What you do after a slip and fall accident is what will determine whether your case will be successful or not. Filing a potential slip and fall claim in New Bedford is not as easy as it looks because you have to follow a certain procedure. Below are some tips that will help you build a successful case.

Report the Accident

If you were hurt in a slip and fall accident in New Bedford, you do should report the accident to the owner of the premises as soon as possible. If you got hurt on commercial property, the accident should be reported to the highest-ranking person that you can find there. If you were injured on public property, you should report the incident to the city or town.

Failing to report your accident immediately might not legally bar you from filing a slip and fall accident claim but if you wait too long, you might ruin your chances of getting compensation. This is especially true if your accident wasn’t witnessed by anybody.

The insurance company and even a jury will question why you never reported the accident sooner. If you do not want to seriously hurt your claim, you should report your accident as soon as it happens.

Get Witness Information

If there were plenty of people who saw what happened, you should try to get their names and contact information. Witnesses can help make your case so they can play a huge role in your injury claim.

Snap Pictures of the Accident Scene

If you can, take pictures of the accident scene immediately. You can take pictures using your mobile phone in as many angles as possible. This way, even if someone changes or fixes the area, you will be able to show the court what the place looked like when you fell. If you slipped on ice or snow, having pictures of the accident scene definitely helps because snow can melt or it can be cleared away. Once this happens, it will be very difficult to prove your slip and fall case.

Go to the Hospital

We always tell our clients to go to the hospital even if they think they aren’t seriously hurt. Internal injuries take a while to notice. We have seen clients claim that they were fine when they got home but two days later started feeling excruciating pain.

It’s best to always go to the doctor so that they can identify any internal injuries that you may have early. Waiting too long to go to the hospital will give insurers the opportunity to argue that your injuries weren’t serious or that you weren’t hurt.

Make Sure Your Story is Consistent

Make sure that your story does not contradict what’s in your medical file. You also shouldn’t give different versions of your story to the insurer, the doctor or during trial. Your story should be consistent.

Let’s say you slipped and fell and you tore your rotator cuff because you used your arm to break the fall. But when you get to the emergency room, you tell the doctor that your shoulder has been hurting for weeks and you haven’t done any heavy lifting to aggravate it.

As you can see, these are two very different stories. If you pursue a slip and fall injury claim, your case probably won’t go very far. So if your injury was as a result of your accident, make sure this is what you tell your doctor and the insurer.

Do Not Give Recorded Statements to Insurers

Most insurers like telling personal injury victims that they need to record a statement in order for them to start processing their claims. This is not true and you are not legally obligated to give out recorded statements. Giving out such statements might cost you your settlement. If you want to give out a recorded statement, always consult a New Bedford slip and fall lawyer first.

We Can Help you with your Slip and Fall Injury Claim

If you have been a victim of a slip and fall accident, we can help you with your claim. There is no reason you should suffer because of someone else’s negligence. Call one of our slip and fall lawyers at Kevin P Landry Law Offices by dialing 508-999-0800 or by visiting our offices in New Bedford.