Places like Florida, Hawaii and the Caribbean are some of the top places where people go on vacation and each place has a startling number of accidents that occur each year at the resorts and on cruise ships.

There is a long list of common injuries. They include being injured in a swimming pools not properly maintained or lacking in supervision, amusement rides that malfunction, food poisoning resulting from eating resort food, slip and fall accidents due to negligence by the resort staff, trip and falls resulting from inadequate lighting and injury sustained in a burglary or other violent crime due to poor security at the resort.

This Low-Cost Legal guide will help explain the steps you should take to handle your claim if you are injured or in an accident while on vacation.

Step 1

Document the accident. Most responsible resorts will complete an accident report for their records. Whether it does or not, prepare your own. Don’t rely on the report made by the resort, since it will be looking out for its interests, not yours. Take pictures of the location where the accident occurred. Show improper lighting, loose carpeting, broken steps and anything else that shows a potential cause of the accident. Make sure you get a copy of their accident report and fully document your own including pictures and your notes.

Step 2

Talk with any witnesses. You may be able to find others who will verify that the floor was slippery, the pool slide was broken, the area was poorly lit with some of the lights not working or other evidence that verifies your view of the facts. Ask for their name and contact number in case they are needed later.

Step 3

Seek medical attention and call your medical insurance provider as soon as possible. If you are severely injured, you may not be able to do so until after treatment. Get your health insurance company involved, so that your medical bills will be covered to the full extent your policy allows. Have all injuries documented through an examination, x-rays, MRI or other tests.

Step 4

Contact a local personal injury attorney to discuss your case. Most personal injury lawyers offer free case evaluation. In vacation destinations, you should be able to find local litigation attorneys who specialize in accidents caused at resorts. Most will provide you with low-cost legal help. This means they may take the case for free if you decide to sue the resort. In this type of low-cost legal aid arrangement, you don’t pay your personal injury attorney unless you are awarded a settlement or judgment.

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