Just Fell in a Hotel? Here’s What to Do Right Away:

If you just fell in a hotel and you’re reading this on your phone, here’s the bottom line. Do these steps in roughly this order, as your health allows.

Get safe and assess yourself.
Don’t jump up right away. If you hit your head, feel confused, dizzy, or can’t bear weight, ask someone to call 911 or hotel security. Concussions and serious injuries don’t always show right away.
Photograph the hazard and the area.
Take wide shots, close-ups, and photos of where the water or debris came from (pool gate, ice machine, leaking ceiling, bathroom, etc.).
Photograph the hotel, cameras, and surroundings.
Snap pictures of any security cameras aimed at the hallway, lobby, pool deck, or bathroom where you fell.
Report the fall and get the incident number.
Notify the front desk or manager, confirm an incident report is made, and write down the report number and who you spoke with.
Get witness info before they disappear.
Ask anyone who saw your fall (or the wet area beforehand) for their name, phone, and email.
Preserve your shoes and clothing.
Don’t wash or throw away the shoes and clothes you were wearing; bag them as-is.
Get same-day medical care.
Even if you think you’ll “walk it off,” get checked the same day, and tell the provider exactly that you slipped and fell at a hotel.

These steps are critical in any hotel, and they matter even more in Florida, where slip-and-fall cases involving temporary substances often hinge on whether the hotel had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition under Florida Statutes section 768.0755.

Step 1: Get Safe and Check Yourself Before You Move

Right after a serious hotel fall, your body is in shock. The first priority is safety, not photos, not arguing with staff.

If you feel sharp pain in your head, neck, back, or hip, or if you’re confused, vomiting, or having trouble speaking, treat that as an emergency.
Ask someone nearby to get hotel security or call 911.
If you can move without worsening pain, slowly get to a seated position out of foot traffic, like a nearby chair or wall.

Medical organizations note that concussion symptoms and mild traumatic brain injury symptoms may not appear for hours or days after the injury, and they can affect thinking, mood, and sleep.

For older adults, falls are especially serious. The CDC reports that falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries in adults 65 and older, with millions of emergency department visits and hundreds of thousands of hip-fracture hospitalizations each year.

You don’t need to diagnose yourself at the scene. You just need to treat the possibility of a serious injury like it matters, because it really does.

Step 2: Photograph the Hazard and the Hotel Environment

Once you’re reasonably stable—and only if it’s safe to do so!—capture the scene as if it will be cleaned within minutes, because it probably will be.

Think in terms of 10 high-value photos:

A. Wide shots (3 photos)

The entire area where you fell (hotel lobby, hallway, pool deck, guest-room bathroom, elevator lobby).
Show fixed landmarks: elevators, ice machine, pool gate, room number, stairwell, front desk, buffet line.
If there’s a “Wet Floor” sign or cone, capture where it is in relation to the slippery area.

B. Medium shots (3 photos)

Closer view of the exact spot where your feet went out from under you.
Any puddle, slick patch, food, soap, or debris on the floor.
Any obvious “source”: dripping ceiling, leaking mini-fridge, overflowing ice bin, wet pool deck, shower threshold.

C. Close-ups (3 photos)

You’re looking for “time and pattern” clues, not just “there was water”:

Footprints or wheel tracks through the liquid.
Dirt, grime, or scuffing in the puddle.
Edges that are starting to dry or streak.
Soap, shampoo, or residue that suggests it has been there a while.

Under Florida’s transitory foreign substance rule, constructive knowledge can be shown by circumstantial evidence that a dangerous condition existed long enough that it should have been discovered or occurred regularly and was therefore foreseeable.

Those “extra details” in your photos help show time on the floor and predictability, not just moisture.

D. One “source” photo (1 photo)

Show exactly where the water or hazard seems to come from: the pool gate, hot tub, ice machine, housekeeping cart, bathroom threshold, or leaking ceiling.

This hotel-specific context matters later: it can support the argument that the condition was foreseeable, especially in areas that are routinely wet or busy.

Step 3: Capture Hotel-Only Evidence Most People Miss

Most people snap the spill, then stop. In a hotel, some of the strongest proof isn’t the puddle at all; it’s how the hotel monitors its property.

Photograph security cameras

Look up and around:

Dome camera above the hallway.
Camera over the lobby, elevator bank, pool deck, bar, or breakfast area.
Cameras in transition areas like entrances that get slick in rain.

Take photos of:

Each camera pointed toward the place you fell.
Any obvious blind spots where there should reasonably be a camera (for example, a busy pool gate or buffet drink station).

Those photos help your lawyer later identify which footage to demand and from whom.

Note who controls security and records

If you can, calmly ask:

“Who handles security video for this area?”
“Which department takes incident reports here—security, front desk, or management?”

Write down names and titles. Hotels often have separate entities for property ownership, management, and brand, and security footage may be managed by one of them rather than by the front desk.

Send a simple preservation request from your phone

If you’re able, send an email to the address the hotel uses for guest communication (or to a manager’s email) while you’re still on the property. Keep it short and factual:

I slipped and fell on 2026 at about [time] near [exact location description] at your hotel. I am requesting that you preserve any surveillance video, incident reports, and cleaning or inspection logs for that area and time.

Courts often treat timely preservation demands as a reason a business should not delete relevant evidence; Florida’s summary judgment rules have been tightened in recent years, increasing pressure on plaintiffs to come forward with specific, preserved proof earlier in a case.

