Protect Your Rights After a Trip and Fall: Why Incident Reports Matter

Injuries from a severe trip and fall can impact your physical, emotional, and financial health for years. However, if you fell on another’s property due to a lack of maintenance, you could recover compensation. Completing a trip and fall incident report is a crucial step that protects your rights and can qualify you for a payout. The document can provide vital proof of:

• Your injuries
• The dangerous condition causing your fall
• How the hazard caused the fall and your injuries

Morgan & Morgan can help you get your life back on track after getting hurt. Our tenacious slip and fall lawyers have helped thousands of injured victims recover the compensation they needed and could help you too. Get in touch now for a free case review to discover your legal options.

Reporting a Trip and Fall Incident Correctly

When falls cause significant injuries, you must get medical help immediately and notify the management or owner of the property where the accident occurred. Reporting the incident can be vital for getting what you deserve, particularly if the injuries are severe. A report creates a record that can be essential evidence in a claim or lawsuit. Here are some tips on how to report a trip and fall incident:

Trips and Falls at Work

According to the National Safety Council (NSC), falls are the second leading cause of work deaths. Those working in the construction industry and warehousing can be at a particularly high risk of getting injured in trips and falls.

If you experience a fall accident at work, notify your supervisor or manager as soon as possible and file an incident report. You may be able to file a workers’ compensation claim and collect benefits. In many states, workers must report their injury within a certain timeframe, typically within a month. Failing to do so could jeopardize your workers’ comp medical and wage replacement benefits.

Falls in Apartments and Private Homes

Property owners, including landlords, must make their premises reasonably safe for residents and visitors. Common areas should be free of tripping hazards that could cause injury. If an incident occurs in an apartment complex or private home, victims must report falls to the entity responsible for maintaining the premises, which can include:

• The homeowner or renter if the fall occurred inside the property
• The landlord if the incident occurred in a common area
• A homeowners’ association if the accident happened in a neighborhood

However, while reporting the accident to the responsible party is critical, you should also contact the relevant insurance company, as homeowners’ insurance may cover damages in slip and fall accidents. If a homeowner or landlord is uncooperative and does not provide you with the relevant insurance information, a slip and fall lawyer at Morgan & Morgan can help.  

Slips and Falls in Stores and Other Businesses

If your fall occurred in a business, such as a retail store or hotel, notify a manager or owner immediately and ask to fill out an accident report. Most establishments have pre-printed reports available for such circumstances. The document will prompt you to provide all the vital information, such as your contact details and the time and date of your fall. Ensure to include any pain or suspected injuries in the report. Remember to ask for a copy for your records.

If the owner or manager does not provide you with a report template, you can draft your own written statement.

How to Write a Trip and Fall Incident Report

Ideally, victims should complete a trip and fall incident report while still on the premises. However, if you are seriously injured, this may not be possible. In that case, try to complete the document as soon as you can, as the incident report could be essential for your compensation claim.

If you tripped and fell at a grocery store or restaurant, the manager might supply you with an accident report template that you can fill in. However, if your fall happened elsewhere, you might have to draft the document yourself from scratch.

Crucial Information to Include in the Report

When completing your trip and fall incident report, make sure not to omit any details, no matter how insignificant they may seem. Describe the events leading to your fall as accurately as possible. Ensure to include the following facts:

• Your details (name and contact details)
• The time, date, and precise location of your fall
• Weather and environmental conditions
• Contact details of any witnesses or employees present during your incident
• Details of all injuries you suffered in the fall
• The events leading up to your trip and fall
• The hazard causing the accident (a spill, cracked flooring, lack of lighting, etc.)
• Any other information you consider critical

Write down the accident details promptly, ideally on the day of your fall. Memories fade and change over time. Getting the information on paper immediately after the incident can help with your compensation claim, as you might forget critical details in the days and weeks after the fall.

Retain a Copy of the Report

Once you finish your report, ensure to retain a copy and keep it with all the other essential documents for your claim, such as your medical records. If the property owner refuses to give you a copy, scan the report with your phone or take a picture, ensuring the photo is clear and legible.

If you did not receive a copy of the incident report, an attorney could help you recover the document. During a lawsuit, your lawyer can request a copy of the report from the defendant via a subpoena, a court order requiring individuals to provide specific documents.

Failing to File an Incident Report Could Sabotage Your Claim

Even if your injuries are only minor, consider completing an incident report to protect your rights. The report could be critical for getting fair compensation if someone else is responsible for your injuries and losses. Unfortunately, insurance companies usually try to minimize or deny claims. Without an incident report, they may try to dispute that the trip and fall accident happened or claim that your injuries are unrelated.

