What To Do After a Slip and Fall

You slipped on a wet floor, tripped on a broken step or went down on an icy sidewalk. Now you’re hurt, maybe embarrassed, and not sure what to do first. If you’re wondering whether it’s even worth making a fuss, that’s normal.

Here’s the short answer. Get checked by a doctor, even if you feel all right. Report the fall before you leave, photograph what made you fall, get witnesses’ names and keep your shoes as they are. Then ask the owner in writing to keep its video, and don’t give its insurer a recorded statement or sign anything it sends until you know how badly you’re hurt. Michigan’s rules are in the boxes marked “In Michigan.”

Hurt and not sure where you stand? Get a free case review. Four quick questions, no cost, no obligation.

What should you do right after a slip and fall accident?

Work through this list as far as your injuries allow, and let someone help. The owner’s insurer handles claims like yours every day and knows which evidence matters; this list helps you save it before it’s gone. Print it or save it to your phone.

At the scene

1. Get help, and get checked either way. If you’re badly hurt, call 911 or ask someone to call. Falls can be dangerous at any age, and older adults are more likely to break a bone (MedlinePlus). If you hit your head, the CDC says to call 911 or go to an emergency department right away for danger signs such as a headache that gets worse and doesn’t go away, repeated vomiting or slurred speech; see the full list of danger signs.
2. Report the fall before you leave. Tell a manager, the landlord or the owner, and ask for a copy of the incident report. If they won’t give you one, write down the report number and who took it. Stick to the facts: where you fell, what you slipped on and what hurts.
3. Photograph what made you fall. Get the hazard before it changes, from several angles and up close, plus the lighting, any warning signs (or the lack of them), the weather and your shoes.
4. Get witnesses’ names and phone numbers, including employees, especially anyone who said something like “we’ve been meaning to fix that.” Write down what they said, in their words.
5. Keep your shoes and clothes as they are. Bag them, uncleaned, with anything that broke. If the owner blames your footwear, the shoes can answer that.

In the first days

6. See a doctor, even if you feel fine. Some concussion symptoms may not appear for hours or days (CDC). Tell every provider exactly how you fell, follow the treatment plan and go back if something new appears. A long gap in care lets an insurer argue that something else caused your injury.
7. Ask in writing for the video to be kept. Many businesses have cameras, and many systems record over old footage automatically. Email or write to the manager right away and ask them to keep the video, including the hours before you fell, which can show how long the hazard was there, plus their cleaning and inspection records. A lawyer can send a formal request, often called a preservation letter. Our guide to preserving evidence after an accident explains what these letters cover.
8. Write it down, and keep a pain journal. While it’s fresh, note the time, why you took that route, what the ground looked like and what anyone said. Then keep a short daily note of your pain and what you can’t do, and one folder for bills and records.
9. Be careful with the owner’s insurer. You don’t have to give it a recorded statement, and it’s safer not to until you’ve had advice. Don’t sign a release before you know how badly you’re hurt; a signed release generally ends the claim. See what to say when an insurance adjuster calls.
10. Keep the fall off social media. Posts can be used to question how badly you’re hurt, and in a lawsuit the other side can ask for relevant ones (see, for example, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(1)).

For what a claim has to prove, see how slip-and-fall claims work.

How long after a slip and fall can you sue?

It depends on your state and on who controlled the property. In Michigan, most fall lawsuits must be filed within three years, but a fall caused by a defective public sidewalk, road or building needs written notice to the government agency within 120 days.

Every state sets its own deadline, called a statute of limitations; as of September 2026, Florida’s is two years for a negligence claim (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a)). Government claims often need notice much sooner: California requires a claim against a public entity for an injury within six months (Cal. Gov. Code § 911.2(a)).

Not sure which deadline applies to your fall? Get a free case review. Four quick questions, no cost, no obligation.

What happens if you slip and fall in a store?

Report it to a manager before you leave and ask for a copy of the incident report; the store’s insurer, or a claims company working for it, may contact you later. The store has to pay only if it was careless: it created the hazard, or knew about it or should have found it, and didn’t clean it up, fix it or warn you in time (see Restatement (Second) of Torts § 343, quoted in Kandil-Elsayed).

