Whether you slipped and fell on private property or in a business, the challenge is the same: you have significant medical bills, time missed at work, and pain and suffering you have had to deal with. A lawsuit can help you seek the compensation you need for those injuries.
If you want to win a slip and fall accident claim, exactly what do you have to prove?
Working with a slip and fall lawyer can make a big difference in your ability to find the evidence you need and pursue the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
Knowing the evidence you might need in order to win your slip and fall case, however, can make it easier for you to decide from the beginning how to handle many of the details of your case. This includes how to handle things at the scene of your fall to how to communicate with the liable party’s insurance company after the incident.
How to Win a Slip and Fall Injury Case: What You Must Prove
Ultimately, in order to win a slip and fall injury case, you will need to establish that the property owner–or some other party that caused your accident–bears liability for the unsafe or dangerous conditions that led to your fall. There are several key factors that may contribute to that critical proof.
Your fall occurred due to dangerous conditions on the property.
In order to establish that you deserve compensation for a slip and fall, you must show that the property owner was negligent in some way, usually because the property owner allowed dangerous conditions to exist on the property. Those conditions could include:
- Dangerous flooring
- Poor maintenance
- A spill
For more detailed steps on what to do immediately after the incident, you can refer to what to do after a slip and fall accident.
The property owner should reasonably have known about–and taken actions to rectify–those dangerous conditions.
You slipped and fell due to dangerous conditions on the property–but does the property owner bear liability for that accident?
In most cases, in order to establish that you deserve compensation for injuries sustained in a slip and fall, you will need to show that the property owner knew, or should have known, about those dangerous conditions.
For example, suppose that you slipped in a store due to a spill. If that spill occurred out of the sight of any staff members and had occurred only minutes before, you might not have grounds for a slip and fall accident claim, since the property owner could not reasonably have known about the problem.
Likewise, if a storm caused damage to a flight of stairs, but there was no way to see the damage or the property owner would not yet have had the opportunity to check out the damage caused by the storm, the property owner might not bear liability for the accident.
For more on this, you can look into understanding slip and fall liability.
On the other hand, if a spill occurred in clear sight of store staff, a slip and fall occurred near the front of the store on a wet day due to water tracked inside, or you can see clear signs that a flight of stairs needed to be maintained long ago, the property owner may bear liability for the incident.
If you find yourself in such a situation, knowing what to do after slipping and falling in a bar can provide valuable guidance for your next steps.