If you have recently been injured in a slip and fall accident, you may be wondering if you are eligible to receive compensation. Our experienced New York slip and fall lawyer answers a few questions about slip and fall claims.
Questions About Slip and Fall Claims | What Should I Do After an Injury?
The first step is that we’re going to want to get photographs of the scene where the accident occurred. We want to get photographs of the specific spot where the accident happened. I can’t tell you how often the case is where a client comes to me late in the game and that defect that caused the slip and fall is no longer there. As a first step, we need to do the investigation process to make sure we get photographs of the specific location where the accident occurred.
We want to know who the property owner is. We want to do a search to see if we can identify the property owner, which we will. When we identify the property owner, we’ll send them a representation letter advising them that we have a client who suffered serious injuries in a slip and fall in or outside of their property. These are the initial steps. What I tell clients is their job is to get better. Their job is to seek the medical attention that they need and to follow the advice of their medical professionals, to move through that recovery process.
How Can I Choose the Best Attorney for Me?
Number one, you want to make sure that the attorney has experience handling personal injury matters, more specifically, experience with slip and fall type cases. You want to know that the attorney is someone you can work with. You want to meet with that attorney. You want to ask the attorney questions about the type of cases that the attorney has handled in the past. You want to make sure you feel comfortable with that attorney; that’s also very important. What I don’t recommend you do is take an attorney who does divorce work or estate work, or some other area of practice, and who doesn’t practice personal injury in slip and fall type cases. You want an attorney who understands what needs to be done to make sure that you can get the highest possible recovery for your injuries.
Questions About Slip and Fall Claims | What Mistakes Should I Avoid?
The other day, I got a phone call from a new client who slipped and fell on ice in front of a commercial building a month earlier. I said to her, “Did you take photographs of the location where you fell, at the time that you fell?” and the answer was no. That is a crucial mistake. Mistake number one was not getting to an attorney sooner. Mistake number two was not getting photographs of the location where the incident occurred that identified the ice spot where she fell. One of the biggest mistakes that I see is that people suffer an injury – either a slip and fall on a sidewalk or a slip on ice – and they don’t identify specifically where they fell and they don’t have photographs taken. If you retain competent council early on, that attorney can work with you to make sure these things are done.
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If you have recently been injured in a slip and fall accident, please contact our experienced New York slip and fall lawyer today to schedule a free consultation.