Serious injuries in Southern Florida and across the country are more common than many people realize. According to the CDC, 24.8 million Americans visit their doctors each year due to an injury and another 24.2 million. Unintentional injuries result in 224,935 deaths each year.
Flaxman Law Group has represented many people in personal injury claims in Southern Florida through our offices in Miami, Homestead, and Hollywood, and we’ve seen many types of injuries, from amputations to hip fractures to life-changing head injuries and other types of harm. In all cases, we advise people who have been injured to do the following to protect themselves and their finances.
Stay Calm
While the situation may be frightening, whether you’ve been in a boating accident or have suffered a workplace injury, try to stay calm so you can get the help you need. Evaluate the situation if you can so you can determine how seriously you’re injured and what your next steps should be.
Seek Medical Help
If your injuries may be serious, call 911 or ask someone to call emergency services for you. If you’re not sure whether it’s an emergency, it’s best to get an emergency evaluation or go to an urgent care center to make sure you get the appropriate treatment.
If you have hit your head or may have hit your head and you don’t experience any symptoms, it’s still best to treat the situation like an emergency. When your brain impacts the inside of your skull, it can cause life-threatening swelling and damage. For some patients, this results in immediate symptoms such as headaches and loss of consciousness. For others, there may be no symptoms right away but they may still have a serious injury. Some people have died because they have delayed treatment for a potential head injury, so always treat any potential head injury as a possible emergency.
Even if you don’t think you’ve been injured and you haven’t hit your head, visit your doctor as soon as you can after your accident. Your doctor can rule out soft tissue and other tissue injuries, back injuries, and other injuries which can have subtle symptoms or even no symptoms right away.
In addition to a medical evaluation, keep a journal of any possible symptoms after your accident. If your symptoms get worse or you have any concerns, visit your doctor. Even with proper care after your accident or injury, medical professionals may have missed an injury or you may experience complications.
Gather Evidence
In Florida, you have the right to seek financial recovery if your injuries were caused by someone else’s actions or recklessness. To prove your case, though, you will need evidence, so you will want to start documenting as soon as you can. Some possible ways to document your injuries and situation including:
- Photographing the scene of the accident or injury with your phone.
- Photographing your injuries and surrounding area.
- Getting the contact information of any possible witnesses.
- Writing down anything you remember about the injury, including what you were doing before the injury and any possible security cameras you notice at the scene.
- Reporting the injuries or accident to the right authorities, which could mean the police, a property owner, a property manager, a supervisor or employer, or others.
- Getting a copy of the incident report, police report, your medical records, or any other paperwork related to the incident.
- Keeping any property that injured you, keeping the clothes you were wearing at the time of the injury, and keeping any other evidence you may own safe.
- Keeping an ongoing record of your medical treatment and any money you’ve had to pay related to the injury, including taxis to doctors’ appointments and any medication you’ve needed.
Seek Legal Advice
If you’ve suffered any kind of injury in South Florida, a personal injury attorney can help you decide whether to seek compensation. Your attorney can also take care of the many steps it takes to file a claim.
As soon as you can after your injury, contact the Flaxman Law Group at 866-352-9626 to arrange a free accident consultation with a South Florida personal injury attorney. Our legal team is proud of our over 60 years of experience and $100 million recovered for clients, and we’d be happy to consult about your situation.