What To Do After a Slip and Fall Accident (Virginia, DC & Maryland)
Slip and fall accidents are often brushed off as "minor," but from a legal standpoint, they are some of the most heavily defended personal injury claims.
Property owners and their insurance carriers move quickly to deny responsibility, argue the hazard was obvious, or shift blame onto the injured person. What you do in the minutes and days after a fall can determine whether you have a viable claim — or none at all.
If you were injured on someone else's property in Virginia, DC, or Maryland, this guide explains what personal injury lawyers look for and how to protect your rights.
What Should I Do Immediately After a Slip and Fall Accident?
Stay at the location if you're physically able. Do not leave the property without documenting what happened and reporting the fall. The moment you leave, evidence starts disappearing.
Check yourself for injuries but don't minimize them. Avoid saying "I'm fine" or "I'm okay" even if you feel that way in the moment. Adrenaline masks pain. What feels like minor soreness can be a fracture, torn ligament, or head injury.
If you're seriously injured and cannot move, call 911 or ask someone to call for you. Paramedics will document your injuries and transport you to the hospital, creating an immediate medical record tied to the incident.
If you can move, document the scene and report the incident to the property owner before leaving for medical care. Those steps protect your legal rights. Then get immediate medical attention.
Should I Report the Slip and Fall to the Property Owner?
Yes. You must report the fall immediately to the property owner, manager, or employee in charge.
Find whoever is responsible for the property and tell them: "I slipped and fell on your property. I'm injured. I need you to document this incident."
Insist they complete an incident report. Many businesses have standard forms. Make sure the report includes your name, contact information, the date and time, the exact location of the fall, what caused you to fall, and your injuries.
Get a copy of the incident report before you leave. If they say they'll mail it to you or that you can pick it up later, that's not acceptable. Take a photo of the completed report with your phone if they won't give you a physical copy.
If the property owner refuses to complete a report or claims they don't have forms, document the refusal. Write down who you spoke to, their position, the date and time, and what they said. Send yourself an email or text with this information so it's timestamped.
Follow up in writing. As soon as you leave the property, send an email or letter stating: "On [date] at approximately [time], I slipped and fell at [specific location]. I reported this to [person's name] immediately. I am injured and seeking medical treatment. Please preserve all evidence related to this incident including surveillance footage, maintenance records, and incident reports."
Written notice is critical. Property owners often claim they were never notified of the fall. Written documentation with a timestamp proves you reported it.
What Evidence Should I Gather at the Scene?
Evidence disappears fast. Spills get cleaned up. Wet floors dry. Ice melts. What you document in the first 30 minutes is often the only evidence that will exist.
Take photos of everything. Photograph the exact spot where you fell from multiple angles. Capture the hazard that caused your fall (water, ice, debris, broken flooring, uneven pavement, poor lighting, missing handrails). Photograph the surrounding area showing the approach to the hazard and whether any warning signs were present. Take photos of your injuries if visible and the shoes you were wearing. Make sure your phone's location services are on so photos have GPS data and timestamps.
Take video if possible. Walk through the area showing the hazard in context. Video provides context that still photos can't capture.
Look for surveillance cameras. Most commercial properties have security cameras. Note where cameras are positioned and whether they would have captured your fall. Ask the property manager if cameras recorded the incident. Request in writing that footage be preserved.
Identify witnesses. If anyone saw you fall, get their names and contact information immediately. Don't assume the property owner will provide witness information later. Witnesses can corroborate what happened, confirm the hazard existed before your fall, and verify that you weren't behaving carelessly.
Note weather and lighting conditions. Was it raining? Snowing? Dark? Poorly lit? These conditions matter in determining whether the property owner should have taken additional precautions.
Write down exactly what happened while details are fresh. Your memory will fade. Write a detailed account of where you were going, what you were doing, what caused you to fall, whether you saw the hazard before you fell, what you felt immediately after, who you spoke to, and what they said.
How Soon Should I See a Doctor After a Slip and Fall?
Go to the emergency room, urgent care, or your doctor the same day. Do not wait to "see how you feel."
