It happened right in front of you. The person you were shopping with or a stranger passing you in the aisle slipped and fell. She immediately cried out in pain and seemed overwhelmed by the accident. You want to help, but how? What can you do to help the person who has been hurt when nobody else around seems willing to do anything?
Take Control
Right now your first concern should be getting medical care for the injured victim. To that end, you should notify store management of the incident and call 911 if the injury appears to be significant or if the victim is in a lot of pain.
Once that is done you could also be helpful by:
- Contacting a friend or family member of the victim if the victim is a stranger to you. If the victim can’t speak you can try looking up ICE on her cell phone. ICE stands for “In Case of Emergency” and should be the person called if the victim is hurt.
- Getting the victim to her doctor if she is with you. If the injury doesn’t require a trip to the ER but your loved one is nevertheless hurt, then you should help her get to her primary care doctor for an evaluation.
- Taking pictures of the accident scene. This could be useful evidence later.
- Making sure the victim has your contact information. This is particularly important if the person who was hurt is a stranger to you.
Generally, what you want to do is to think clearly and to help the victim get the help she needs when she is unable to think clearly herself.
You Can Also Encourage Her to Protect Her Legal Rights
A person who has been injured in a fall accident may be able to recover damages in certain circumstances. Please encourage the victim of the accident that you witnessed to contact us directly for more information on protecting her legal rights and potential recovery so that she doesn’t suffer the financial consequences of her accident while she is recuperating from the physical trauma she suffered.
