Slip And Fall Accidents: Building Your Case
Slip and fall accidents are a common occurrence. If you slip and fall and want to hold the property owner responsible for your injuries, you have to prove why you should win the case. To help you build your case, here is what you need to prove about your fall and injuries.
You Were Not Careless
In some states, a careless person could be denied compensation or have his or her reward amount reduced. The theory is that the person should have taken every precaution to prevent the slip and fall from occurring. For instance, if you were running on a floor that was marked with a "Wet Floor" sign, you could be considered responsible for your own accident.
To hold onto your right to file a claim, you must prove that you were not behaving in a careless manner when the accident occurred. Depending on where you were, evidence can include witness statements and video.
The Property Owner Was Negligent
The crux of all personal injury cases is that the person or entity responsible for the accident was negligent in some manner. In your case, you need to show that the property owner was negligent and this led to your accident. In many instances, the negligence in a slip and fall case is based on the upkeep of the floor. For instance, if the floor had broken tiles, this could point to the property owner not properly maintaining the floor.
It is important to note the floor was not kept up properly. You also have to show that it was reasonable to expect the owner to know that the floor was in poor condition. For instance, if a customer in a store spilt juice on the floor and you slipped, you have to prove that enough time had been given to the employees to clean it up. What is considered a reasonable enough time for a property owner to become aware of a problem is debatable and can vary from court to court.
How you prove that the property owner was negligent and should have been aware of the floor's condition depends on the situation. For instance, if you slipped on juice and fell, you could rely on video to point out employees did not check the aisles in a reasonable amount of time. You could also ask for maintenance logs, which should show whether or not employees checked off on checking and cleaning the floors.
To help you prove your case, you need an experienced personal injury attorney from a firm like Randall A. Wolff & Associates, Ltd. He or she can help determine what evidence is needed and take steps to collect it.
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