I Was Hurt on Someone Else’s Property, Do I Have a Claim?

If you’ve been injured on someone else’s property, the first thing you should do is stay in the area until you can ask for help or seek the owner’s assistance. Next, you must determine if you were at fault or the owner. If you slipped because of your negligence, a property owner is not responsible. If you know the property owner was negligent, proceed with the necessary steps to acquire assistance with a personal injury claim.

Seek medical attention immediately if the injury is severe.

After an injury occurs, you can visit a local hospital or urgent care to complete a medical evaluation. Inform the doctor of the incident and explain any pain you’re experiencing at the time.

Contact the police to file a report for the incident.

At the time of the incident, contact the police to file a report of the injury. Preserve the location of the injury and provide photos you’ve taken in case the homeowner changes the scene. Police officers will require your identification and contact information for their report. Include details so you are able to contact the reporting officer if or when you have to report to court regarding this incident.

Follow up with your primary physician.

Make sure to follow up with your primary physician if you’ve sustained severe pain after the urgent care visit.Take pictures of the property and area where the injury occurred. Take photos of your injuries. Be sure to ask the urgent care or ER physician for a work note in case you cannot return to work immediately.

Retain hospital records for your claim.

Hospital records and/or urgent care discharge paperwork is helpful when explaining the details of your injury to the insurance company or a lawyer. Your records can assist a representative in determining the length of time you’ve missed due to your injury if it’s proven that you have a claim against a property owner.

Let’s get to the legal matters at hand:

At this point, three steps should have been taken: You’ve acquired medical attention, reported the incident to the police, and/or received information from the homeowner. Reluctant homeowners may not provide the details to their homeowners insurance company, but business owners are required to file a claim by now. Proceed with caution as the situation escalates into legal matters.

Speak with a personal injury lawyer if the property owner is reluctant to provide information.

Property owners, commercial and residential, must retain liability insurance if they hold a mortgage or lease on a property. Some owners are reluctant to provide information because of the consequences they’ll endure if a claim is reported.

Contact a representative if you’ve lost wages, cannot complete daily tasks without assistance, or the property owner has ignored your previous attempts to settle the issue in a timely manner. You must prove the property owner was negligent and responsible for the pain you’ve endured.

A few common accidents include slip-and-falls due to disfigured carpets or rugs, miscalculated heights of stairs, water on the floor, a foreign object in the walkway, and ice or snow in a driveway.

As tempting as it may seem to handle the matter without proper representation, deviation of any sort during a personal injury can hurt your chances for complete compensation.

Provide a detailed recount of the incident.

Write a detailed summary of what occurred on the day of your injury. Cross examination with an insurance adjuster, personal injury attorney, and property owner could break your claim. Identify the area of the incident, provide pictures, include tests taken at the hospital and contact information for your medical professionals.

If you have not healed from the injuries, continue medical treatment and encourage your health care providers to send your records to your physician following any appointment. You can fax this on your own as well and/or sign a release of medical records to streamline the processes.

Do NOT discuss the personal injury claim with others.

Confidentiality is vital at this point of your claim. Any discussion of the situation can harm your case if there’s legal proceedings underway. Refrain from including details outside of the property owner and your legal representative.