Name: Koussan Law - Marquette
Address: 425 S 3rd St, Marquette, MI, 49855, US
Telephone: +1-313-800-0000
Price range: Contingency

What to Do in the First 24 Hours After a Slip and Fall in Michigan

Short answer: Photograph the hazard before staff cleans it up. Report the fall and request an incident report. Get medical care the same day. Save your shoes and clothing. Identify witnesses. Avoid giving any recorded statements to insurers. Call a Michigan personal injury attorney within 48 hours. Each of these steps protects evidence and credibility that determines whether your case settles for thousands or for hundreds of thousands.

Last updated 2026-05-18 by Ali H. Koussan, Founding Attorney at Koussan Law. Our firm has secured a $6,000,000 slip-and-fall settlement, among the largest of its kind in Michigan history. This guide is what we tell every prospective client who calls within the first day after a fall. Most of it has to happen before you ever speak to a lawyer.

The First 5 Minutes: Stay Down, Document, Witnesses

Resist the instinct to jump up and walk it off. The first 5 minutes after a fall are the single most evidence-rich window of the entire case.

Stay where you fell, if you can do so safely. Moving immediately disrupts the scene, gives staff a head start on cleaning up the hazard, and signals to witnesses that you are "fine." Stay down. Assess your injuries.
Take photographs with your phone. Multiple angles of the hazard. Wide shots showing surrounding context. Close shots showing the specific defect (spill, ice patch, broken tile, raised slab). Photograph the absence of warning signs, the absence of cones, the absence of mats. If your phone is unreachable, ask a bystander to photograph for you.
Photograph your shoes and clothing on yourself before changing. The condition of your footwear is a defense argument waiting to be made. Documenting your shoes before changing rebuts any "inappropriate footwear" claim later.
Get the names and phone numbers of witnesses. Anyone who saw the fall. Anyone who saw the hazard before you fell. Anyone who heard you say what happened. Witness contact info disappears within minutes if you do not capture it.
Note the exact time. Slip and fall cases live and die on timing. Note when you fell, when staff arrived, when the hazard was cleaned up.

If you are too injured to do any of this, focus on getting medical help first. The rest can be reconstructed later, but always with more difficulty.

The First Hour: Report, Medical, Records

Within the first hour after a Michigan slip and fall, complete the following:

Report the fall to management. If you fell at a business, ask for the manager. Do not negotiate, do not minimize, do not say "I'm fine, just embarrassed." Simply report: "I fell at this location at this time on this hazard. I want to make sure this gets documented."
Request an incident report. Most commercial properties have a defined incident report protocol. Ask for a copy of whatever they write. If the manager refuses to provide a copy, document that refusal in writing (a follow-up email to the business, "As I requested at the scene, please provide me with a copy of the incident report you prepared.").
Do not give a recorded statement. Adjusters and risk managers may show up within minutes. Politely decline to give any recorded statement. You can give your basic identifying information (name, contact information) without recording. Anything beyond that requires counsel.
Do not sign anything. Some commercial properties have you sign release forms or "incident acknowledgments" in the first hour. Do not sign. If the property insists, write "DECLINE TO SIGN" with the date.
Get medical care as soon as physically possible. Even if you feel okay. Adrenaline masks pain for hours. The single most damaging fact in a slip and fall case is a multi-day gap between the fall and the first medical visit. Same-day urgent care or ER is the gold standard. Same-day visits to your primary care physician work too.

The First 24 Hours: Evidence, Legal, Insurance

Once the immediate scene is documented and you have received medical attention, the work moves to preservation and strategy.

Preserve your shoes and clothing. Do not wash, repair, or discard. Place them in a separate bag and store them. Footwear becomes a defense exhibit later in the case.
Photograph your injuries. Bruising, swelling, and lacerations evolve over hours and days. Photograph the injuries within 24 hours and every 24-48 hours thereafter for the first week. Date-stamp every photograph.
Write down everything you remember. A contemporaneous written account of the fall, what you saw, what you did, what witnesses said, what staff said, is one of the most credible documents in a personal injury case. Write it within 24 hours while details are fresh.
Identify and preserve digital evidence. Surveillance footage from commercial properties typically gets overwritten within 30-90 days. A preservation letter from your attorney to the property within 24-72 hours can save evidence that would otherwise be lost.
Notify your own insurer if necessary. If your fall involves an auto component (e.g., fell exiting your vehicle), your no-fault PIP carrier may apply. For pure premises liability cases, your own insurer is generally not involved. Do not assume.
Call a Michigan personal injury attorney within 24-48 hours. Earlier is better. Every hour that passes erodes evidence. We cannot replace surveillance footage that has been overwritten. We cannot reconstruct an incident report that was written without your input.

Why Each Step Matters: The Real-World Effect on Case Value

The same fall, with the same injuries, settles for very different amounts depending on what happened in the first 24 hours. Comparing two hypothetical clients:

Client A:

Photographed hazard immediately
Got incident report
Same-day ER visit with documented complaints
Identified two witnesses
Called attorney within 24 hours
Attorney sent surveillance preservation letter within 48 hours

Client B:

Walked away embarrassed
Did not report
Saw doctor 9 days later
No witness contact info
Called attorney three weeks after the fall
Surveillance footage had been overwritten

Same fall. Same fractured wrist. Client A's case typically settles 4-6x higher than Client B's. The difference is documentation, not severity.

