One Call, That’s All 800-404-9000
CASE EVALUATIONS ARE FAST, EASY, AND FREE.
A slip and fall occurs when someone loses their footing or balance because of a dangerous condition and falls. These accidents are commonly treated as premises liability cases, which involve injuries caused by unsafe conditions on property owned, occupied, or controlled by another party.
After a slip and fall in Idaho Falls, Idaho, get medical attention, report the accident to the property owner or manager, document the hazardous condition, collect witness information, and preserve records connected to your injuries. These steps can protect your health while creating evidence that may become important if you pursue compensation from a negligent property owner.
What you do immediately after falling can affect both your physical recovery and your ability to establish what happened. Our Idaho Falls slip and fall lawyers at Craig Swapp & Associates can assist you with legal action, from investigating the accident to pursuing compensation for losses resulting from your injuries.
Your health should come first. Seek emergency assistance for a serious injury, or arrange an appropriate medical evaluation as soon as possible, even if you initially believe you can walk away from the accident.
Some slip and fall injuries do not produce their full symptoms immediately. Medical evaluation can identify an injury that needs treatment while also establishing records showing when your symptoms began and the care you received.
Continue following reasonable treatment recommendations afterward. Keep medical bills, discharge paperwork, prescriptions, therapy records, and other documentation related to the fall.
Tell the property owner, manager, landlord, employee, or other person responsible for the premises what happened. If the business or property uses incident reports, ask that the accident be formally documented and request information about obtaining a copy.
When reporting the slip and fall accident, stick to what you know. Explain where and when you fell and identify the condition you observed without guessing about why it existed or accepting responsibility for the accident.
If emergency services or law enforcement respond because of the circumstances of the incident, preserve the resulting records. The Idaho Falls Police Department maintains procedures for requesting eligible police records through its Records Division.
Evidence at the scene can be particularly valuable because many falling hazards are temporary. Take photographs or videos of the condition that caused you to fall, the surrounding area, warning signs or the absence of warnings, lighting conditions, your clothing and shoes, and any visible injuries. Capture both close-up images of the hazard and wider views showing where it was located.
For example, a puddle may be cleaned within minutes, merchandise may be moved, or an icy entrance may melt or be treated. Photographs can preserve what the property looked like when the slip and fall occurred.
If anyone saw you slip and fall or observed the dangerous condition beforehand, ask for their name and contact information. A witness may later help establish how the accident occurred or how long a hazard was present.
Other evidence may exist even when you cannot personally obtain it at the scene. Businesses may have surveillance footage, inspection schedules, cleaning records, maintenance reports, prior incident reports, or employee records relevant to how a hazardous condition was handled.
Preserve your own slip and fall evidence as well. Keep the shoes and clothing you were wearing rather than throwing them away, and save receipts or other documents establishing that you were at the property.
A claim is not limited to proving that someone acted negligently. You also need evidence showing what the accident cost you. Keep an organized record of medical expenses, medications, rehabilitation costs, time missed from work, reduced earnings, transportation expenses, and other losses related to the injury. Depending on the circumstances, a personal injury claim may also seek compensation for non-economic harm such as physical pain and the broader effects of an injury on everyday life.
Idaho imposes a deadline for filing many personal injury lawsuits. Idaho Code § 5-219 generally provides a 2-year limitation period for an action seeking damages for an injury to a person caused by another’s wrongful act or neglect. The provided state statute-of-limitations reference likewise identifies Idaho’s typical personal injury filing period as 2 years from the accident. Speaking with slip and fall lawyers early can give you more time to build a strong claim and address the applicable filing deadline.
Falling on someone else’s property does not automatically mean the property owner owes compensation. A slip and fall claim generally depends on negligence, meaning the party responsible for the premises failed to use legally required reasonable care and that failure caused an injury. For example, liability may become an issue when a business knew or reasonably should have known about a hazardous condition but failed to correct it or provide an adequate warning.
The facts of a slip and fall accident matter considerably. How the hazard developed, how long it existed, whether anyone reported it, whether reasonable inspections occurred, and whether warnings were provided can all become relevant. An injury lawyer in Idaho Falls can investigate these questions instead of relying only on the property owner’s account of the accident.
An insurance company or property owner may argue that you contributed to your own slip and fall injury. Idaho addresses shared responsibility through its modified comparative negligence rule.
Under Idaho Code § 6-801, an injured person may recover when their negligence is not as great as the negligence or comparative responsibility of the person from whom recovery is sought. Any damages awarded are reduced according to the injured person’s percentage of responsibility.
Never guess about liability in a slip and fall or say you were simply “clumsy” when you do not yet know all the circumstances surrounding the accident.
After a slip and fall in Idaho Falls, taking care of your injuries and preserving evidence should be immediate priorities. At Craig Swapp & Associates, our team of premises liability lawyers can evaluate the circumstances surrounding your slip and fall, gather evidence of property-owner negligence, deal with insurance issues, and pursue compensation available under Idaho law while you focus on recovery. Call us today at 208-944-1728 or contact us using our online form to schedule your free initial consultation.
Written By: Ryan Swapp Legal Review By: Craig Swapp