If you are injured in an elevator under circumstances that indicate someone else is responsible for your injures, a personal injury claim may have arisen in your favor the moment you were injured. It is important, however, to react appropriately in order to preserve the value of your claim.

Steps to Take

Take the following steps as soon as you can, at least to the extent that your injuries do not prohibit you from doing so:

• Seek medical treatment immediately. If you delay treatment, you will be inviting the defendant to claim that your injuries did not occur until after the accident and that they were due to some other cause. This is especially likely to happen if you suffered soft tissue injuries to your neck or back.
• Photograph the scene of the accident, as well as your injuries. This could be important evidence in your favor.
• Turn off your social media accounts, or set them to maximum privacy and do not accept friend requests from strangers. The defendant or the insurance company might monitor your social media accounts and scour them for evidence that your injuries are not as serious as you are claiming.
• Report the accident to the building owner, and to your insurance company as well if you carry insurance that might cover the accident. It is best that you give out only minimal information about the accident until you consult with a personal injury lawyer.
• Document everything. Keep your medical bills, for example, write out a description of the accident in detail and file away every document related to your accident, including evidence of expenses that were directly or indirectly caused by the accident.
• Contact a personal injury lawyer without delay!

Act Quickly — the Clock is Ticking

There is no state in the nation with a statute of limitations deadline shorter than Kentucky’s — in most cases you have only a year from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. If you miss the deadline, even a private settlement will be impossible.

Contact Glenn Martin Hammond Law Office by calling (606) 437-7777 or by completing our online contact form. And remember — if we won’t win your case, you will owe nothing for our services.