FAQs about slip-and-fall personal injury lawsuits

What should I do after experiencing a slip-and-fall?

The fresher the details are in your memory when you complain, the more accurate a conclusion the court can draw about the event. There are a few actions to consider for keeping memories clear:

  • Photography was invented to make details easier to recall, so take advantage of that if possible. Try to get close-up shots of the spot where you fell, objects you ran into, etc.
  • Carefully store the shoes and clothes you had on at the time for a clearer image of the impact.
  • If possible, alert the location’s management right away.
  • Seek contact info from anyone who was or might’ve been around you at the time of the event.

Doing these things will help the court see what you saw when you were injured.

If the person responsible is someone close to me, do I have to request compensation from them personally?

Not necessarily. If you win in court, you can get your cash from the person’s insurer. Almost every property, personal and public alike, is insured to guarantee the owner remains economically secure should anything happen to it.

So if a loved one has caused you pain, there shouldn’t have to be hard feelings. Their services can right the wrong, giving both of you a win.

Should I delay medical treatment until I’ve met with a lawyer?

You really should seek medical help immediately. Sometimes an injury that looks minor can become much worse within a few short hours. Try to get service from an ER or at least your regular physician. The sooner you’re tended to, the sooner you can return back to normal health.

FAQs about slip-and-fall personal injury lawsuits

How much time do I have before my case can no longer be accepted?

Depending on the state, the maximum time limit ranges from one to six years. Look up the “statute of limitations” in the state where your accident happened. With so much going on in your life, it’s easy to forget a specific event. So do whatever is necessary to keep it fresh on your mind and fit the case into your schedule.

If the other person’s insurer requests a statement, should I send them one?

Check with your lawyer before you ever do this; They’ll know whether or not you should. If the other person’s insurance is asking you for a statement, it’s most likely an attempt to make you look guilty of what happened you.

What constitutes “reasonably safe conditions”?

Every property, personal and public alike, is expected to be organized well enough by their owners and managers for anyone to safely navigate from end to end. There must be a reason—other than a lazy one—why every single thing is where it is.

Those in charge should clean up big spills or messes as quickly as possible. There has to be a substantial amount of space for anyone to safely move about. Everyone who enters should be able to stand in place without getting cramped or losing balance. If any of the above boxes are un-checked and there’s no fair warning, owners and managers could be held fully accountable for injuries.

FAQs about slip-and-fall personal injury lawsuits

What should I do first after my accident?

Details and memories fade over time, so photograph the scene and any relevant damages as soon as possible. Also, jot down any events shortly before and after the accident, like medical attention, time stuck at home, or new bills.

If anyone else was around to see what happened, try to get their name and contact information. If and when you discuss the event with them, write down notes of what they say so you can convey the most detailed image possible to the court.

What questions might I be asked in court?

  1. They may want to know:
  2. Your past illnesses and injuries.
  3. The gap of time between the incident and the last time you received medical attention previously.
  4. Your professional history.
  5. Whether you’ve ever been a plaintiff or defendant in a similar case before.

These questions can help clarify how inevitable your injury really was, based on your personal habits and nature.

Will I need to pay medical before the investigation is complete?

Normally, they’ll agree to wait at least until you’ve returned to good health. Medical facilities often accept a document called a “letter of protection”, which authorizes full treatment with no up-front payments.

If you lose your case, all the expenses from treatment are your own responsibility. However, either way you most likely won’t be obligated to pay anything before they’re done tending to you.

What is informed consent? How can it affect your medical malpractice case?

To some extent, most opinions are in some way controversial; some agree with it, others don’t. You can see crystal-clear evidence of that throughout the media, the political world, and even between the closest of relatives and friends…generally.

There’s usually a few reasons to support an idea as well as some not to. In order to ensure both sides win, doctors will usually check with a patient before going through with any treatment they believe is the best course of action for addressing the problem.

When they have a certain strategy in mind, the doctor will explain in extensive detail how the performance is accomplished and how it can affect that patient positively and negatively. Then the client, provided with pros and cons to weigh against each other, can choose to accept or decline the proposed action.

Should they accept, they are typically obligated to sign a formal document confirming their understanding of what they’ll experience and the risks involved.

As long as your condition does not call for urgent action and you are mentally healthy enough to be reasonable, law requires that your physician checks with you before executing a treatment. If you’re in one of the above two situations, it’s considered too time-consuming and too life-threatening for them to do so. If you’re in the latter situation, have a mentally stronger person there with you to handle the decision if possible.

What is informed consent? How can it affect your medical malpractice case?

Usually, before you and another individual engage in an activity together, you make sure you’re both A-OK with the situation. If either one or both of you aren’t confident in the idea, then it’s probably a bad idea.

Without a genuine will on both sides, what can you get out of it except misery? That’s the essence of the medical policy known as informed consent.

More often than not, doctors have plenty of reason to believe that a certain action is the perfect answer to a patient’s problem. However, they usually choose not to demand it, because the patient has their own unique way of thinking and feeling.

As a result, it is standard for physicians to thoroughly inform a client of any potential solution and probable disadvantages prior to every treatment. Once that’s all made clear, the client—unless they’re younger than the “consent age” or somehow mentally unable to make a confident choice, in which case someone else would need to make the call—can decide whether or not it’s worth the risk.

If:

  1. The condition in question allows for plenty of time for medical attention.
  2. The patient isn’t too stressed or anxious to be flexible.