Filing a report weeks after your fall can raise suspicions and give the other side ammunition for fighting your claim. Failing to file an incident report can significantly decrease your chances of recovering fair compensation.

Injuries in Trip and Fall Accidents

While some individuals walk away from a fall without significant injuries, others suffer life-changing consequences. Older adults, in particular, are at risk of more significant injuries that could interfere with their mobility and independence. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in five falls causes fractures, head injuries, and other notable injuries. Common injuries in trips and falls can include:

• Dislocated joints
• Broken bones
• Cuts and bruises
• Lacerations
• Concussions and other head injuries
• Internal bleeding
• Spinal cord damage
• Facial and dental injuries

If you got hurt in a slip and fall, seek legal advice as soon as possible. Our slip and fall lawyers can help you get justice and compensation if someone else is responsible for your injuries.

What Are Common Reasons for Trips and Falls? 

Landlords, property owners, and store managers are responsible for keeping tenants and visitors reasonably safe. Lack of maintenance can cause various hazardous conditions that could cause falls and injuries, such as:

• Wet and slippery floors
• Cracks and potholes in sidewalks and parking lots
• Inadequate lighting
• Recently waxed floors
• Ice and snow on untreated walkways
• Broken or missing stairs

Where Do Most Slips and Falls Occur?

Trips and falls can occur anywhere on private, public, and commercial property. Some of the most common places for slips and falls include:

• Restaurants
• Grocery stores
• Retail stores
• Bars and restaurants
• Construction sites
• Hospitals and nursing homes
• Hotels
• Public transit
• Theme parks
• Parking lots

If you slipped and fell due to a hazardous condition, our seasoned attorneys can determine whether you qualify for compensation and file a claim on your behalf.

Do I Need a Slip and Fall Lawyer to File a Lawsuit?

If you suffered significant injuries and costs due to a trip and fall on another’s property, hiring an experienced attorney can be vital for receiving the full value of your claim. Unfortunately, insurance companies rarely have victims’ best interests at heart, and you may leave money on the table without aggressive legal representation. Moreover, fighting powerful insurers and their attorneys can be time-consuming and intimidating.

How Morgan & Morgan Helps Trip and Fall Victims

Our experienced slip and fall lawyers are dedicated to helping injured people like you. We believe that your health and well-being always come first. We could help you get adequate medical assistance so you can recover. However, our strength lies in fighting for the payout our clients need to get back on their feet physically and financially. Ways in which we can help include:

Valuing Your Damages

Knowing your damages is critical for receiving what you deserve. We will assess the impact of an injury on your career, home life, physical and mental well-being, and finances to arrive at a fair settlement figure.

Building Your Case

When we take your case, our slip and fall lawyers and legal team members will start to gather all the necessary evidence required to build a comprehensive claim against the party responsible for your trip and fall.

Taking Your Case to Trial

Insurance companies try to pay out as little as possible. However, Morgan & Morgan never settles for less. We want you to receive the total value of your claim. If the insurer fails to pay up, we will see them in court and fight hard for what you deserve at trial.

Providing a Shoulder to Lean On

For many injured individuals, haggling with insurance companies and filing lawsuits can be exhausting physically and emotionally. We can take some of the stress and worry away, allowing you to concentrate on your recovery. Our attorneys can handle your legal claim from start to finish. During the process, we always have an open ear for your questions and concerns. We not only want you to win, but we also want you to heal and move forward with your life. 

Which Damages Could I Recover in a Trip and Fall Claim? 

The damages you could receive will depend on the extent of your injuries and financial losses. Here are some factors that can influence your final settlement amount:

• Whether you suffered a permanent impairment or disability
• The amount of your medical expenses
• How much income you lost due to your injury
• Your expected future medical costs and income losses
• The extent of your pain and anguish due to the injury

While compensation varies from one claim to another, you could receive awards for the following:

• Healthcare costs
• Income losses
• Out-of-pocket expenses
• Pain and anguish
• Emotional distress
• Loss of life enjoyment
• Disability

Our trip and fall attorneys can assess your specific incident, calculate your present and future expected damages, and determine the worth of your claim.

Don’t Struggle Alone

Every day, injured victims battle to obtain the payout they deserve after getting hurt due to another’s carelessness. Morgan & Morgan doesn’t want you to struggle on your own. We have your back.

Not all law firms are the same. Some have not tried cases in years and settle for insurance companies’ last best offers. Not us. Our determined slip and fall lawyers want to give you the best chance of recovering the worth of your claim and are not afraid to fight for what you deserve at trial.  

The time to file a compensation claim can be limited. Contact us today for a free consultation to determine whether we can move forward with a compensation claim on your behalf.