A slip and fall can happen because of any number of hazards on a property. You may have fallen downstairs in disrepair. You may have slipped on a water spill in the middle of a hallway. You may have tripped over the unkept seem where tile floor meets carpet. Whatever the dangerous property condition that led to your fall, you may have sustained serious injuries as a result. Slip and fall injuries can not only be painful but can have indefinite impacts and serious financial consequences. The treatment for slip and fall injuries alone can be a heavy burden to carry. Add to that the fact that you may have missed work or needed to find alternate employment due to your injuries, and you may find yourself in dire financial straits. Fortunately, the law provides a way for injury victims to pursue monetary compensation for harm sustained as a result of an accident caused by someone else’s negligence. While a slip and fall personal injury claim may get you the compensation you need and deserve, you will first need to prove the validity of your claim through certain pieces of evidence. Here, we will review what type of evidence is usually relevant in a slip and fall claim.
What Type of Evidence Is Relevant in a Slip and Fall Claim?
In a slip and fall claim, you should be prepared to provide proof of the dangerous property condition that led to your fall. Evidence of such hazard may be presented in a number of ways. There could be witness testimony concerning the hazardous condition. There could be pictures that you or a witness took of the dangerous condition. There may be surveillance video that shows the dangerous condition. If you reported the incident, which you should have, then an incident report detailing the slip and fall event should include reference to the dangerous property condition as well.
It can also be critical in a slip and fall claim to prove that the person responsible for the property either knew or should have known of the dangerous property condition. This can be a difficult thing to achieve. How do you prove that someone knew or should have known something? Regarding property conditions, it can be helpful to present things such as property maintenance and inspection records. Is there a cleaning schedule for the property? Is there a schedule for regular maintenance checks? Is there an established schedule for regular property inspections? These are the sort of things that can show that a property owner or manager should have been made aware of a hazard on the property and steps to minimize or neutralize the hazard should have been taken.
The last important aspect of a slip and fall case that will require rather extensive evidence to successfully support the claim is proof of your injuries and harm suffered. These are your damages. You will need to show that the negligence of the property owner or manager caused you harm. You can support your claim for damages by presenting things like medical bills and records. Witness testimony can also be important in proving that you suffered harm as a result of a slip and fall. Friends and family may testify as to how your injuries impacted your day-to-day life. Your employer may testify as to how your injuries impacted your ability to perform your job functions.
Contact Our Expert Los Angeles Slip & Fall Attorneys Today!
Have you been injured in a slip and fall? Do not hesitate to get in touch with the dedicated personal injury team at Compass Law Group. Contact us today.
