When you injure yourself in a slip and fall in a public place, you could be entitled to financial compensation from the property owner. Now what you do after you've taken your slip and fall can have a tremendous effect on your case, either in a positive sense or negative one. If you don't follow the necessary steps once your slip and fall have occurred, you won't get the compensation you rightly deserve.

The first thing you need to is to make the company aware you fell. This means you'll need to file an incident report, if they ask you to. If they do, be sure you get a duplicate copy before you leave the company. The property owner may ask you if you are going to seek medical treatment; advise him/her that you intend to seek medical treatment. Be sure you have witnesses' names, addresses and phone numbers. If you can (and with cell phones also made into cameras), take pictures of the area in which you fell. Pictures can speak a thousand words especially in court. Determine why you fell before you leave the building/property.

You don't want to wait for medical attention so seek it out immediately. Your pains don't have to be very severe to see your doctor. Don't forget that slip and falls can result in soreness, bruising, cuts, broken bones and/or internal injuries. It may take several days for an injury to crop up from a slip and fall and by then, it'd be too late to prove that your slip and fall was indeed the reason for your pain and suffering. Be sure you get all the documentation regarding your injuries; this means take photos. Two of the biggest reasons people lose money or the case entirely is because they failed to get documentation and pictures of their injuries. Be sure before you go ahead with your case that you know what the immediate and long-term effects from the injury are.

As soon as you are able, speak to a highly decorated and experienced personal injury lawyer. You only have so long after your accident to file a lawsuit. Depending on where you live, you could have one year or as much as three years. Your attorney will be able to tell you what course of action is right for you and what you should expect at every point in the case.

Most personal injury attorneys will not charge you a fee for taking on your case unless you win. Experienced attorneys often bring in a large settlement than if you were to fight the company on your own terms. Your experienced legal representation will lead you through the entire process including notifying the owner, settlement negotiations and taking the case to court, if it goes that route.

Documenting your case can be quite difficult and complicated so your personal injury attorney should guide you through this process. Too often, accident victims waive their rights, which do not allow them to receive compensation for their injuries. Be sure your legal representative reads of all that is sent to you from the company/owner. If you accept a settlement offer, it often means you hold the party from blame and will not sue. Have your attorney look over any settlement paperwork or any other documentation that regards your personal injury case.