Should I Go to Urgent Care or Emergency Room after a Slip and Fall?

If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall, it’s imperative that you seek medical attention right away. Slip and fall accidents can result in serious injuries for a number of reasons. For one thing, you’re generally falling on a hard surface, like cement, wood, or tiles. You may also hit or crash into dangerous objects around you, thereby increasing your chance for injury. The head, knees, ankles, and hips are especially vulnerable in a slip and fall. Getting to a medical center as soon as possible is the best way to prevent long-term damage to these areas.

There’s another big advantage to seeing a doctor immediately. If your slip and fall occurred on someone else’s property, you may be able to recover monetary compensation for your losses. This can help pay for damages, including your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. A medical report from a licensed clinician will be required by the responsible party’s insurance company in order to pay you for an injury claim. The lawyers of Normandie can explain this process to you in more detail, so please give us a call after you’ve been checked by a doctor.

As for what kind of medical center you should go to, you normally have two choices: an urgent care center or a hospital emergency room. But which facility should you go to after a slip and fall?

Frankly, it depends on the severity of your injuries. As a general rule, you should head to the ER if you have a life-threatening situation. The ER is also the better choice if your injuries are likely to cause serious complications, like loss of function or paralysis. On the other hand, if your injuries need immediate treatment but are not life threatening, urgent care is probably your best option.

Life Threatening Injuries from a Slip and Fall

• Neck or spine injury
• Head injury
• Bones that have broken through the skin
• Knee injury with severe pain
• Unconsciousness
• Profuse bleeding
• Coughing up blood
• Deep lacerations (gaping wound, going beneath the top layer of the skin)
• Cuts or punctures made by rusty or dirty objects
• Broken nose
• Hip fracture

Some of these situations, like hip fractures and broken nose, may not seem life-threatening. That’s technically true, but hip fractures must be treated right away to prevent long-term damage, including permanent disability. The same can be said for a broken nose, which can cause breathing problems depending on the level of damage. This kind of damage can’t be detected without an X-ray or CT scan, which are more readily available at emergency rooms.

By the way, if you’ve experienced any of these injuries from a slip and fall, it’s best to call 911 and ask for an ambulance. You could hurt yourself even worse by trying to move or stand up, so if you can’t dial the phone yourself, ask someone else to call 911 for you.

Non-Life Threatening Injuries from a Slip and Fall

• Fractures or broken bones not protruding from the skin
• Ankle sprain / strain
• Bruises
• Superficial cuts / abrasions
• Hand sprain / strain
• Back pain
• Soft tissue injury (torn ligaments, muscles, tendons)

These injuries are unlikely to result in fatality and best treated at an urgent care center. However, fast treatment is necessary to prevent future damage, especially for your bones, knees, and soft tissues. These injuries can quickly get worse and result in permanent disability if they’re left untreated. Thus, even relatively minor injuries from a slip and fall should be taken seriously and examined at a medical center right away.

Speaking of which, let’s talk about the differences between urgent care centers and emergency rooms, so that we can better address the question:

Should you go to urgent care or ER if you were injured in a slip and fall accident?

Emergency Rooms versus Urgent Care Centers

Hospital emergency rooms are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, making them ideal for life-threatening situations. They’re also equipped with a full range of diagnostic tools and treatments, such as MRIs, CT scans, operating rooms, orthopedic equipment, and ultrasounds. As a result, they’re ready to offer life-saving treatments for any kind of medical emergency.

Urgent care, on the other hand, offers weekend and late hours, but they are not open 24/7. These places treat a wide range of conditions, like allergy symptoms, bronchitis, nausea, and minor burns. Most of them are equipped with a fair range of diagnostic tools and medications, but not at the same level as an emergency room.

Emergency rooms also offer hospitalization if you need to be observed overnight. Plus, they have specialists and round-the-clock nurses if you are in distress. This service is generally unavailable at urgent care centers since they are not open 24/7.

