A slip and fall can be painful, frightening, and disruptive, especially when the city should have fixed the hazard that caused it. When the government is responsible for your fall, the stakes are often higher. The rules are also stricter than in a typical personal injury claim. Here’s what to do to protect your health and your right to compensation.
Step 1: Get Medical Care Right Away
After a fall, you might feel fine at first: no pain, no bleeding, no obvious injuries. However, adrenaline and shock can hide your symptoms right after an accident. Some injuries may not show their full effects until hours or days later. Traumatic brain injuries and damage to muscles or ligaments often have delayed symptoms.
When you seek treatment soon after the fall, your doctors can catch and treat your injuries early. Seeing a doctor also creates a medical record that connects your injuries to the fall. If you wait, the city may argue that something else caused your injuries. Follow your doctor’s treatment plan and keep copies of your visits, bills, and prescriptions.
Step 2: Document What You Fell On
Cities and towns often repair hazards quickly after someone gets hurt. Once a crew fixes a broken sidewalk slab, raised utility cap, or missing grate, the evidence disappears.
Take photos and videos from several angles, both up close and from farther away. Place an object, such as a key or your phone, next to the hazard to show its size. Take pictures of the surrounding area too, including lighting, nearby signs, and anything that may have blocked your view.
If you can’t do this yourself, ask a friend or family member to go back and take photos for you. An attorney who represents injury victims can also arrange for the scene to be documented and for evidence to be preserved. They may also work with engineers and safety professionals as needed.
Step 3: Record Exactly When and Where You Fell
Before you can file a lawsuit against the city’s government, you must let the agency know you plan to file a claim. Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-15-9, this notice must describe the time, place, and cause of your fall. You may forget these details in the days after the accident, so write them down as soon as you can.
Write down the street address, the nearest house number, the closest cross street, and any nearby landmarks. If possible, write down how far you were from a fixed point, such as “about 10 feet north of the intersection.”
Step 4: Get Contact Information from Witnesses
If anyone saw you fall or helped you get back up, ask for their name, phone number, and email address. Witnesses can confirm what happened, describe the hazard, and support your side of the story if the city disputes it.
People are often willing to help in the moment but can be hard to track down later. If you get their information at the scene, you can contact them later to hear what they saw. Their account can strengthen your claim.
Step 5: Hold On to the Evidence
Keep the shoes and clothing you were wearing at the time of the accident, and do not wash or repair them. These items can help show that your shoes did not cause the fall. Also save your medical records, receipts, and any proof of missed work. Keeping everything in one place will make it easier to show how the fall has affected your life.
Step 6: Be Careful What You Say or Post
After a fall, a city employee or someone from the city’s legal or claims department may contact you. Be polite when you speak with this person, but keep the conversation short. Don’t sign documents, give a formal statement, or guess what happened until you’ve spoken with an attorney. If you say “I’m so clumsy” or “I was looking at my phone,” the city government may use those words as proof that you caused the accident.
The same advice applies to social media. You may want to share what happened, but someone could take posts about your fall, injuries, or daily activities out of context.
For example, someone could use a photo of you at a family event to argue that your injuries aren’t serious. Until your claim is over, avoid posting about the accident. Set your accounts to private, and think twice before sharing recovery updates.
Step 7: Talk to a Rhode Island Personal Injury Attorney Right Away
The steps above help protect your health and evidence. A personal injury lawyer helps protect your claim. Cases against cities and towns follow their own set of rules, and one small mistake early on can cost you your right to compensation. When you talk to an attorney soon after your fall, someone is taking care of the details while you focus on getting better.
How Long Do You Have to File a Lawsuit Against a Rhode Island Municipality?
Claims against cities and towns follow different rules than other personal injury cases. For example, if a defect in a public road or sidewalk caused your injury, Rhode Island law gives you 60 days to notify the city or town of the time, place, and cause of your injury.
If the accident seriously injured you, you should file an official incident report with the police or the local department that maintains the property. A report creates an early record of your fall, but it does not replace the written notice the law requires.
The statute of limitations, or the time you have to file a personal injury lawsuit, is a separate deadline. Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-25, you have three years from the date of the accident to file. Missing that deadline can end a claim before it even starts.
A lawyer can keep track of each deadline for you. They will also make sure your notice of intent to file a claim includes every detail the law requires. With their support, you can avoid common errors that would otherwise hurt your claim.
Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Slip and Fall?
It isn’t always clear which party is responsible for your injuries, either. The hazard may belong to the city, the state, a local utility company, or even the United States federal government. The rules can change depending on what caused your fall.
A personal injury lawyer can determine who is responsible and ensure the right notice is sent to the right place on time. Your attorney can review maintenance records, property records, and other evidence to find out who was responsible.
A rule called the public duty doctrine can also protect cities and towns from some injury claims, depending on the type of activity involved.
Example
Our client tripped over a metal curb box cap maintained by the Pawtucket Water Supply Board. A jury found the water board negligent, but the trial judge ruled that the public duty doctrine protected it. The firm appealed, and the Rhode Island Supreme Court is now deciding the case.
Calculating What Your Claim Is Worth
A lawyer can also estimate the value of your personal injury claim. Under Rhode Island’s personal injury laws, you may be able to recover compensation for:
- Current and long-term medical treatment
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Lost wages and loss of future income
Your Rhode Island personal injury lawyer will have the resources and experience to figure out what your losses are worth. They also know how to estimate the compensation you may need in the future.
Trust Rob Levine Law to Fight for Your Fair Compensation
The steps above can help protect your claim, but tight deadlines leave little room for delay. When you are recovering from head injuries, back problems, or other serious injuries, keeping up with these rules can feel overwhelming.
If you suffered an injury on city property in Rhode Island, Rob Levine Law can help. From the moment you hire our trip-and-fall attorneys, we handle the city and the legal process. All you need to do is focus on healing.
Our lawyers also represent clients in many types of personal injury cases, including car accidents, workers’ compensation, and slip and fall accidents. If you need a Rhode Island personal injury attorney, you can trust Rob Levine Law to fight for you. Contact us online or call 888-791-9135 today for a free consultation.
