What you do right away can affect what can be proven later.
- Get medical care immediately and ask the provider to document the injury, symptoms, and suspected mechanism of injury.
- Request the facility’s incident paperwork (not just a verbal explanation). Ask for the incident report and any fall risk reassessment completed around the same time.
- Ask whether video exists and whether it can be preserved. In many facilities, retention is limited.
- Write down your timeline while it’s fresh: time of day, location, what your loved one was doing, who was on staff nearby (if known), and what was said afterward.
If family members are coordinating from different schedules—common when caregivers are commuting for work—this step-by-step capture becomes especially important.


