What to Do After a Slip & Fall

Reviewed by Vesper Langdon (VL), Editor-in-Chief — Premises Liability Practice. Updated May 2026.

The steps you take in the first hours and days after a slip and fall have an outsized impact on the strength of any legal claim. Evidence disappears quickly: surveillance footage is overwritten, witnesses move on, hazardous conditions get repaired. Acting systematically from the start preserves the foundation of a viable case. This guide covers what to do at each stage.

At the Scene

1. Get to safety and assess your injuries

Before doing anything else, make sure you are not in immediate danger. Do not attempt to move if you have back, neck, or head pain — call for help and wait for assistance. If you can move safely, get out of any active traffic or hazardous area.

2. Photograph everything immediately

Use your phone to document before the scene changes. Priority photographs:

• The hazard itself: the spill, the broken surface, the missing handrail, the ice patch — close-up and wide-angle context shots
• The absence of warning signs, or the presence of inadequate ones
• Any environmental factors: poor lighting, obstructed view lines, glare from windows
• Your injuries: visible bruising, cuts, swelling (photograph again over the following days as bruising develops)
• The broader location: aisle numbers, store sections, exterior features that fix the geography of the fall

3. Ask for witness information

If anyone saw the fall or was nearby, ask for their name and phone number. Witnesses who observed the hazard before you fell are particularly valuable — they can speak to how long the condition existed. Do not assume the property owner will collect and share this information with you.

4. Request an incident report

Ask the property owner, store manager, or on-site employee to complete a formal incident report and give you a copy. This creates a contemporaneous record of the time, location, and reported circumstances. If they decline to give you a copy, write down the name of the person you spoke with and the time. The fact that you requested the report and were refused is itself significant.

5. Watch what you say

Do not apologize, admit fault, or say things like “I wasn’t watching where I was going.” These statements can be quoted later as admissions. You can describe what happened factually without accepting responsibility: “I slipped on the wet floor in aisle 4” is fine. “I should have been more careful” is not.

Within 24–48 Hours

See a doctor even if you feel okay

Adrenaline masks pain. Soft tissue injuries, disc herniations, and stress fractures often don’t become fully symptomatic until 24 to 72 hours after the fall. A medical evaluation creates a baseline record that connects your injuries to the incident date. A gap between the fall and your first doctor visit is a standard defense argument — “if it were serious, they would have seen a doctor immediately.” Eliminate that argument by seeking care promptly.

Go to an emergency room, urgent care, or your primary care physician. Tell them explicitly that you fell and describe the mechanism of injury (what part of your body hit the ground, from what height, at what speed). This language appears in the medical record and links the injury to the fall rather than a pre-existing condition.

Write down everything while it’s fresh

Memory degrades quickly. Write a detailed account of the incident: the time, location, what you were doing, what you saw (or didn’t see) before the fall, the sequence of events, what the surface or hazard looked like, who was present, and what was said afterward. Include the names of employees, managers, and witnesses. Store this document somewhere you can retrieve it months or years later.

Send a footage preservation notice

Write a letter or email to the property owner or manager stating that you were injured on their property, that you believe the incident was recorded by surveillance cameras, and that you demand the footage be preserved. Send this in writing so you have proof of delivery. Property owners who destroy or fail to preserve footage after receiving notice of potential litigation can face spoliation sanctions — including adverse jury instructions — in later proceedings.

Within 30 Days

Consult a personal injury attorney

Most personal injury attorneys offer free initial consultations for injury claims and work on contingency (a percentage of the settlement if you win, nothing if you don’t). An early consultation gives you an honest assessment of whether you have a viable claim, what the case might be worth, and what the statute of limitations is in your jurisdiction. You are not required to hire an attorney at the consultation — but you should at least understand what you are dealing with before time runs.

Government property: act immediately

If your fall happened on government-owned property — a public sidewalk, courthouse, transit station, public school, or park — the notice of claim deadline may be as short as 60 days from the date of injury. Missing this government-specific administrative deadline permanently bars your claim, regardless of the general statute of limitations. Do not wait.

Do not give a recorded statement to the property owner’s insurer

The property owner’s insurance adjuster may contact you to take a recorded statement. You are not required to give one. These statements are taken strategically to build the insurer’s defense — to establish that you were partly at fault, that your injuries pre-dated the fall, or that you admitted awareness of the hazard. Politely decline until you have legal representation.

Ongoing: Document Your Recovery

Keep all bills, records, and receipts

Save every document connected to the injury: hospital and emergency room bills, imaging reports, specialist notes, surgical records, physical therapy appointment records and progress notes, prescription receipts, and any invoices for adaptive equipment or home modifications. Organize these in a folder you can hand to an attorney or present as documentation in settlement negotiations.

Track lost wages with documentation

If the injury has caused you to miss work, document every missed day and the associated income loss. Obtain a letter from your employer confirming your position, regular wage or salary, and the dates you were unable to work. For self-employed individuals, gather client correspondence, project records, and prior year income records to establish the baseline your income will be compared against.

Maintain a pain and symptom journal

Write brief daily notes describing your pain level (on a scale), which activities you could and couldn’t do, and how the injury has affected your daily life. This journal is compelling non-economic damages evidence: it shows the jury or adjuster exactly what “pain and suffering” looked like in your specific life across days, weeks, and months of recovery. Sleep disruption, inability to carry groceries, missing a child’s sporting events — concrete specifics are more persuasive than vague claims about suffering.

Ready to estimate what your claim might be worth? Use the slip and fall settlement calculator and see the full claims process guide for the next steps.