- Don’t give a recorded statement
Insurance companies often try to cajole the injured party into giving a recorded statement, usually in the form of a question and answer session on a telephone call. While it may seem like a harmless request, you must understand that a recorded statement binds you to the words you use to describe the injury. Often the claim adjuster tries to manipulate questions to get you to give answers that downplay the seriousness of the injury or the liability of the grocery store. At the end of the day, this will only come back to haunt you as you cannot go back on your words after they have been recorded in a statement. Just remember that it is within your legal rights to say no to a recorded statement and you should because claim adjusters are not entitled to it in any way.
- Get immediate medical treatment
Without obtaining medical treatment after your slip and fall, it may be difficult to attribute your injuries to the incident, and this will make it harder to hold the store liable. At the same time, your injuries will be perceived as less severe than they might be if you did not seek medical attention. As a result, see a physician as soon as possible after an incident to assess injuries and develop a treatment plan. Sometimes injuries do not become apparent immediately, and at least its severity may not be known. In this case, you need to go back to the physician as soon as you notice any sign of injury or discomfort, and discuss the timeline from the incident to when you observed the injuries.
- Continue with medical treatment
Don’t stop at the initial visit to the doctor. Obey the physician’s instruction clearly on follow-up treatment which may include medication, therapy, rest or seeing a specialist. This is important for two reasons. First, it will help you recover properly, which is important for your general health and wellbeing. Secondly, failing to follow-up simply tells the insurer that the injuries you sustained were either not that bad or got better quickly, both of which are good defenses to dismiss your claim.
- Keep physical evidence
Physical evidence can do a lot to help you prove your claim. Keep the clothes you wore during the accident as they were without washing or tampering in any form. They may have absorbed substances that will reflect how severe your injury was. Also take pictures if you can to show the layout of the store at the time of the incident and the displays of the accident itself. Finally, keep all your medical bills, receipts, and notes of injuries.