Then informed consent is considered absolutely mandatory. Otherwise, the doctor can legally skip it to ensure the patient’s well-being. At minimum, the doctor is required to mention the most probable negative effects of the considered treatment; not every possibility is necessarily important to mention.

What is informed consent? How can it affect your medical malpractice case?

“Sounds good?” “Would you like that?” “Is that OK?” “How’s that sound?” “What do you think?” These are very common questions. Whether it’s to simply avoid a future confrontation or to show another person respect, people often ask others questions like these to ensure their ideas sound wise enough to other individuals.

It’s standard practice for doctors to do the same thing. In the medical industry, this is called informed consent. The concept of informed consent is that the more educated a patient is about how a certain treatment works and how it can affect them, the more confidently they can decide whether it’s right for them.

Before treating a patient, it is standard for the physician to explain in great detail what they believe is the best way to address the condition in question, outlining the process of the recommended action and any possible side effects.

The patient—unless they are younger than “consent age” or somehow are mentally unable to make an informed choice, in which case someone else must decide—will then be asked to determine for themselves whether it should be done. If they accept, a document confirming awareness of the risks is usually given for signature.

There are a couple conditions under which physicians are advised not to practice informed consent:

  1. An emergency that calls for rapid action.
  2. A patient being emotionally unable to be rational.

In these cases, physicians are urged to go ahead and try whatever they feel is appropriate. If you find yourself in neither of these situations and your doctor holds back information or does something you never agreed to, you might be able to sue.

FAQs about slip/fall lawsuits

What proves the accident was not in any way my fault?
There must be strong evidence that the location where the accident occurred was not cared for as well as possible by the person in charge of it. It must be evident there was a hazard that could have been remedied, but you were forced to work in the area without the necessary precautions. If there’s an indication the person in charge of the operation didn’t keep dangerous obstacles out of the area, clearly they’re at fault.

Do I have to fill out a report right after getting into the accident?
Not technically, but if you can, you should. Fill out a report as soon as possible, that way you can recover as steadily without worry. Mention every critical detail you can remember, such as witnesses, lighting, surface texture, etc. Also try to take photos of the area, so your attorney can see the scene through your eyes and use that insight to support their arguments.

How long after the accident can I file suit?
Your time limit, the official legal term for which is, “statute of limitations”, depends on which state of the country you’re in and whether any personal belongings have also been damaged. If there’s any property damage on top of your bodily injury, there’s more time allotted in some states, and less in others.

FAQs about slip/fall lawsuits

How do I prove I’m completely not at fault for what has happened?
According to the law, if the person in charge of the location where the injury occurred clearly didn’t address any hazards that could be dangerous, it’s all the fault of the one running the operation. It’s that person’s responsibility to keep the place clear of dangers, or at least instill proper safety precautions.

Do I need to fill out a report when I get into an accident?
If you can do that quickly, it’s highly recommended you fill out a report soon after the fall. The quicker you submit a statement, the quicker you can get thorough help recovering physically and financially, so don’t delay when nothing’s in your way. Jot down as much detail about the event as you can recall, including witnesses, lighting, etc. Also, if you can, photograph the location.

How much time do I have to file suit?
It depends on the state. In some states, accidents with more repercussions, like some leading to both physical injury and property damage, can be addressed over a longer span of time, sometimes even years, than a mere injury. In some states, it’s the other way around.

Can you sue your doctor for failure to diagnose?

When a doctor is not completely honest in their description of a situation, the patient is at rapidly increased risk. This is especially serious, given the fact that the job of these professionals is to protect the health of their fellow citizens.

The more that’s edited out, the more likely the patient is to be taken by heart-attack-like surprise later. Negligence to disclose details has resulted in multiple aggravated cases of organ cancers, heart attacks, and even meningitis in children. Often, this negligence has even been fatal.

How are you supposed to know what to expect without a warning, right? So if you chose to put your confidence in a particular physician to help you get better and they didn’t handle you with proper care, they should probably be penalized.

Examples of illegal medical negligence may include:

  1. Failure to ask certain questions.
  2. Failure to deliver test results to the appropriate lab.
  3. Using a false name for your condition.
  4. Insisting the condition is relatively minor or non-existent.

You might not be able to win against them if:

  1. Any problem you had going into the appointment was extremely likely to linger even long after treatment.
  2. Your service came from a professional who does not specialize in the body area affected.
  3. You were not completely honest with your physician.
  4. The condition is relatively vague.

Can you sue your doctor for failure to diagnose?

Each year an average of 195,000 people have died because their doctors either:

  1. Performed procedures or maneuvers they never agreed to.
  2. Assigned them inappropriate medicines for their conditions.
  3. Made significant miscalculations during a performance.
  4. Overlooked steps in procedures.
  5. Neglected to provide essential medicines to foster the healing process.

If you can convince a court beyond reasonable doubt that your doctor was careless and lazy in their handling of your treatment, you just might be awarded a good bundle of cash to keep you physically and economically secure in the aftermath of your horrible surprise situation.

In order for a physician to be considered guilty of reckless complications to a patient’s already-poor health, there must be certainty they defied or refused to carefully consider the industry standards for serving any patient in the same age range and with the same basic physical wiring as the victim.

There must be solid evidence that the plaintiff’s physician impulsively or deliberately attended to the patient in a way that was incompatible with their overall nature. Those two italicized adverbs are non-negotiable keywords, because there’s always a chance of at least a minor error might occur at any time, even with the most reliable doctors.