How to Prevent the Insurance Company from Denying Your Slip and Fall Case in South Carolina

Slip and Fall Cases Result from Negligence

Today, I want to talk to you about Slip and Fall cases in South Carolina and what you need to know to protect your case. After you have slipped and fell at a business or a property owner’s property due to that owner’s negligence, don’t let the insurance company deny your case down the road.

Businesses and property owners owe a duty to protect people from harm when people are on their property. Business or property owners can be negligent by, for example, having wet floors with no sign that lets somebody at their store know the floor’s wet. Additionally, there could be an area where a step is not as firm on a flight of stairs, and somebody could fall through. In situations like that, if the business or property owner knows of the dangers, they have to protect people coming on their property from that harm that they knew or should have known was a risk to that person. If businesses and property owners fail to protect people from these known dangers, they have to compensate people who are injured and harmed. Because they have been negligent in their duty to protect people, the business or property owner would be held responsible for the harmed person’s medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, future medical treatment, permanent impairment, and/or any foreseeable damage that the person sustained as a result of that business or that property owner’s negligence.

What to do after being injured in a Slip and Fall accident in South Carolina

Unfortunately, if you fail to do a few things after your slip and fall accident, there’s a chance that you could be put in a situation where the insurance company, the business, or the property owner tries to deny your case. Therefore, you need to know what you need to do or shouldn’t do, so if you slip and fall you’re compensated fairly and you’re taken care of. If you know these few things, you don’t have to worry about an insurance company or the business later trying to deny paying for your bills, pain and suffering, or any harm that you sustained as a result of their negligence.

1. Get a written report of the fall from management

As we’ve talked about before, the first thing you need to do if you slip and fall (outside of seeking medical treatment) is make sure that you get a written report of your fall. You need to contact management or the manager who’s there. If they aren’t immediately nearby, find somebody and tell them to go get the manager. Make sure the manager comes and looks at the area where you slipped and fell. From there you need to make sure that you get that manager’s contact information. Get their full name, phone number, and email. Ask for a written copy of the report showing that you slipped and fell at that business or at that property owner’s place, and the reason why the business or property owner was negligent.

2. Take photos

After that, make sure you take photos. Take pictures of anything that you can that demonstrates how that business or property owner was negligent. Let’s say, for example, you slipped and fell while walking in the aisle of a store because it was wet with no sign. Take some pictures. Take pictures in a way that shows that the floor is actually wet. Show that there’s no actual hazard sign or wet floor sign. Keep those pictures because you’ll need them later.

3. Gather information from witnesses

And also make sure that you get witnesses’ information. If there’s anybody there who saw you slip and fall, ask to get the name, phone number, and email address. You’ll need to get this information to a personal injury lawyer later on, so they can actually present your case to the insurance company and their representatives to make sure you’re compensated. Witness information is incredibly important. Often, the managers who actually reported your slip and fall will be on the side of the business that they work for. You’re going to need somebody else who’s impartial, who just happened to be there, and they witnessed the negligence of the property owner and how that harmed you.

4. Get medical treatment as soon as possible

To recap, by now, you have

  • Gathered the manager’s information
  • Obtained a written copy of the report
  • Taken photographs of where you fell
  • Gathered witnesses’ contact information
  • Sought medical treatment from the fall

Even if you feel like you’re not that injured, you need to make sure you get medical treatment. It needs to be documented that your injury was actually a result of their negligence. If there’s a gap in treatment, the insurance company will likely try to appear later on and say that your injuries actually resulted from something else rather than your slip and fall accident at that business, property owner’s place, or that restaurant. You need to get medical treatment as soon as possible.

Find an experienced personal injury attorney to help after your Slip and Fall Injury in South Carolina

The final and probably most important thing you need to do is to contact a personal injury lawyer who has experience handling slip and fall cases as soon as possible. You can try to take on the insurance company and the business by yourself, but you’re more than likely going to be unsuccessful. And even in situations where, let’s say, you didn’t do the things I’ve mentioned,

  • You didn’t get the manager’s information
  • You didn’t take photographs
  • You didn’t get a written copy of the report
  • You didn’t any witnesses’ contact information

A good personal injury lawyer like myself may be able to get around that to make sure that your rights are still protected and that you’re still compensated for slipping and falling as a result of that business or that property owner’s negligence.

If you’ve slipped and fallen at any place in South Carolina, feel free to contact me anytime. You can reach me by phone at 803-395-0783. I’m Tyler Bailey, the founder of Bailey Law Firm and I help victims of slip and falls and other personal injuries all over the state. To learn more about Bailey Law Firm, to learn more about me, visit my website, as well, baileylawfirmsc.com.

Hope you never slip and fall, but if you do, I’m happy to help.