How Important Is Seeking Timely Medical Attention After Sustaining An Injury?

In a lot of slip-and-fall accidents, the injuries are severe and medical treatment will start in the ambulance. In other cases, someone might not realize they are injured until later that day or sometime after the fact. However, there is a good chance that you’re not going to have a choice of whether to seek medical treatment immediately; your body will tell you if it’s necessary.

As discussed, it is very important you describe how the accident happened to the medical staff at the hospital. Tell them how you fell, where you fell, and what you fell over. Although you may be disoriented or in pain, the emergency rooms records are often the most important records in proving your case. These records are often highly regarded for their veracity because they are generally recorded immediately after the accident.

What Can I Do About My Medical Bills From a Slip and Fall Accident?

In most slip and fall accidents, your medical bills will be covered by your primary health insurance. But depending on your insurance, you may be subject to a high deductible, numerous co-pays or other unexpected upfront expenses. Occasionally a property owner may have a nominal no-fault medical payment clause in their insurance policy which can provide partial payments early in litigation, but most premises insurance policies do not. So what should you do when confronted with these upfront costs? Speak to your attorney about your concerns! Your lawyer has numerous tools to help alleviate upfront medical costs. You just have to ask!

In the event that you do not have health insurance or cannot afford your co-pays, an experienced and reputable attorney can refer you to doctors within his network who will not charge you upfront. Instead, they will accept a letter of protection and these costs will become part of the case as economic damages. If you were not responsible for the accident, why should you have to pay out of pocket for your medical care? If you are having any type of economic hardship during the pendency of your case, don’t hesitate to let your lawyer know.

What Are The Steps To Begin The Claims Process In A Slip-And-Fall Or Trip-And-Fall Personal Injury Case?

The first step in the process is to notify the manager or whoever is in charge of the premises. For example, if you slip and fall at a grocery store or an amusement park, then you might say to security, “I just fell over there on that broken sidewalk. This condition is dangerous. Can you get me medical attention?”

The second step is to hire an attorney who will properly identify who may be at fault for your accident. Most people don’t realize this, but the person who is easiest to notify (e.g. a security guard) might not be responsible for the premises and might not notify the proper parties. In fact, they might not even work for the company or person who is responsible for the premises. As a result, it’s entirely possible that a person could think they have spoken to the right person and given proper notice when they have not. An attorney will put the proper parties on notice and ensure that there is coverage for the injury.

When it comes to slip-and-fall accidents, multiple parties can be held responsible. For example, at an amusement park, the maintenance staff may be entirely separate from the operator of the amusement park, and the operator of the amusement park might be totally separate from the owner of the land. This is just one small example of why you would need an attorney to put all three parties on notice in order to give you leverage when dealing with the proper defendant.

The third step is to obtain the video evidence. In order to preserve the video evidence of your slip and fall, you must have an attorney. As an attorney I am able to launch an immediate investigation to ensure that the Defendant is on notice of your claim and your evidence is preserved. Defendants are only required to preserve evidence of a claim if they have been put on notice that there may be litigation. Accordingly, only a letter from an attorney will trigger this crucial step of the litigation process and preserve your video evidence.

If the Defendant does not preserve video evidence, then they may be subject to a spoliation instruction at trial. Spoliation is the wrongful distraction of or failure to preserve relevant evidence. If Spoliation occurs, then the Jury will be given the following instruction:

”If a party disposes of a piece of evidence before the other party had an opportunity to inspect it, and the party who disposed of the evidence should have recognized the evidence was relevant to an issue in this lawsuit, then you may find that this evidence would have been unfavorable to them unless they satisfactorily explain why they disposed of this evidence.”

This instruction can be very powerful to a Jury because it infers that the Defendant maliciously hid evidence. When used correctly by an experienced trial attorney, this can greatly increase the value of your case.

For more information on Timely Medical Attention After A Slip & Fall Injury, a personalized case evaluation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling Troy Crichton, Esq. at (267) 225-3317 today.