How To Preserve Evidence After a Slip and Fall
If someone takes a fall while playing a sport and gets right back up, chances are they’re fine and will continue playing. It’s when the players can’t get up that is a good indication of a more serious injury.
What happens if you slip on a wet floor at a grocery store or the lobby of an office building?
You might try to get back up because you’re embarrassed by what happened. Actually, you need to report what happened, even if you can walk away. You’ll also want to preserve evidence after a slip and fall accident to support any potential claim.
Not all injuries sustained in a slip and fall accident on public property are due to negligence.
However, if the staff of the property created the conditions that caused the accident, you will be entitled to seek a remedy. In order to protect your interests, you’ll want to speak to a Jackson slip and fall accident attorney at Pittman, Roberts & Welsh, PLLC.
We’ve helped many clients prevail in their claims against property owners. The best way to ensure you get what you’re entitled to is to preserve the evidence.
What Evidence Should You Gather for a Slip and Fall Accident?
Depending on the circumstances, you should consider gathering evidence of your slip and fall accident as soon as possible. That might be challenging if the accident causes you to be immobilized and transported to an emergency room by ambulance. However, if you’re able to collect evidence right after the accident, you should consider collecting the following:
Photographs and Videos
The camera on your cell phone might be the most important tool you have for gathering and preserving evidence in your slip and fall accident. If possible, you’ll want to take photos and videos of the spot where the accident happened and what you consider to be the cause of the accident. That could be a hazard on the floor or in the surrounding area.
In addition to the photos and videos of the accident scene and the surrounding area, you should also take photos and videos of any abrasions, lacerations, or bruises to your body. You’ll also want to take pictures of any damaged clothing and receipts.
The property where you were injured might also have a surveillance video of the incident. The property owner might not be forthcoming with that video, but your slip and fall accident attorney can gain access to that video and add it to your case.
Witnesses
A witness to your slip and fall accident does not have any financial stake in the outcome of your claim. That means that their statement is objective and truthful. A witness can also provide information that you might not be able to, depending on where they were standing at the moment of the accident.
It’s helpful to obtain the witness statement as soon as possible while their memory is still fresh.
If possible, you could take a video of that statement right at the accident scene.
Medical Records
Your medical records are any documents generated in relation to the injury. You may not have immediate access to these records, but it is essential to never leave the ER, urgent care facility, or doctor’s office without a copy of the reports. Here’s what should be in your medical records files:
- Paramedic reports
- Emergency room charts
- Doctor’s and nurse’s notes
- Test and exam results
- Physician’s diagnosis and prognosis
Go Back to the Premises
It will help to go back to the premises as soon as possible after the accident. Revisiting the scene could help bring back relevant information that you forgot. It is also possible that whatever caused you to take a trip and fall might still be in place. That would certainly reinforce the idea of negligence on the part of the property owner.
Personal Narrative
Your personal narrative will be the foundation of your claim. You should keep a daily journal that tracks your recovery and all the pain and suffering you’re enduring because of the injury.
Making Backups of Your Evidence
Every piece of evidence that you collect in support of your slip and fall accident should be backed up.
If you have videos and photos on your phone, download them to your computer and send them to yourself as an email attachment.
Another way to back up your evidence is to share it with your attorneys. If the team at Pittman, Roberts & Welsh, PLLC takes on your case, we will maintain copies of all evidence collected on your behalf.
We’ll also help you track down other important evidence you might not be aware of, such as testimony from an expert witness who can corroborate your version of the accident.
When we agree to work with you, we’ll make sure all the evidence that supports your story will be carefully examined, preserved, and presented to the relevant insurance carrier. Our goal is to help our clients get the maximum benefits they are entitled to.
If you’ve been hurt because of someone else’s negligence, we want to hear from you.