Wait Times at Urgent Care Centers versus Emergency Rooms
If you’ve ever been to the ER, you’re probably aware that it can take quite some time before you see a doctor. Most patients end up waiting an hour or more, which is frustrating when you’re in need of medical attention. However, emergency rooms prioritize patients by their degree of injury, so the most life threatening accidents are treated first. That’s why doctors urge patients with minor injuries to avoid the ER and go to an urgent care center, instead.

This is good advice if you have minor injuries from a slip and fall, such as back pain, strained muscles, or superficial cuts. Most urgent care patients are seen in 30 minutes or less and receive treatment in less than 60 minutes. Another benefit to choosing urgent care is the cost. On average, a trip to an urgent care center will cost around $150 – half the cost of the average emergency room visit. Depending on the extent of your injuries, an ER visit can cost $1000 or more, which your insurance may not cover.

However, you should not let cost keep you away from the ER after a slip and fall if you have serious injuries. A spinal injury, for example, can cause death if it’s not properly diagnosed and treated right away. You may be able to recover these costs from the property owner or entity responsible for your slip and fall. This is where the lawyers of Normandie can help, with their many years of experience in slip and fall accident lawsuits. Call us today and find out about your legal options during a free consultation.

How Medical Treatment Affects Your Right to Compensation
We’ve discussed why medical care is important to your health, and the factors you should consider when choosing between urgent care and ER. But how does medical treatment affect your right to monetary compensation?

First and foremost, medical records and bills serve as evidence that you’ve been injured in a slip and fall. They also detail the extent of your injuries and the cost involved in your recovery. This information will also justify your requests for other damages, like lost wages from job loss or missed time at work. Without this evidence, insurance companies will not accept your injury claim, or insist that your injuries are not as serious as you make them out to be. They’ll be even more insistent on these points if you didn’t see a doctor right away, which is why you should never wait to seek treatment after a slip and fall.

While going to the ER or urgent care center is the most important step after a slip and fall, there are other actions that you will need to take.

What to Do after a Slip and Fall Accident
Here are the steps you should take after your initial visit to the ER or urgent care center. These steps will ensure the best possible recovery from your accident, while strengthening your case for compensation.

• Gather evidence, such as medical records, bills, photos of your injuries and the accident scene, police report, and witness statements.

• Report your injury to the property owner, company, building management, or whoever is in charge of the premise where you had your slip and fall accident. Your accident may be on record already, but you should check to make sure and request a copy of the accident report. This step is just as important as going to the hospital right after your accident, especially if your case goes to trial. Juries are going to take you much more seriously if you report the incident right away.

• Refuse to complete or sign any forms the other party sends you until you’ve had them reviewed by an attorney. Additionally, limit conversation with the premise owner, management, etc., so that you don’t accidentally say something that can be used against you.

• Contact an experienced slip and fall accident lawyer. A lawyer can explain your legal rights and take the necessary actions to recover your losses. They can also handle any paperwork from the insurance company and negotiate a settlement for your accident. If you can’t negotiate with the insurers, your lawyer will file a lawsuit and fight to recover an amount that will adequately cover your losses.

As a slip and fall injury victim, you have the right to seek compensation from the individuals that are liable for your accident. But time is of the essence with personal injury claims, so please give us a call right away.

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How Normandie Can Help
At Normandie Law Firm, we know the physical and emotional agony that victims go through after a slip and fall accident. When someone else is responsible for these incidents, it’s unconscionable that the victim should struggle with medical bills, financial hardship, and other life-altering damages. If you’ve been harmed in a slip and fall accident, medical treatment should be your primary concern, followed by legal representation.

Don’t hesitate to contact us because you’re worried about the cost. Our Zero fee guarantee makes all our services free to you, starting from your initial consultation. There is no upfront cost to you at any point, since we only recover our fees if we win your case. There is nothing to lose, so please contact our office and speak to one of our personal injury attorneys.