You don’t need to have legal knowledge to take the right first steps. But you do need to move promptly—because key evidence can disappear.
Do this early:
- Ask for a copy of the incident/fall report and any fall risk assessment updates around the time of the fall.
- Request the resident’s care plan and documentation of assistance needs (especially around transfers and ambulation).
- If the facility uses alarms, ask whether alarms were triggered and what staff did immediately after.
- Preserve medical records: ER notes, imaging results, discharge summaries, and any rehab plans.
- Ask about surveillance footage retention policies. (Facilities sometimes overwrite or limit access.)
Why it matters in Texas: Texas personal injury claims often involve strict deadlines, and early documentation can make or break whether a claim is supported by the medical timeline and facility records—not just memory.


