While a property owner has a duty to prevent you from sustaining injuries while on his or her property, it can sometimes be difficult to prove liability. Documentation of a trip and slip and fall accident is pertinent, especially if the property owner removes the cause. For example, if you slip on a wet grocery store floor, employees could clean up the mess before someone else gets hurt.
To prove liability, you must show:
That the property owner or the property owner’s employees knew about the dangerous condition that caused you to trip or slip and fall.
That the property owner or the property owner’s employees did not fix the dangerous condition.
That the property owner or the property owner’s employees should have known that the condition was dangerous because a reasonable person would recognize the situation as a danger.
That the property owner or the property owner’s employees did not notify you and others of the dangerous condition.
Taking photos of the dangerous condition and speaking to witnesses can help you prove these elements. During the investigation, your attorney could also review security footage if it is available.
As soon as possible after a trip or slip and fall accident, you should write down the circumstances of the accident. Make a note of rolled carpet edges, lifted sidewalks, cracks in sidewalks, potholes, wet floors (including the substance on the floor, if identifiable), debris in aisles, or anything else that caused you to trip or slip and fall. Your notes and photos could help your case, especially if the evidence of your fall has been cleaned up or repaired.