This next blog topic deals with fall cases and incident reports and is given from the accident lawyer in Boca Raton (injury attorney Delray Beach, accident lawyer Weston, injury lawyer Coral Gables, accident attorney Coral Springs).
When people are injured at a property, it is common that an “incident report” is written up. Some large business establishments will give the injured person a copy of that report or at least of the initial incident report, although usually this is some description that the store has asked the injured person to hand write up. The incident reports that are written up by stores that contain their internal “work product” is generally, under Florida law, considered to be work product and is something to which to they not have to give you and generally do not even have to give you or your lawyer in a court setting. To the extent these documents have information, like the names of witnesses, would have to be disclosed in court but generally the document itself is protected.
You certainly do not “need” an incident report when an accident happens. It would be prudent to talk to the store about what happened. Some people get injured, leave and then call a lawyer without every reporting the incident and those questions, while possibly viable, will be questioned based on why someone would leave after they were injured or questioned in terms of how serious the injury could be if someone left without reporting the incident. In some settings, like when someone is injured on a property after hours or at a property where there are no employees, like at a community pool or something to that effect, there is no one to report the incident to, but it is advisable to report the incident to the business establishment as soon as possible so they are aware of the incident and can fix the hazard that caused the fall.
Did you fall at a business establishment and believe it is the fault of the store? If so, please call Drucker Law Offices for a free consultation at (561) 483-9199 for Palm Beach County (Boca Raton Main office); (954) 755-2120 in Broward County (Coral Springs satellite office); or (305) 981-1561 in Miami-Dade County (Miami satellite office).
Of course, a case based on a fact pattern such as the one above is unique and any other case should be judged based on the specific facts of the case. The advice in this blog is intended to be general and should not to be used as specific advice for a case, as the slightest difference in the facts could change the result. Also, this blog is, as the web site name suggests, based on Florida law and the laws of any other state could vary significantly from Florida.
