What should I do if I slipped on water and fell at a store today?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What should I do if I slipped on water and fell at a store today?
I did not get medical attention as I felt OK. There was an employee who witnessed the fall. Management took a report and pictures and said someone would be in touch with me. What if I start to experience pain a day or so after the accident occurred? Should I seek medical attention?
Asked on May 10, 2015 under Personal Injury, California
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
You won't have a personal injury case without medical treatment documenting your injury.
You should notify the store's insurance carrier in writing that you will be filing a personal injury claim.
When you complete your medical treatment and are released by the doctor or are declared by the doctor to be permanent and stationary, which means having reached a point in your treatment where no further improvement is anticipated, obtain your medical bills, medical reports and documentation of any wage loss. Your personal injury claim filed with the store's insurance carrier should include these items.
Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. The medical reports will document the nature and extent of your injury and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering, which is an amount in addition to the medical bills. Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.
If the case is settled with the store's insurance carrier, NO lawsuit is filed.
If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the store's insurance carrier, reject the settlement offers and file a lawsuit based on premises liability against the store.
If the case is NOT settled with the store's insurance carrier, your lawsuit against the store must be filed prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.
CA has a two year statute of limitations in a personal injury case which means the lawsuit must be filed before the second anniversary of the date of your slip and fall.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.