Slip-and-falls can be challenging cases to prove. Whenever you fall and injure yourself you should be sure to do the following, after you obtain whatever medical care you may need: (1) get the names, phone numbers, and addresses of any witnesses to the fall; (2) determine what you slipped on; (3) ask questions of witnesses, store employees or anyone else around to determine how long the substance or dangerous condition upon which you fell was there before you fell; (4) find out if anyone on behalf of the store or owner of the property knew the substance or dangerous condition was there before your fall; (4) report the incident to the store, including your injuries; and (5) get pictures of the what caused you to fall, if at all possible. Then call Simeone & Miller immediately - before you contact the store again.
There are a number of different entities that may be liable if you slip or trip and fall, including the owner of the property, any management companies for the property, stores or businesses that operate on the premises, cleaning and maintenance companies and other parties. In addition to the entity responsible for maintaining the property, there are often entities with specific duties on the property that may also be liable, such as snow and ice removal companies.
In any slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall case you must that the responsible party either (1) knew about the hazard that caused you to fall, (2) created that hazard, or (3) should have discovered and remedied the hazard because it was present for a sufficient time before your accident. There are many legal doctrines that apply to these elements, so it is advisable to consult with an attorney immediately after an accident, while the evidence and witnesses may still be available.
Most store managers will try to calm down injured customers and will do so by promising to pay medical bills. However, once a medical bill is submitted for payment, the actual decision of whether or not to pay is usually made by someone else. Most stores have insurance that covers accidents on their premises and, in those instances, it is the insurance company that decides whether or not to pay for medical treatment.
Unfortunately, many people come to us following the failure to pay for medical treatment that a store manager or employee promised them would be paid. The best approach for an injured person is not to rely solely on the trust of a store manager, but to seek legal advice.
You may still have a case, even if you do not know exactly what caused you to fall. For example, it is possible that you fell due to a defect on the premises that was not readily apparent to you. It may be that you fell because there was no handrail on the stairs, the rise and run of the stairs did not meet the applicable building code, or because the flooring material was too slippery.
We have handled cases in which the fall was attributed to these very reasons, as well as others. Sometimes the right expert, such as an engineer or human factors expert, can provide the answer to the mystery of what caused you to fall.
One of the defenses in slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall cases is that the hazard was open and obvious and therefore could have been avoided by the injured person. This can be a valid defense in these cases, but there are many exceptions to this defense which may be available in your case.
While many stores have video cameras, many times they play on a loop, meaning they record over the tape unless it is taken out of the camera. So, if the store is not made aware of the accident, the taping of the accident may be recorded over.
This is one of the most important reasons to contact an attorney immediately, so that we can take action. Preserving video evidence of a slip-and-fall accident (or of the premises in which the accident took place) can be a deciding factor in winning a case.
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