It’s winter in Wisconsin and with winter comes slippery conditions. Whether on the road, parking lot or on sidewalk it’s time to pay extra attention to as to driving conditions as well as the conditions while walking.
No matter how careful you are, you may slip and fall while going in or out of a restaurant, bar, school, etc. Hopefully, you will not be injured; however, if you do slip, fall and injure yourself please follow these steps.
First, do not move unless and until you are 100% confident you are not injured. Sometimes, people are embarrassed when they fall and the first thing they want to do is get up and leave the scene. This can sometimes cause more injury than the fall itself. If no one is with you use your cell phone and call for help or ask a passerby to get help. In any event, do not move unless you are 100% confident it will not cause more injury.
Next, make sure the property owner knows that you have fallen and injured yourself. Many businesses complete something called an incident report. This is based upon the information they have about the accident. If you can tell somebody in charge exactly what happened that is the best scenario. However, sometimes you can’t because you are injured. In those situations either immediately contact the business or property owner after you are able or have someone contact them on your behalf. If an ambulance crew arrives tell them to let the property owner know happened. The reason for doing so is two-fold.
First, the property owner can correct the dangerous situation so another person does not get injured. The other reason is that if you do not report the accident immediately after it happens the insurance company for the landowner may deny that the fall happened. Sometimes, it is impossible to notify the property owner. In those situations make sure that, as soon as you or someone on your behalf can, the owners know of the accident.
Second, If at all possible, notice your surroundings to determine what caused the fall. Did you fall on black ice? Did you fall from water runoff from a pile of snow that froze because of falling temperatures? Did you fall because there was a foreign substance on the parking lot or floor other than ice and/or snow? If possible, take a photo with your cell phone or have someone around you take a photo or at least visually inspect.
Finally, as soon as you are able, contact a personal injury attorney who is experienced in slip and fall cases. Insurance companies are very suspect of these claims and prompt investigation into how the accident happened can often times make the difference between a successful or unsuccessful outcome.
Also, as time passes witnesses tend to disappear. Employees tend to get different jobs and move on. Parking lots and sidewalks change thus making it impossible to recreate the scene of your slip and fall. Prompt investigation is crucial to a successful outcome.
If you or a loved one have been injured in a slip and fall please follow the above rules. Also, please contact me for a free no cost, no obligation consultation to discuss your options. I have been representing people injured by slip and falls both on the inside as well as the outside for almost 30 years.
These cases are on a contingency fee basis so there are never charges for our services unless and until there is a recovery. In the Madison area call me at (608) 824-9540, in the Baraboo area call me at (608) 356-3961, Statewide at (866) 455-2993, by email at mark@kh-law.net or check out our website at https://khtlawyers.com. We listen, we care, we get results!
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