Slip and Fall Accidents

Many severe injuries result from slip and fall or trip and fall accidents. Contrary to popular belief, it is often very difficult to prove negligence and obtain a recovery in a slip/trip and fall accident. In order to do so, the injured person has the burden of demonstrating the following:

The hazard that caused the accident was:

• either created, left or dropped there by the person responsible for the premises; or
• there for such a significant amount of time that the person responsible for the premises either knew or should have known about it and had time to remedy it or clean it up, but failed to do so; and
• That particular hazard caused the injury.

When you are injured in a fall, usually you are in pain and focused on your injuries rather than on determining what caused you to fall. Unfortunately, without information about what caused the fall, a personal injury claim may be difficult to pursue.

If you are injured in a slip and fall accident, and in order to preserve your rights, you should take the following steps as soon as possible:

• determine the nature of the condition or substance that caused the fall;
• write down your observations about the condition or substance;
• photograph the condition/substance and the area where the incident occurred;
• report the accident to the person responsible for the property;
• obtain the names, telephone numbers and addresses of any witnesses;
• consult with an attorney who can help guide you through the legal process.

Because hazards are usually mopped up, removed or corrected shortly after accidents occur, following as many of these steps as possible may preserve your ability to pursue a claim.