Hurt Your Back In A New Haven Slip And Fall Accident? Here’s What To Do

When you’re involved in a New Haven slip and fall accident it can be jarring. When you land on your back or tweak your back in some way or another it can be devastating. While you cannot predict whether or not you’re going to land on your back or hurt your back, you should be aware of some of the signs of serious back injury so that you don’t make the injury worse if this type of accident were to happen to you.

There are so many ways that a slip and fall accident can happen and there are a lot of different types of injuries that can result from this type of incident, but hurting your back can be one of the most painful injuries and it can also leave you injured for a long period of time. In fact, back injuries are one of those injuries that if not handled properly at the time of the accident you can be stuck with that pain for your whole life and be cursing the day you had this incident.

The good news is that most slip and fall accidents are not severe and will not do permanent and lasting damage to your back. When you fall and injure yourself, often you will be looking at a mild sprain or some scrapes and bruising, these injuries will heal with some at home treatments and maybe a single visit to the doctor’s office. However, if you fall on your back in any serious way you could have limited range of motion and could be in severe pain that could require immediate medical attention. If you slip and fall and land on your back or tweak your back it will not always be a serious injury, but when it is you will want to know the right steps to take to keep your injury from getting worse.

Step #1: Stay calm. This may be difficult to do, but it is an important first step. If you are writing around in pain, crying or screaming you could be doing more damage then if you were to lay still and assessing the situation calmly. After the initial shock of the accident wears off you should take a few deep breaths and remain still. Continuing to breathe while you or someone in your area helps to assess the situation and what the next steps to take are, will be critical to your recovery from this injury.

Step #2: Assess the situation for the severity of your injury. You should make note of some of the following things that can be sign of severe injury; difficulty breathing, numbness or weakness in your legs, incontinence or loss of bladder or bowel control, severe, unrelenting pain or visible swelling. You should take each of these items one by one to rule any or all of them out. Once you have been able to rule out these severe symptoms you can then move on to making sure whatever symptoms you are experiencing that are outside of these severe injuries are addressed.

Step #3: Call for help. With the symptoms listed above you will want to get emergency assistance immediately. Ask someone nearby to call 911 or if you are able to you should do this for yourself. However, if you’re not experiencing the symptoms above you may consider starting to call for help anyway. It can never hurt to be seen by a medical provider to make sure that you’re not missing anything. This is especially true with back injuries that can linger for weeks or months without you even knowing it until all of a sudden the pain surfaces. At the time of the accident it is best to be seen by a medical provider if at all possible.

Step #4: Limit your movement. The accident has already caused you pain, but moving incorrectly after an accident like that could affect your movement long-term and also cause you significantly more pain. Until you are able to brace your back and make sure you are moving it correctly you should remain still as best as possible so you do not cause yourself worse pain.

A back injury that occurs from a New Haven slip and fall accident can range in severity from mild to requiring immediate emergency medical care. It is important to follow the steps above if this type of incident occurs to you so you can make sure you are not doing any additional harm to your body by making the wrong moves at the time of the accident. If you are with someone when the accident happens you may want to ask them for assistance so you can take the right steps to keep yourself safe and free from additional injury.

When an accident like this happens you may need to speak with an attorney who has some experience with this type of injury. Contact our office and one of our experienced attorneys will review your situation and work with you to protect your long-term interests.