By : Matthey H. Fry
[email protected]
With the snow and ice in full swing this winter, it will be up to property and business owners to keep sidewalks, parking lots, and walkways clear of ice and snow. For business owners, care must be taken to keep floors dry as customers track snow and ice as well as cleaning up spills and other dangerous conditions that may occur in their business establishments. If you happen to have an unfortunate encounter with a patch of snow, ice or a wet floor on someone else’s property, you may want to prepare yourself and take steps to protect yourself and preserve your rights.
• If at all possible, get medical attention. While many slip and fall accidents are relatively minor, it is possible to suffer from internal injuries, broken bones, or head trauma. It is important that you seek assistance from the store employees or owner of the property. If you cannot get up and cannot find anyone to assist you, calling 911 is the best option.
• If you are able to get up and compose yourself, make sure you report any fall to an employee or owner of the property. Stores will often have incident forms that need to be completed. Slip and fall victims are often rattled by what has occurred, but maintaining focus after a slip and fall can be the difference between a win and a loss in court. And, while waiting to report a claim may be difficult or embarrassing, it can be important if you are injured and need to file a claim.
• Do not try to resolve your claim with the store manager or property owner when you report it. Rather, keep talk to a minimum if possible, but feel free to be gracious and accept offers of help. Don’t go into detail about how the fall happened, and don’t lay blame or make immediate demands.
• Take note of any statements made about the area where you fell, whether this has happened before, etc. Write down these statements (or record them into your smartphone) as soon as you can after you leave so that you can remember them later if needed.
• Be aware that even if you may slip and catch yourself before falling, you may still be injured and should still make an appointment with your medical provider to get a checkup. Some injuries, such as injuries to the back, may not be very painful at first but can get much worse without immediate treatment.
• If you have a serious injury that results in a lawsuit, you will need a report from your doctor that describes what injuries were caused by the fall, so make it clear to your doctor the pains and injuries you suspect came from your accident and have him give you his medical opinion about the cause.
• If you can, try to take a picture of the area where you fell using your cell phone. Do this as soon as possible, particularly if you fell on snow, ice or something wet or slippery, as the area could be cleared quickly by employees or could melt with a change in the weather. If you do not have a cell phone with a camera, you may want to keep a disposable camera on your person or in the car just in case.
• Uneven sidewalks, flooring, carpets that slide or have edges that come up are also tripping hazards that are the responsibility of the property owner and should also be photographed and reported.
• There may be surveillance cameras that may have recorded the fall. You may want to ask if there were cameras present and see if the incident was recorded.
• Identify any witnesses to your accident, and get their full name and phone number if possible.
If you have been injured in an incident where you slipped and/or fell on someone else’s property due to a dangerous or slippery condition left there by the owner, you may be able to file a personal injury claim. If you need legal advice about your right to file a claim, the attorneys at DiOrio & Sereni, LLP can help answer your questions. Contact Matthew H. Fry, Esquire at 610-565-5700, or send an e-mail at [email protected]
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