For almost 30 years, Regan Zambri Long’s award-winning Washington, DC slip and fall lawyers have helped injured clients take the right steps after an accident, starting with proper medical evaluation and clear documentation. After a fall, it can be tempting to brush it off and assume you will feel better with time, but seeing a doctor early can protect your health and your ability to pursue a claim if your injuries turn out to be more serious than they first appear.
Our board-certified attorneys work closely with doctors and other experts to identify hidden injuries, explain long-term complications, and connect treatment records to unsafe property conditions. All of our board-certified lawyers are named among Best Lawyers in Washington, DC for Plaintiff Personal Injury Litigation, and we have secured dozens of multimillion-dollar recoveries for accident victims by building strong, medically supported claims.
Have you been injured in a slip and fall accident? Contact Regan Zambri Long today, and one of our attorneys will personally get back to you for a free consultation. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we front all case costs, so you don’t have to worry about payment unless we win your case.
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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. 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.Â
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. In a large study of nearly two million elderly hip fracture patients, about 7.6% experienced delayed treatment, and those patients were 28% more likely to die, more likely to need hip replacement surgery, and more likely to face longer hospital stays and higher medical costs. This shows how injuries that seem minor at first can become far more serious when diagnosis and treatment are delayed.
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. The CDC also reports that falling once can double a person’s chances of falling again.
Common reasons someone may be at risk for future falls according to the CDC include:
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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.
Our team works closely with your medical providers to review records, document how your injuries developed over time, and connect your treatment to unsafe property conditions. With nearly 200 years of combined experience, our attorneys understand how insurers evaluate medical evidence and challenge injury claims. Three of our partners are recognized as being among America’s 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers for their success in complex injury cases, and three of our partners are named to the Top 100 Super Lawyers in Washington, DC. This experience has helped us secure more than $1 billion in settlements and verdicts for personal injury clients, including multiple million-dollar recoveries for people injured in serious falls.
For a free consultation explaining what to do after a slip and fall accident, call (202) 937-2067 or fill out our confidential online contact form.
In most cases, Washington, DC law gives you three years to file a personal injury claim under DC Code §12-301. Waiting too long to see a doctor can make it harder to identify injuries early and connect them to your fall, which can weaken your case.
Delaying care can make it harder to show that your injuries were caused by the fall. Insurance companies may argue that delayed treatment means the injury was minor or unrelated.
No. You do not always need to go to the emergency room. What matters most is that you seek medical attention promptly and follow through with recommended treatment.
Yes. Make sure your doctor knows how and where the injury happened. Medical records that clearly link your condition to the fall are important for both treatment and legal purposes.
Some injuries take time to develop. If pain, stiffness, dizziness, or mobility problems continue, return for follow-up care. Ongoing documentation helps protect your health and your claim.
Have you or your loved one sustained injuries in Washington DC, Maryland or Virginia? Regan Zambri Long PLLC has the best lawyers in the country to analyze your case and answer the questions you may have.