QUESTION
What steps should I take for precautions in case I need to pursue further action on my injury?
Asked on Jul 14th, 2014 on Personal Injury - Oregon
More details to this question:
I was a customer at a local tire center. While sitting in the customer area waiting on my car to be complete, I needed to use the ladies’ restroom and found it to be in use by someone I believe to be a male employee. When it became available, I used the facilities and there was a quite large puddle of soap on the tile floor under the soap dispenser. I use arm crutches to walk with due to multiple back surgeries already so I was very careful to my surroundings, however, there was soap in the grout that drained out further that wasn't as visible and my toe of my shoe and one crutch hit the soap a little and I slipped landing on my right hip on that tile floor. I'm having pain in my hip, low back, right arm, neck and head. I just recently had an epidural injection in my lumbar spine for pain management, which was helping but feel the benefits of the injection may have been compromised. I haven't been to the doctor or anything yet due to my existing conditions. How should I go about seeing a medical provider and covering my own self to be safe? I did take pictures as soon as it happened and talked with the manager. I had fill out an incident report. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
1 ANSWER
The obvious answer begins with - go get healthy. Focus on your health. In Oregon, you typically have two years from the date of injury to file a claim. There are, however, exception to this general rule. In the meantime, it is good that you took photographs. You should also save the shoes and clothes that you were wearing at the time, as they may become evidence in a case later on. Note that you are not required to give a recorded statement to anyone who contacts you on behalf of the business where you were injured. If you do give a recorded statement or already have you entitled under the law to request that a copy be given to you. Preserve any documents that you have related to the fall, including notes of the names and contact information of any witnesses to anything at the scene. You, or your lawyer, should also send a "spoliation" letter to the business telling them to preserve any relevant evidence related to your injury as it may be needed in a lawsuit - including the names of any witnesses, other customers in the store at that time, yours and similar incident reports, video surveillance tape, photographs, etc. If you are contemplating legal action in the future you would be wise to now consult with a reputable personal injury attorney in your area who handles premises liability cases. Reputable attorneys do not charge consultation fees just to discuss your case with you.
Answered on Jul 15th, 2014 at 1:53 PM