trace someone.
Look up. Note where cameras are and which direction they face, because a preservation demand has to identify the footage sought. Most retail systems overwrite on a cycle measured in days, and this is the evidence that answers the notice question.
Keep what you were wearing
Shoes especially. Occupiers routinely argue that footwear was unsuitable, and the actual shoe, with its tread intact, answers that far better than a description.
Clothing may also carry the substance that caused the fall, which is direct evidence of what was on the floor when the mopping has removed everything else.
See a doctor within days, and describe the fall
Wrist, hip, shoulder, back and head injuries are the common pattern, and several present late. A gap between the fall and the first medical record is the standard argument that the fall caused nothing.
Tell the clinician you fell, where, and on what. That connection in the medical record is what links the injury to the incident, and it cannot be added convincingly afterwards.
Summary
| When | Do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Immediately | Photograph the hazard untouched | It is cleaned within minutes |
| Immediately | Photograph lighting, signage, wide and close | Establishes the condition |
| Before leaving | Ask for a written incident report | An unreported fall is disputed |
| Before leaving | Note witnesses and camera positions | Both disappear fast |
| Do not | Say you are fine | It is quoted for the life of the claim |
| Keep | Shoes and clothing | Answers the footwear argument |
| Within days | See a doctor and name the fall | Links injury to incident |
| First week | Written demand to preserve footage | Overwritten on a short cycle |
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Frequently asked questions
The hazard itself before anyone touches it, the surrounding floor, any track marks, the lighting and whether warning signs were present. Take wide shots to establish location and close shots to establish the condition.
Yes, and ask that a written incident report be completed and that you get a copy or reference number. If a report is refused, send an email the same day describing what happened so a dated record exists either way.
Because it goes into the incident report and is quoted for the life of the claim, and slip and fall injuries frequently present the following day. Say you do not know yet and will be seeing a doctor.
Yes. Occupiers routinely argue that footwear was unsuitable, and the actual shoe with its tread intact answers that far better than a description.
Talk it through with a lawyer
A free consultation covers whether you have a claim, what the deadline is, and what insurance is actually available.
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