Can you sue a store for a slip and fall?

Yes, if the store was careless and that caused your injury; it’s a kind of premises liability claim. A fall by itself isn’t enough.

Notice is where many fall claims are won or lost: proof that an employee created the hazard, that the store knew about it, or that it should have found it because it was there long enough or was noticeable enough. Dried or dirty edges on a spill, cart tracks through it, or records of the last floor check can show how long it was there. See what it takes to win a slip-and-fall case.

What should you do if you slip and fall on ice?

Get checked, then photograph the ice, the snow around it, the lighting and the weather right away, before salt, a plow or a thaw changes the scene. Report the fall in writing to whoever controls the property, such as the business, the landlord or the city, because who is responsible, and how fast you must act, depends on where you fell.

Ice claims often turn on timing and upkeep, so write down when it started snowing and whether it had stopped, and whether the spot had been shoveled, salted or sanded. Snow and ice rules vary a lot by state.

Can you sue if you slip and fall at work?

Usually not your employer: workers’ comp pays for your medical care and part of your lost wages without proof of fault, and in exchange it’s usually your only claim against your employer. But if someone other than your employer caused the fall, you may also have a claim against them.

Tell every provider the injury happened at work, and report it to your employer in writing, with the date, time, place, what happened and every body part that hurts. Keep a copy, and don’t rely on your employer to file your claim; see how workers’ comp works.

If you were hurt at a place your employer doesn’t own or control, the owner or whoever controls it may be liable for a dangerous condition. Think of a customer’s loading dock, a store on your delivery route or an icy walkway at someone else’s building. See when you can sue after a workplace injury.

What shouldn’t you say or do after a slip and fall?

• Don’t guess, apologize or play down your injuries. “I’m fine” or “I wasn’t looking” can be used against you, but it doesn’t end your claim. In most states, partial fault reduces what you recover rather than eliminating it, though most of them cut off recovery once your share reaches 50% or 51%, and a few, such as Maryland, bar recovery for any fault of your own (Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute).
• Don’t argue with the staff or the owner. Stay calm and leave the question of fault for later.
• Don’t sign what you haven’t read, including a statement someone else wrote for you.

What to do next

1. Get checked, and keep going. Tell every provider how you fell, and keep your records.
2. Save the evidence today. Photos, the incident report, witness names, your shoes and a written request to keep the video.
3. Find your deadline. Most Michigan fall lawsuits have three years, but for a public sidewalk, road or building, the 120-day notice comes first.
4. Be careful what you say and sign. Hold off on a recorded statement or a release until you know how badly you’re hurt and have had advice.
5. Get a free case review. A lawyer can tell you whether the evidence shows the owner knew or should have known about the hazard, and what drives the value of a slip-and-fall claim. Get a free case review, or, if you were hurt in Michigan, compare Michigan injury lawyers.

What waiting can cost

• Evidence. Video gets recorded over, spills get cleaned up, ice melts and broken steps get fixed.
• Proof of your injury. Some concussion symptoms may not appear for hours or days (CDC), and a gap in care gives an insurer room to question your injury.
• A claim against the government. In Michigan, notice of a road, sidewalk or public-building defect is due within 120 days; a notice served on day 140 ended the claim in Rowland.
• The right to sue. Most Michigan fall lawsuits must be filed within three years of the injury (MCL 600.5805(2)).

What a good outcome looks like

Your injuries are checked and treated, and your records show how you fell. The photos, the video and the witnesses show what the owner knew and when, so the claim turns on facts rather than an adjuster’s guess. Any share of fault assigned to you matches what actually happened, and every notice goes out on time. From not knowing what to do after a fall to having the evidence saved, your deadline marked and a clear next step.

For other injuries on someone else’s property, browse the slip, fall and unsafe property guides.

Updated September 25, 2026

This guide is general information, not legal advice, and laws change. For advice about your situation, talk to a lawyer licensed in your state. Reading this page or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.