4 Things You Need for a Slip and Fall Claim

If you’ve been hurt in a slip and fall or a trip and fall accident, you’ve likely been turned away by another law firm, but this does not mean you don’t have a claim. We know other attorneys don’t like slip and fall claims because they’re harder to make and they don’t think they’re worth enough. At Carrollton Injury Law, we know you’re hurt and we know you’re worth it. That’s why we love our slip and fall clients. 

The reason other attorneys don’t like slip and fall claims is because it’s harder to prove liability. On the one hand, with a car accident, for instance, it’s not so hard to prove liability when the other driver rear-ended you, but on the other hand, with a slip and fall claim, it’s a much stricter standard we have to follow. We have to prove that the owner knew or should have known about that dangerous condition that caused your injury, yet they failed to put up a warning sign, or they failed to make that condition safe. 

As you can see, this is a pretty strict standard that’s been put in place to protect store owners, and even though we don’t like it, it’s the law that store owners are resolved of all liability just by putting up a warning sign. 

Four Types of Evidence You Need For a Slip and Fall Claim

There are four types of evidence we need to make a slip and fall claim:

1. You must have been hurt. 

First of all, you need to be hurt in the accident and you need to not have waited more than three days to see the doctor. This is true for most injury claims, but it’s even more true for a slip and fall claim because they are so much harder to make. We don’t want to have to battle an insurance adjuster that’s just going to tell you that you must not have been that hurt if you took a week to see a doctor. We know that you’re hurt.

2. What was on the floor, or what was the worn out condition that needed to be repaired. 

We have to have knowledge of what was on the floor or what was the worn out condition that wasn’t repaired and should have been repaired. For a slip and fall claim, that might be water on the floor, an oily substance, or something that made the floor slippery that shouldn’t be there, or for a trip and fall or premises liability type of claim, it may be some sort of worn out condition, like tile or carpet that’s worn out. It could have a frayed edge that sticks up and can catch your foot. It may be concrete, loose concrete, a hole in the concrete catches your foot. 

We’ve also had cases where it was like a wooden porch that collapsed once it was stepped on. Having a photo does help, although we know that’s not likely in a lot of cases. But if you can at least describe the condition that caused your injury, or you have a photo, we can usually help. 

3. A report must have been filed. 

The third type of evidence we need for a slip and fall claim is, you must have filed a report with the store. Obviously, we’d like to have a copy of that report, but we know that it’s not likely that they’d give you a copy. If it hasn’t been too long since the incident, go back to that store owner today and let them know you were hurt. 

4. How long the dangerous condition has been there. 

The last type of evidence we need to make a successful slip and fall or trip and fall claim is we must have some knowledge of how long that dangerous condition or faulty condition had been there. Now, this is one of the hardest things to prove, but there are things that help us. It can be inferred by what maybe an employee told you, like they may have come up to you and said, “Oh, you’re the second person that’s tripped on that this week,” or perhaps they tell you, “Oh, I was just about to clean up that water.” 

See, that proves prior knowledge that they knew about that dangerous condition before you fell. There’s also other things that we can see, perhaps a drip from an air conditioner or a leak from a freezer. There’s usually some sort of yellowing or water stains. Maybe it’s water in the stucco or the wall. Those type of things and maintenance reports can help us figure out some of these things. 

Call Carrollton Injury Law for Your Slip and Fall Claim

At Carrollton Injury Law, we put Personal back into Personal Injury Law. Our goal is to give you the personal attention you need to help make sure that you have a speedy recovery, while also using our years of knowleddge and experience to get you the best compensation possible.

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury as a result of an accident, please call or text Carrollton Injury Law today at 972-450-9562 for a FREE injury claim evaluation. We look forward to showing you how we put Personal back into Personal Injury Law.