Slip and fall injuries are often more serious than they initially appear. Hip fractures, wrist fractures, back injuries, head trauma, and internal injuries don't always cause severe pain immediately. By the time symptoms worsen, insurance companies will argue your injuries came from something else.
Medical records created on the day of the fall establish causation. They prove your injuries happened as a direct result of the incident. Delays in treatment create doubt that insurance companies exploit aggressively.
Tell the doctor exactly how you fell. Be specific: "I slipped on water in a grocery store and landed on my left hip" not "I fell." The medical record should clearly state the mechanism of injury.
Describe every symptom you're experiencing even if it seems minor. If you don't report a symptom, it won't be in the medical record, and insurance companies will claim that injury didn't happen or came from something else.
Follow all treatment recommendations. If the doctor refers you to a specialist, go. If they recommend imaging, get it done. If they prescribe physical therapy, attend every session. Treatment gaps are one of the easiest ways for insurance companies to deny or reduce premises liability claims.
What You Should NOT Do After a Slip and Fall?
Do not give a recorded statement to the property owner's insurance company without talking to a lawyer first. You are not legally required to give a recorded statement to anyone except your own insurance company if you're filing under your policy. Politely decline: "I'm not comfortable giving a recorded statement right now. I'll provide information in writing after I consult with my attorney."
Do not sign anything without having a lawyer review it first. You might be signing away your right to sue or accepting a settlement far below what your injuries are worth.
Do not post about the fall on social media. Insurance companies monitor Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms looking for posts they can use against you. A photo of you standing or walking will be used to argue you weren't really injured.
Do not accept an early settlement offer. Property owners and their insurance companies often offer quick settlements before you know the full extent of your injuries. Once you accept and sign a release, you cannot come back for more money even if injuries worsen, you need surgery, or medical costs exceed what they paid.
Do not wait to hire an attorney if your injuries are serious. Evidence disappears. Surveillance footage gets deleted (often within 30-60 days). Witnesses forget. The sooner you get legal help, the better your chance of building a strong case.
How Do Virginia, DC, and Maryland Laws Affect Slip and Fall Cases?
Where your fall occurred significantly affects your legal rights and ability to recover compensation.
Virginia: Contributory Negligence Creates Unique Risks
Virginia follows pure contributory negligence. If you are found even 1% at fault for your fall, you cannot recover any compensation.
Property owner insurance companies will argue you weren't watching where you were going, you were distracted, you were walking too fast, you were wearing inappropriate shoes, or the hazard was "open and obvious" so you should have seen it and avoided it.
If any of those arguments succeed, your claim is barred entirely regardless of how negligent the property owner was.
The "open and obvious" defense is particularly powerful in Virginia. If a court finds that a hazard was open and obvious to a reasonable person, the property owner may have no duty to warn you about it and may not be liable even if the hazard caused your fall.
Example: You trip on a raised sidewalk section in broad daylight. Property owner argues the defect was visible and you should have seen it. If successful, you recover nothing even if the property owner knew about the hazard and failed to fix it.
Virginia's statute of limitations for slip and fall cases is two years from the date of the fall.
DC: Modified Contributory Negligence Provides More Protection
DC follows modified contributory negligence. You can recover compensation as long as you are less than 50% at fault for your fall. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault.
Example: Your damages are $100,000. You're found 30% at fault. You recover $70,000.
This makes DC slip and fall cases more viable than Virginia cases when fault is unclear or when both the property owner and the injured person share some responsibility.
DC's statute of limitations for slip and fall cases is three years from the date of the fall.
Maryland: Contributory Negligence Like Virginia
Maryland uses contributory negligence similar to Virginia. If you are found at all at fault, you recover nothing.
However, Maryland courts sometimes apply contributory negligence less harshly than Virginia courts. The practical application can differ, and Maryland law has some exceptions that may provide recovery options in limited circumstances.
Maryland's statute of limitations for slip and fall cases is three years from the date of the fall.
Government Property Has Shorter Notice Requirements
If you fell on government property (city sidewalk, metro station, public building), notice requirements are much shorter:
Virginia: Notice must typically be filed within six months. Some local governments require notice within 60 days or even 30 days.