You don’t need to quote statutes. You just need a written record that you asked them to keep the evidence.

Step 4: Report the Fall to the Hotel, the Right Way

Hotels typically require staff to create an incident report whenever someone is injured on the property. That report timestamps the event and can unlock internal records later.

Do this before you leave:

Tell the front desk or a manager that you slipped and fell and that you were injured.
Ask specifically: “Will an incident report be created?”
Request the incident report number, and write down:
- Date and time of the fall.
- Name and title of the staff member taking the report.
- Any security or risk-management person involved.

If they won’t give you a copy, ask to review it briefly. Confirm basics like:

Where the fall happened.
What you slipped or tripped on, in simple terms.
That you reported pain or injury.

It’s okay to correct factual errors, such as incorrect location or time. It is not your job to argue about fault in that moment.

Be mindful of what you say

In the stress and embarrassment of a public fall, people often say things like “I’m fine,” “I’m just clumsy,” or “It’s my fault, I wasn’t looking.” You don’t need to assign blame, especially not to yourself.

Stick to:

What you felt.
What you saw.
Where it happened.

Everything else can wait.

Step 5: Get Witness Information Before Guests Scatter

Hotels are transient by design. The guests who watched you go down are very likely catching flights, heading to the beach, or checking out within hours.

If anyone:

Saw the wet floor or hazard before the fall,
Saw you fall, or
Heard staff talk about the area “always being slippery,”

ask for:

Full name
Mobile number
Email address

If they’re willing, you can also ask them to give a 15-second voice note on your phone:

“My name is [name]. I’m staying at [hotel name]. I saw a puddle by the ice machine before this guest fell, and there were no warning signs at that time.”

Even if they never testify, that snapshot can help anchor later investigations and refresh memories.

Step 6: Preserve Shoes, Clothing, and Other Physical Evidence

What you were wearing at the time of the fall is physical evidence, not clutter.

Right after the incident:

Don’t wash, dry, or clean the shoes or clothing.
Don’t scrub off any residue or stains.
If there’s visible liquid, food, or product on your soles or clothes, leave it.

When you get back to your room or home:

Place shoes and clothes in separate paper or plastic bags.
Label them with the date, hotel name, and where in the hotel you fell.

These items can help show:

What kind of substance you slipped on.
How your body hit the surface (for example, torn knee or hip fabric).
Whether the type of footwear was reasonable for the area.

You don’t need fancy storage. You just need to freeze the condition as best you can.

Step 7: See a Doctor the Same Day and Keep a Symptom Log

Even if you walked away, same-day medical care is one of the most important steps you can take.

Why same-day treatment matters

Medical research and public health agencies emphasize that concussion and mild traumatic brain injury symptoms can be delayed and can involve headaches, confusion, memory problems, and sleep changes.

For older adults, falls are associated with high rates of emergency visits, hospitalizations, hip fractures, and traumatic brain injuries.

Seeing a doctor the same day does three things:

Protects your health by catching hidden injuries.
Documents that your pain started with a hotel fall, not something else.
Creates a timeline of symptoms, treatment, and limitations.

What to tell your care provider

That you slipped or tripped and fell at a hotel, not just “I fell.”
Where on your body you hit.
Any symptoms since the fall, even if they seem minor: dizziness, fogginess, headache, nausea, joint pain, numbness, etc.

Then, in your phone’s notes app, jot down:

Pain levels over the next few days.
Any trouble sleeping, walking, or performing daily tasks.
Days of missed work or activities.

This log will make it easier to explain what changed in your life after the hotel injury.

When Should I Talk to a Hotel Slip and Fall Lawyer?

Once you’ve taken care of immediate safety and basic documentation, it’s usually worth getting legal advice if:

Your pain is more than a minor bruise.
You needed ER care, urgent care, imaging, or follow-up treatment.
You missed work, travel, or major events because of the injury.
The hotel or its insurer is already contacting you to request a statement or to pressure you to sign something.

A lawyer familiar with Florida hotel cases can:

Send formal preservation letters for video, inspection logs, and housekeeping records.
Analyze your photos to ensure they comply with notice requirements.
Identify the right entities behind the hotel’s brand name.
Deal with insurance adjusters, so you’re not pressured into downplaying your injuries.

At Stabinski Law, consultations are free, and there are no fees unless we recover. When you call, you will have the chance to talk with a lawyer about your slip and fall at that hotel, not a call center.

FAQs About Hotel Slip and Fall Accidents

Do I need to complete the hotel’s incident form?

It’s usually smart to ensure an incident report is completed, as it timestamps your injury and location. You can give factual information (where, when, what you slipped on, what hurts) without guessing about fault or minimizing your pain. If a question feels unfair or confusing, you can ask to review it later before signing anything.

Should I provide a recorded statement to the hotel or its insurer immediately?

You’re not required to give an immediate recorded statement. In the hours or days after a fall, you may not fully understand your injuries or recall every detail. It’s reasonable to say: “I’m still getting medical care and I’d like to speak with a lawyer before doing a recorded statement.”

What if I left the hotel without taking any photos?

Your claim may be harder, but not hopeless. An attorney can still:

Request surveillance footage, incident reports, and cleaning logs.
Look for maintenance patterns, prior complaints, or recurring problems.
Use medical records and witness statements to show what happened.

If you’re already back home, write down everything you remember as soon as possible: where you fell, what the floor looked like, what the staff said, and how your body felt that day and the next.