Common Mistakes That Wreck Michigan Slip-and-Fall Cases

Posting about the fall on social media. Insurers monitor public social media accounts. Anything you post can be used against you.
Returning to the scene without counsel. Documenting later is fine, but interactions with the property owner without counsel can damage the case.
Negotiating directly with the property's insurer. They are trained to minimize claims. You are not trained to negotiate with them.
Discarding the incident report. Keep every piece of paper. Date-stamp every photograph.
Missing the 120-day government notice if you fell on public property. Falls on city sidewalks, in county buildings, or on MDOT property require written notice within 120 days under MCL § 691.1404. The notice itself does not commit you to filing suit; it only preserves the right.
Settling early without legal counsel. Property insurance carriers sometimes offer quick low settlements within the first 30 days. Almost always far below what the case is worth, particularly before the full extent of the injuries is known.

Special Case: Falls on Government Property

If you fell on a Michigan sidewalk, in a county building, on an MDOT rest stop, or any other government-owned property, the procedural rules tighten dramatically. You must serve a written notice under MCL § 691.1404 within 120 days. Miss this deadline and the claim is barred regardless of the broader three-year statute. The notice must specify the location, the defect, the injuries, and any known witnesses.

For a complete walkthrough of the city vs property owner liability analysis, see our Sidewalk Slip and Fall in Michigan guide. For the full statute of limitations framework, see the Michigan Personal Injury Statute of Limitations guide.

Special Case: Winter Falls (Snow and Ice)

Winter slip-and-fall cases involve additional layers, the property owner's duty under MCL § 554.139 (for residential rentals), the time elapsed since the storm ended, the property's history of clearing protocols, and weather data from the National Weather Service. For the complete winter framework after the Michigan Supreme Court's decision in Kandil-Elsayed v. F&E Oil, Inc., see our Snow and Ice Slip and Fall guide.

Special Case: Falls in Apartment Buildings

Falls in apartment common areas (stairwells, hallways, parking lots, entrances) implicate the landlord's statutory duty under MCL § 554.139 to maintain the premises in reasonable repair. Landlord cases often have insurance coverage limits that affect settlement strategy. Our $6,000,000 slip-and-fall settlement involved injuries on premises requiring extensive investigation of maintenance history and prior complaints.

Frequently Asked Questions About Michigan Slip-and-Fall Procedure

What is the first thing I should do after a slip and fall in Michigan?

Photograph the hazard before staff cleans it up. Get the names of witnesses. Report the fall to management. Get medical care the same day. These four actions in the first 30 minutes shape the rest of the case.

How long do I have to report a slip and fall to the property in Michigan?

There is no statutory deadline for reporting to a commercial property, but practical effect, the longer you wait, the harder it is to prove the fall occurred. Best practice is to report immediately at the scene. If you cannot, report within 24-48 hours by phone followed by written confirmation.

Should I go to the emergency room after a slip and fall?

Yes, the same day, even if you feel "fine." Adrenaline masks pain. Same-day medical contact establishes the connection between the fall and any injuries that emerge over the following weeks. A delay of even 2-3 days is one of the most common reasons slip-and-fall claims get devalued or denied.

How long do I have to file a slip-and-fall lawsuit in Michigan?

Three years from the date of the fall under MCL § 600.5805. If the defendant is a government entity (city, county, MDOT), you must also serve written notice within 120 days under MCL § 691.1404. Both deadlines apply to government claims.

What if there were no witnesses to my fall?

Cases proceed without witnesses, but the evidence burden shifts. Surveillance footage becomes critical. Photographs at the scene become critical. Medical records consistent with the mechanism of fall become critical. An experienced attorney can pursue a no-witness case, but the documentation work has to be more thorough.

Should I sign anything the property gives me after a fall?

No. Do not sign any release, waiver, acknowledgment, or settlement document in the first hours or days after a fall. If the property insists, write "DECLINE TO SIGN" with the date.

Can the property fix the hazard after I fall? Does that hurt my case?

The property is legally permitted to repair the hazard after a fall, and they often do so within minutes. Photographs you take in the first 5 minutes are critical because the evidence may not exist hours later. Spoliation of evidence by the property (intentionally destroying evidence after notice) is a separate legal issue your attorney can address.

What if I do not have insurance? Can I still pursue a slip-and-fall claim?

Yes. Premises liability cases are pursued against the property owner's insurance, not yours. Your own insurance status does not affect your right to pursue the claim. Most Michigan personal injury attorneys, including Koussan Law, work on contingency, you pay nothing unless we recover.

Can I sue if I was partially at fault for the fall?

Yes, under Michigan's modified comparative fault rule (MCL § 600.2959), provided you were less than 50 percent at fault. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault. If you were 50 percent or more at fault, you cannot recover non-economic damages but may still recover economic damages.

How long does a Michigan slip-and-fall case take to resolve?

Most cases resolve 12-24 months from filing. Catastrophic injury cases involving permanent disability typically take longer (24-36 months) because settling before reaching Maximum Medical Improvement undervalues the case.

How much is a Michigan slip-and-fall case worth?

It depends on injury severity, evidence of defect, and the documentation built in the first 24 hours and beyond. Cases range from low five figures (minor injuries, full recovery) to high seven figures (catastrophic injuries with permanent disability). For the complete case-value framework, see our Michigan personal injury case value guide.

How Koussan Law Handles First-24-Hour Calls

When a prospective client calls within 24 hours of a fall, we move fast. We send a preservation letter to the property the same day (or next business day at the latest) demanding preservation of surveillance footage, maintenance logs, prior complaint records, and any incident reports. We send an investigator to the scene to photograph the hazard if it has not yet been repaired. We file 120-day notices on government-property cases within the first week.

If you have fallen on someone else's property in Michigan, call (313) 800-0000 for a free consultation, request a consultation online, or use our free case calculator. The first 24 hours matter, the first 48 hours matter more, and waiting weeks is the single most common reason otherwise-strong cases lose value.

What to Do in the First 24 Hours After a Slip and Fall in Michigan

May 19, 2026