Evidence to Support Your Slip and Fall or Premises Liability Personal Injury Insurance Claim

Embarrassment Just After the Slip and Fall Injury Accident

At the outset, let's make some observations regarding the gathering of evidence to support your personal injury insurance claim. It is human nature to be embarrassed by a trip-and-fall accident. It is also a social response to appear as if we are good people who are going to go about our business of healing up from this personal injury incident, as opposed to a “greedy” individual who may be going around trying to gather the names of witnesses.

This latter social guilt is brought on by insurance industry efforts to poison the jury pool. You must have experienced an embarrassing faux pas at some time. Think of how you felt and tried to recover, appearing as though everything would be all right and it was really no big deal. Look at how the politicians who have been filmed in such instances make a joke of it, etc. No one likes to have others think she is clumsy or lacks coordination, or does not pay attention to where she is going. Thus, we try to make light of a personal injury accident, but that will inure to our detriment later on.

We all expect that we may handle an injury accident situation the same way: we seek to appear to be unfazed by it, and move on as quickly as possible. Just be sure that you do not treat it in such a casual manner that you ignore obvious evidence that is there to be seen. The fact that you do not experience a lot of pain right at the scene is NOT reason to believe you are not injured. You likely ARE injured, but just have not yet experienced any pain and suffering from the slip and fall accident.

Understand that you may not have immediate pain from your injuries, but any slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall is most likely going to result in soft tissue injury. Most of the cases have some pretty serious medical consequences, and a few cases have severe medical consequences. Many of these people did not think they were even injured at the time of their fall. In the embarrassment of the moment, they popped right up, said they were okay, and then went on their way. They did not observe what was there to be observed. They did not make an accident report or otherwise do anything that would be helpful to them after they discovered the seriousness of their injuries. If you have found yourself having this same response, please note that it is not too late to add to or correct the existing accident report. Even if you didn’t report it in writing at the time, do it now! You may not get full value from your case, but sending in an after-the-fact accident report will give you a leg up and something concrete to argue from.

When and How to Make a Written Store Report To Document Your Slip and Fall or Other Injury Accident in a Store

The store or apartment manager will usually want to get your version of what happened. Do not give a tape-recorded statement to the manager. You can tell him in general what happened, and he will write up a report. Before you cooperate in giving him your statement, be sure to secure an agreement that he will furnish you a copy of his report or, at the least, his write-up of your statement. Be general in your statement, explaining that you will send him a written statement shortly. If you have already given a statement, now is the time to make a written request of the manager for a copy of your statement.

Make sure he makes a written memorandum or report of the incident. Do not leave the store until you are sure someone has made a written record of the accident. If they dismiss it as no big deal, then you have two choices: 1) you need to ask for paper and write out your own brief accident report, or 2) you can go home and create your own report of what happened and send it to the store manager, asking that he forward it to the company’s insurance company. Be sure to retain a copy for yourself.

Do not give your accident witnesses' names to the store manager at this time. Keep the witnesses’ names to yourself. You then have the best chance of getting an accurate statement from them, as opposed to the potential for abuse if the insurance adjuster is first to tie them down to a version of the facts that is favorable to the store.

When and How to Document Evidence by Taking Photographs and Making Measurements

Take photographs and measurements as soon as practicable. If the steps are an uneven height or there is a distance from the salad bar where vegetable matter was lying, make your measurements as soon as possible. Do not ask the store manager's permission. Simply walk in with your camera and shoot and use your tape measure and make the measurements. We will almost universally predict that if you ask permission from the store manager or department manager, you will be denied. You will thereafter never have a chance to make your measurements or take your photographs.

If the condition is a transitory one, you've got to photograph it immediately. Take a photograph of all the conditions that the store had established to attract your attention away from the floor you were walking upon, such as banners, flashing advertisements, special lighting and the like. Photograph the wet floor area and all the shopping cart tracks leading through it.

We have suggested elsewhere in the site that you should always carry an inexpensive, one-use camera in your car. If you had done so, you can see the benefit in a circumstance such as this. You will be able to photograph the condition right then. Do not worry about somebody later saying you were so concerned about your claim that you were busy photographing, as opposed to getting medical help. If you are hurting immediately and in bad condition, don't run out to get your camera. However, after most of these incidents, you will be able to maneuver fairly well. Even if you have to wait a day or so, come back in later and take photographs. Better yet, bring along a friend or family member as a witness and have them take the photographs and document the time and date.

If you were wearing shoes with good traction, set them aside from wear so the claims adjuster can observe them. If you have to wear them, go ahead and do so, but take a number of photographs first showing the tread.

Again, if you want to be denied the opportunity to preserve your evidence, go ask the manager first if it is okay to take photos. What do you expect him to say? They likely have a Risk Manager who has issued a claims policy for all stores or apartments, and your chances of obtaining cooperation in preserving your evidence are very slim. On the other hand, are you trespassing or violating any law by taking measurements or photographs? Absolutely not. You may not have a right—until the discovery process in any lawsuit—to take photographs on someone else's private property but, if it is a store open to the public, we think you can handle the situation without causing a problem. The store is open to the public and you or your witness can surely make your measurements or take photographs without disrupting the flow of traffic. On the other hand, if you are asked to cease, snap whatever pictures you can very quickly and exit the store. Make a note of the request to leave for your records.

You do have the right to take photos if you get into litigation. All you have to do is serve notice on the company that you will be at their place of business at a certain time of day to take photos. So it is not as if you are doing something now to which you are not entitled later. You are simply doing it now as opposed to later in litigation. Furthermore, all you are doing is trying to present objective evidence. You are not trying to steal anything, harm anyone, or change any testimony. What you are trying to do is preserve evidence that will be useful for the court or the insurance adjuster.

For additional information on these topics, including, tips on interviewing witnesses, sample witness statements that you can use, interrogatories, and tips on interviewing the store’s employees, and much more, join now!