DC: Notice to the DC government must be filed within six months.
Maryland: Notice to state or local government entities must be filed within 180 days.
Missing these deadlines can bar your claim entirely even if you otherwise have a strong case. This is why you need an attorney immediately if you fell on government property.
What Makes Slip and Fall Cases Difficult to Prove?
Slip and fall cases are harder to win than car accidents because liability is harder to establish.
You must prove the property owner knew or should have known about the hazard and failed to fix it or warn you. Property owners will argue they didn't know about the hazard, the hazard just appeared and they hadn't had time to discover it yet, they recently inspected the area and found no hazards, you weren't paying attention, or the hazard was open and obvious and you should have seen it.
Without photos of the hazard, witness testimony, or incident reports, slip and fall cases often become "he said, she said" disputes that are difficult to win.
This is why immediate documentation is critical. You need to prove the hazard existed, the property owner knew or should have known about it, and you were exercising reasonable care when you fell.
When Should I Hire a Lawyer for a Slip and Fall?
Consider hiring an attorney if you suffered serious injuries requiring surgery, hospitalization, or extensive treatment. Broken bones, head trauma, back injuries, torn ligaments—these cases involve significant medical expenses and potential long-term impacts.
You should also hire a lawyer if the property owner or their insurance company is denying liability, if your fall occurred in Virginia where contributory negligence makes even strong cases risky, if the fall occurred on government property with short notice requirements, if your medical bills exceed $10,000 or you've missed significant work, if you're being pressured to accept a quick settlement, or if evidence is disappearing or being denied.
An attorney can investigate your fall by obtaining surveillance footage through subpoena if necessary, interviewing witnesses, reviewing property maintenance records, and inspecting the accident scene. Your lawyer handles all communication with insurance companies so you don't give statements that hurt your case, negotiates settlements based on actual case value, and files lawsuits if settlement negotiations fail.
Most premises liability attorneys work on contingency—you pay nothing unless you recover compensation. The fee is typically 33-40% of your settlement or verdict.
What Common Scenarios Lead to Slip and Fall Cases?
Grocery stores: Water or produce on floors, recently mopped areas without warning signs, spills that weren't cleaned up promptly.
Parking lots: Ice and snow accumulation, potholes, uneven pavement, poor lighting, debris.
Apartment buildings: Broken stairs, missing handrails, icy walkways, inadequate lighting in common areas.
Restaurants and bars: Wet floors near bathrooms or kitchens, spilled drinks, greasy floors.
Retail stores: Merchandise in aisles, electrical cords across walkways, uneven flooring transitions, poor lighting.
Each scenario requires proof that the property owner knew or should have known about the hazard and failed to address it. The more documentation you have, the stronger your case.
Bottom Line
Slip and fall cases are harder to win than most people realize. Property owners have strong defenses. Insurance companies fight these claims aggressively. In Virginia and Maryland, contributory negligence eliminates your claim entirely if you share even 1% of the blame.
What you do in the first hour after your fall often determines whether you have a case at all. Document everything. Report the incident in writing. Seek immediate medical care. Preserve evidence before it disappears.
If you're seriously injured, don't try to navigate this alone. The property owner's insurance company is not on your side. They will use everything you say and do to deny or minimize your claim.
Get legal help before you make mistakes that can't be undone.
Next Steps
If you've been injured in a slip and fall accident in Virginia, DC, or Maryland, we can help you understand your rights, preserve critical evidence, and determine whether you have a viable premises liability claim.
At Valor Injury Law, we've handled slip and fall cases throughout the DMV area and understand how to prove liability in challenging premises cases.
📞 Call (703) 828-0051 for a consultation
We'll review:
What evidence exists to support your claim
Whether the property owner can be held liable
How Virginia, DC, or Maryland law affects your case
What your claim might be worth
Whether you need legal representation
Valor Injury Law represents slip and fall and premises liability victims throughout Virginia, DC, and Maryland. Tara Umbrino has over 13 years of experience handling personal injury cases exclusively, including complex premises liability claims involving disputed liability and contributory negligence defenses.
Disclaimer: This post is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is different, and outcomes depend on specific facts and circumstances. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.