Looking after Your Health After Having an Accident in a Public Space

If you’ve suffered an accident in public, you might need to contend with a number of consequences, ranging from the relatively trivial to the potentially life-altering. You might feel a sense of embarrassment – or you might have to deal with a major injury.

So, what’s next?

Immediate Steps: Medical Care and Initial Recovery

To begin with, you’ll need to make sure that the area is safe, and seek out the right medical attention. Even if your injuries seem minor, they might become more significant with the passage of time. This applies especially to older people. Getting treated for shock, concussion, or other symptoms that take a while to emerge might be worthwhile.

Planning Rehabilitation & Physical Recovery

If you want to rehabilitate yourself, you’ll need to follow the instructions provided to you by your doctors and physiotherapists. Recovery can often take hard work – and your progress might not be linear. Nevertheless, you’ll want to persevere. Don’t push yourself too hard, however; doing so may risk a setback.

In cases where your recovery is jeopardised by your inability to earn a living, or when you can apportion blame to another person, or an organisation, it might be appropriate to instruct a solicitor with a background in slips, trips, and falls.

Cases of this kind are remarkably common, and so it’s easy for an expert to tell at the outset how much compensation is likely to be awarded. That compensation, when it arrives, might be invaluable during your recovery. It’s difficult to focus on your physical wellbeing, after all, if you’re living in a state of constant financial uncertainty.

Looking After Your Mental and Emotional Well-being

The aftermath of a public fall can be traumatic. Your state of mind may be affected for weeks, months, or even years. Any effective recovery should therefore feature your mental health as a key pillar. Make sure that you’re talking to your family and friends, and that you’re availing yourself of professional support whenever it’s practical to do so.

Try not to bottle feelings up – doing so can cause them to be expressed in unexpected, often harmful ways. If you don’t feel that you can talk to anyone you know, and you don’t know whether you can talk to a professional, then there are supportive phone numbers you can dial.

Long-Term Well-Being: Preventing Setbacks & Supporting Full Recovery

The best way to approach your recovery is very gradually. Settle on a new routine, and establish a realistic timeline, with milestones along the way. Be willing to readjust your expectations according to the progress you make. It might be that you’re able to recover more quickly than you expected; or, it might be that you need additional support. Don’t hesitate to seek that support.