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Even the most minor falls can result in catastrophic injuries that do not appear right away. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “One out of five falls causes a serious injury such as broken bones or a head injury.”
Unfortunately, these statistics alone do not provide the encouragement some need to seek medical attention following a slip and fall.
Learn the top reasons why you should go to the doctor after a fall.
After a fall in a public place or even a private residence, you may feel embarrassed and not want to cause a scene. However, it is important to seek medical attention immediately following a slip and fall accident. Learn the top four reasons to go to the doctor right after a slip and fall
After a fall, you may be able to stand up and feel relatively fine. However, once the adrenaline wears off, you may begin to feel discomfort and injuries may emerge. Be it that you cannot stand for long periods of time without pain, or perhaps you begin to see bruising, these seemingly minor falls can actually create serious injuries.
By seeking medical attention, you may find out you’ve actually suffered a concussion, have a blood clot, or perhaps sprained your ankle.
Remember, even if you are not feeling pain or you have not had any emergent physical signs of injury, a doctor will be able to look for specific injuries common to a fall and monitor you for any changes in health.
Consider this: When you fell, you remember vaguely landing on your hip and back. While it may not have seemed serious, now you have constant, severe pain. Be it a fracture, a sprain, or some other injury, you may not even realize some symptoms are related to the fall.
For example, some soft tissue injuries that are common to slips and falls may seem like they can be related to some other condition. These include inflammatory conditions like bursitis and tendonitis.
Further, some internal injuries may take longer to create outward pain, which can be serious if not fatal when left untreated.
Falls tend to be common amongst elderly Americans due to their health conditions and medications they may be on. Unfortunately, when an older individual falls once, they increase their risk of falling again.
Common reasons someone may be at risk for future falls according to the CDC include:
It is common that following a fall, these adults often develop fall related anxiety which then makes them stop getting around independently which perpetuates some of their other conditions, which increases their fall risk.
Even if you do not have severe injuries, seeking medical attention after a slip and fall will help build your case when you negotiate with the insurance companies or if you need to take your case to court.
A doctor examination after a fall will provide you with medical documentation of the accident. A list of injuries, potentially related expenses, and procuring evidence, will help build up evidence quickly.
By delaying medical attention, you run the risk of not illustrating the severity of the accident and diminishing your need for a larger settlement.
After you seek medical help, call a slip and fall attorney. An attorney can help gather the evidence needed to build your case and allow you to focus on what matters most–recovery.
At Regan Zambri Long, we will work tirelessly to help you recover the compensation you deserve following a slip and fall accident.
For a free consultation explaining what to do after a slip and fall accident, call (202) 960-4596 or fill out our confidential online contact form.
