One moment you’re shopping or grabbing a meal. The next, a slip and fall happens—you’re on the floor—in pain, embarrassed, and unsure what just happened or what to do next.
Slip and fall accidents in stores, restaurants, and other businesses happen every day in Louisiana. They can cause serious injuries, from broken bones and torn ligaments to head trauma and spinal damage. However, what you do in the minutes, hours, and days after a slip and fall can make an enormous difference. It can strongly affect your ability to recover compensation.
Here’s exactly what to do—and what to avoid.
Step 1: Do Not Leave the Scene Without Documenting It
If you are physically able, document the scene before anyone cleans up or changes anything. This is critical.
Take photographs and video of the hazard that caused your fall—a wet floor, a broken surface, a spilled liquid, uneven flooring, a missing mat—as well as the surrounding area. Moreover, capture any lack of warning signs. Take photos from multiple angles.
Business owners and their employees will often clean up a hazard immediately after a fall. Once it’s gone, so is physical evidence. Your smartphone photos may be the only record of the dangerous condition that caused your injury.
Step 2: Report the Accident to the Manager on Duty
Ask to speak with the manager on duty and report the accident formally. Request that an incident report be completed and ask for a copy before you leave.
The incident report creates an official record that the accident occurred on the business’s premises on a specific date and time. This documentation is important for your insurance claim. In addition, it is important for any potential legal action.
Be factual and accurate in what you say, but do not speculate about fault, minimize your injuries, or say that you’re “fine” if you’re in pain. Importantly, adrenaline can mask injury symptoms—you may feel worse later.
Step 3: Identify Witnesses
If anyone saw your fall, get their name and contact information before they leave. Witness accounts can be invaluable evidence in a premises liability claim. This is particularly true if the business later disputes what happened or denies the hazard existed.
Step 4: Seek Medical Care Immediately
Even if you feel okay at the scene, see a doctor as soon as possible—ideally the same day. Many serious slip and fall injuries, including soft tissue damage, concussions, and spinal injuries, do not produce their full symptoms until hours or days after the incident.
A prompt medical evaluation does two things: it protects your health by identifying injuries early, and it creates a medical record directly linking your injuries to the fall. However, gaps between the accident and your first medical visit are routinely used by insurance companies to argue that your injuries aren’t serious or aren’t related to the fall.
Tell your doctor exactly what happened—that you slipped and fell at a specific location—so the connection is clearly documented.
Step 5: Preserve Your Evidence
In addition to your scene photographs, preserve the following:
- The shoes and clothing you were wearing. Do not wash or discard them. They may be relevant to questions about appropriate footwear and whether the floor surface was unreasonably slippery.
- All medical records and bills related to your injuries.
- A written account of what happened, written as soon as possible while your memory is fresh. Include the date, time, location, what caused the fall, what you observed about the hazard, and who was present.
Step 6: Start a Daily Symptom Journal
Beginning the day of or after your fall, keep a daily journal documenting your symptoms, pain levels, limitations, and how the injury is affecting your work and daily life. In addition, note every medical appointment, medication, and treatment.
This documentation becomes powerful evidence of your pain and suffering damages—compensation that goes beyond just your medical bills.
Step 7: Do Not Post on Social Media
Avoid posting anything about your accident, your injuries, or your activities on social media. Insurance defense attorneys and adjusters routinely monitor the social media accounts of claimants looking for evidence to minimize or contradict injury claims. For example, a single photo of you at a social event can be used to argue that you’re not as injured as you claim.
Step 8: Do Not Give a Recorded Statement to the Business’s Insurer
Shortly after your accident, the business’s insurance company may contact you requesting a recorded statement. Do not agree to this without first consulting a personal injury attorney.
Adjusters ask questions designed to minimize your claim. Everything you say in a recorded statement can and will be used against you.
Step 9: Contact a Louisiana Premises Liability Attorney
Slip and fall claims are more legally complex than they may appear. To recover compensation in Louisiana, you must be able to demonstrate that the business owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition. In addition, you must show that the owner failed to address it. Insurance companies aggressively defend these claims. They often argue that the hazard was “open and obvious” or that you were not paying attention.
An experienced premises liability attorney can investigate the scene, obtain surveillance footage (which businesses often overwrite quickly), identify witnesses, and build the strongest possible case on your behalf.
What Compensation Can You Recover After a Slip and Fall?
If the business is found liable for your injuries, you may be entitled to recover:
- Medical expenses (emergency care, surgery, rehabilitation, ongoing treatment)
- Lost wages and future lost income
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Permanent disability or disfigurement (if applicable)
Act Quickly — Evidence Disappears Fast
Surveillance footage is often overwritten within 24 to 72 hours. Witnesses forget details. Hazards get repaired. The sooner you act, the stronger your case.
If you were injured in a slip and fall at a Louisiana store, restaurant, or other business, contact Mansfield Melancon Injury Lawyers for a free consultation. We’ll investigate the incident, preserve the evidence, and fight for the full compensation you deserve.