What To Do If Your New Haven Slip And Fall Accident Involves A Friend

We hope that this never happens to you, but there are instances where you are over at a friends house and they have not yet cleaned off the ice on their front stoop and you find yourself in a New Haven slip and fall accident.  This situation does occur and it most certainly can be awkward.  On one hand you may want to get right up, shake it off, and avoid the embarrassment that often comes with a fall.  On the other hand you may be seriously injured and need to seek medical attention right away.

Adding insult to injury is that this happened at your friend’s home and you may not want to make a big deal out of it for fear of upsetting your friend.  This is an understandable reaction and thought, but it is one that could leave you with hefty medical bills and long-term injuries due to no fault of your own.  It may not be comfortable to hold a friend accountable for this type of incident, but it is necessary so you can protect yourself.

How do you go about making sure that you are protect yourself in a situation like this while also doing your best to maintain your friendship?

First, you will want to remain calm after the incident.  Yelling and screaming about the injury and how it could have been avoided will often set the scene for a dramatic confrontation with the friend which does nobody any good.  Being able to calmly assess the situation and either get back on your feet or get the medical attention you need is the best way to handle the immediate aftermath of an incident such as this.

Secondly, you will want to have your injuries addressed by someone in the area, assuming there are no medical professionals around, you should at least have another friend help you up and get you to a more comfortable footing so you don’t injure yourself further.

Thirdly, you will want to either document the scene yourself or have another friend take some photos of the area around where your accident happened.  Especially if your fall happened due to ice, it is very likely that the ice will no longer be in the same spot when you get to the point where you are trying to make a case about the injury.

Once you’ve taken these steps you will want to be seen by a medical professional who can assess your injuries properly.  Without a medical opinion it will be your word against your friend’s word and that will undoubtedly get messy very quickly.

Finally, you will want to let the lawyers for both you and your friend work through the details of your New Haven slip and fall accident.    Trying to sort out the details of what happened can become contentious and do real, long-term damage to your friendship.

Speak with an experienced attorney from our office who can work with you to protect your long-term interests and do it in a way that will be fair and just.  Protecting your friendship is important, protecting your long-term interests is also important, and our attorneys will work with you to do both.