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Steps to Take After a Holiday Injury

The holidays are a time when people come together and eat meals, share gifts, and spend time with relatives they may rarely see. If you visit a loved one who acts in a negligent manner, though, you risk injuring yourself. Though you may want to forget about what happened, there are some steps you should take.

See the Doctor

Start with a trip to the doctor. Depending on what happened and the level of pain that you experience, you may want to call an ambulance and have the paramedics take you to the emergency room. Seeing a doctor lets you document your injury or injuries and get medical proof of what happened. The doctor also can decide on the best course of treatment and determine whether you need to stay overnight or you are able to take care of your injury at home.

Find the Responsible Party

You will next want to determine who is the responsible party, which your lawyer can help you do. This is the person who owns the property where the injury occurred. If your loved one is on the mortgage, this is the responsible party. Some holiday injuries can occur in or around rental properties, too, which means that the landlord may be responsible. It often depends on what caused the injury and the terms of the lease. A slip and fall on an ice patch might occur because of the tenant’s negligence as the lease holds that person responsible for ice removal.

Hire a Lawyer

Hiring a personal injury lawyer is one step that you may need to take. This lets you go through official channels without causing any problems in your friend group or family. A lawyer may work with the person’s insurer and settle the case quickly with little fuss. Even if you don’t want to sue, you should still schedule a consultation to talk about your injury and some of the compensation you could get for your holiday injury.