If you witness a slip and fall accident, the last thing you want is to do the wrong thing and make the victim’s injuries worse. However, you can take steps to help him with his injuries and to preserve his claim for compensation if he is too hurt to take these steps himself.
How to Assist an Injured Slip and Fall Victim
Your first priority should be to obtain medical help for the victim. You’ll want to notify the business or property owner and call 911 if the person is unconscious or in a lot of pain. Then you can do the following to assist him:
- Make him comfortable. Help the person find a comfortable position without moving him much and try to find a blanket or item of clothing to keep him warm.
- Contact family or a friend. If the person can provide you with the contact information for a family member or friend, call that person for him. If the victim is too injured to provide this information, you could try to locate his emergency contact person on his cellphone by looking up ICE, which stands for “In Case of Emergency.”
- Take the person to his doctor or ER. If the person who fell is someone you know and able to stand and walk, take him to his doctor or the emergency room to obtain medical evaluation and treatment.
- Take pictures. Take pictures of the accident scene and the injured person in case he needs them later in pursuing a claim against the business or property owner that caused his fall.
- Obtain contact information. Obtain contact information for the business or property owner and any witnesses to provide to the slip and fall victim. Be sure to exchange contact information with him as well in case you need to be a witness for him and so you can provide him with pictures and any other information you collected for him.
- Encourage him to obtain legal assistance. If the person was injured, encourage him to contact an experienced personal injury attorney for assistance in negotiating with the business or property owner or its insurance company to obtain the compensation he deserves.
If a family member or friend injured himself in a slip and fall accident caused by a business’s or property owner’s negligence, we are here to help. Encourage him to call us at (727) 345-4566 to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation to learn about his legal options.