What to Do After a Slip and Fall in Martin County

The first move after a slip and fall is to get a medical evaluation within hours — even if the pain seems minor — because the medical record created that day can guide the decisions that follow.

You may be sitting on a grocery-store floor in Stuart, embarrassed and trying to work out whether you need an ambulance. Focus first on safety, then on preserving what you can remember and see. In Martin County, the first hours can affect both your health and whether important evidence remains available later.

Stay still long enough to check for serious pain, bleeding, a blow to the head, weakness, numbness, or trouble moving. Don't try to stand if you may have injured your head, neck, back, or hip, or if you can't get up independently. Ask someone nearby to call 911.

Call emergency services for:

• Loss of consciousness or seizure
• New weakness or numbness
• Impaired speech or walking
• Worsening confusion or persistent vomiting
• Severe headache
• Blood or clear fluid from the ears or nose
• Head impact while taking blood-thinning medication

Once you're safe, ask a bystander to note the time, location, and names of witnesses. If a manager is present, say plainly that you fell and need medical help. Don't apologize, guess what caused the fall, or agree that you weren't watching where you were going. You don't need to argue about responsibility while you're hurt.

Don't wait to see whether pain becomes unbearable. Go to an emergency room for red-flag symptoms or a significant head impact. Urgent care may be appropriate for a less serious injury, such as pain or swelling without emergency signs.

Tell the clinician exactly how the fall happened: where you were, what your body struck, your position when you fell, what footwear you had on, and what the floor or walkway was like. Describe symptoms that began right away and anything that appeared later. Be specific about pain and limits on movement rather than minimizing them.

Make the first record accurate. Your medical chart isn't a legal argument — it's a record of what you reported and what the clinician observed. If you leave out a painful shoulder or mention the wrong location, that gap may complicate later efforts to connect the injury to the fall.

Delayed care can make both recovery and the injury timeline harder to assess. If symptoms emerge later, contact a medical professional promptly and explain when they began.

A wet floor in a Stuart grocery store may be mopped before you leave the emergency room. A loose mat at a restaurant entrance may be replaced. Memory alone won't show what the area looked like when you fell.

If you can do so safely, ask a companion or witness to document the scene while you get medical care:

• Photograph the hazard close up and from farther away
• Include nearby landmarks, the lighting, warning signs or their absence
• Photograph your footwear and any damage to your clothing
• For a spill, capture its position relative to shelves or checkout areas
• At a hotel, show how a poorly lit walkway connects to the entrance or lobby
• Don't move the hazard or stage a reconstruction

Write down the precise location and time, surface condition, weather if relevant, lighting, footwear, body position, symptoms, and witness names while the details are fresh. Keep the original photos and videos, and retain the shoes and clothes you wore.

Ask the business or property manager in writing to preserve any relevant surveillance footage and incident report. Don't assume a camera captured the fall, but do make the request promptly — businesses may overwrite or delete footage as part of routine operations.

Report the fall to the person responsible for the property: a store manager, landlord, employer, or facility operator. Keep your report factual. Give the location and approximate time, explain that you fell, and identify any immediate injury or request for assistance.

Ask whether the business is creating an incident report and request a copy. If staff won't provide one, write down whom you spoke with and when, then send a concise email or letter summarizing your report. Keep a copy.

Practical rule: Report the event, not your theory of fault.

A fall on government property requires extra care. Notice requirements and claim procedures can differ from those for a private business, and some deadlines may be shorter. Identify which agency controls the property and get advice promptly about the notice and filing rules that apply.

Use a single folder — digital or paper — to keep the record organized.

Write brief symptom notes regularly. Record what you can and can't do — standing through a shift, driving comfortably, sleeping without pain. Don't exaggerate, and don't fill gaps with guesses. If a symptom changes, record when you noticed it and when you sought care.

Save the shoes and clothing from the fall. Don't post speculation or dramatic conclusions online, and don't let an adjuster record an interview before you understand your injuries and have had a chance to get advice.

Early legal advice can help you avoid decisions that are difficult to undo. A lawyer can assess what evidence needs preserving, help organize communications with insurers, and explain whether the property owner's response raises questions worth investigating.

Florida follows a modified comparative negligence system. In general, a person's share of fault can reduce a recovery, and a finding that the person is more than half responsible can bar recovery in many negligence cases. That makes casual statements such as "I wasn't looking" risky — they can become part of a dispute about your own conduct.

Florida's statute of limitations for negligence claims is two years from the date of the incident under §95.11(3)(a) (as amended by Florida's 2023 tort reform). Claims involving government entities can have different notice rules and shorter deadlines. A local attorney can identify which rules apply to the property and incident rather than treating every fall as the same case.

A deadline is a backstop, not an investigation plan.

• Guessing about fault — Stick to what you observed
• Discarding evidence — Keep the shoes, clothing, and original scene records
• Posting about the fall — Avoid statements that can be taken out of context
• Accepting a quick offer — Don't settle before you understand your medical picture
• Returning to work against medical advice — Follow your clinician's restrictions

Juan Cordero Lawyers provides personal-injury guidance and representation for people hurt in slip-and-fall incidents throughout Martin County, St. Lucie County, Palm Beach County, Miami-Dade County, and the Florida Keys. We have over 27 years of experience handling premises liability claims under Florida's §768.0755.

Call (305) 525-8957 or (772) 227-0577 — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Contact us online to discuss the incident and your next steps.

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