Practice Areas
Slip & Fall Accidents
By
Jul 3, 2008, 12:55

A government study has shown that slip and fall incidents cause 15% of all accidental deaths, and are second only to motor vehicle accidents as a cause of accidental fatalities.

In the wintertime, sidewalks that are snowy, icy, or wet present a particular danger for slip and fall injuries.

A variety of more technical information is available at:
Slip and Fall Resource Library

At the Law Offices of Edward A. Smith, we have experience handling slip-and-fall incidents of all types, including slips on food and foreign substances in restaurants and supermarkets, trips over badly aligned sidewalk edges and other dangerous surfaces, and falls down stairs that are in poor condition and/or not built to code. Any attorney whom you may select to handle a slip-and-fall case for you should have extensive experience handling these different types of incidents, because each will have unique aspects that must be adequately proven in order to resolve your case.

If You Are Injured in a Slip & Fall Incident

From a legal standpoint, slip and fall injuries differ significantly from traffic accidents in an important manner: The conditions that caused a slip and fall injury can much more easily and quickly be "cleaned up" or "lost" than can the physical evidence resulting from a traffic incident. If you have been injured in a slip and fall incident, it is critical to gather and preserve evidence from the incident including:

Photographs

* Take pictures of location where you fell, especially the floor surface, as soon as possible to capture the condition at the time of your fall.
* If possible, take photographs of the condition of your clothing and shoes immediately following the accident.
* Take photographs of any mats, rugs, or slip prevention fabrics at the location, if the location of the accident had any of the above. If the location of the accident fails to have any of these fabrics or any other type, take photographs illustrating the potential lack of the safety items.
* Take photographs of any warning signs that might be in the area of the location of the accident.
* If you sustained a visible injury: i.e, bruise, cut, scrape or stitches, take photograph(s) of the injury to preserve the state of the injury at the time of the injury.
* Feel free to take as many photographs of what you think may, no matter how trivial, be important to the accident. Your attorney will decide what is and what is not important.

Statements of Witness(es)

* Take the name, address and telephone number of any potential witness and save this information someplace where it will not be lost.
* Return to the accident scene, visit any nearby homes or business, if applicable, for any potential witness(es) to the accident.
* Revisit the scene of the accident several times at the same time at which the accident took place. Some people may have a habit of stopping or driving by the location of the accident as part of their normal day. You may able to find a witness.
* If you have obtained witness information, do not contact or speak to the witness(es) again or attempt to get any written statements from them. Let your attorney contact any possible witness(es).

Physical Evidence

* Most importantly, save the shoes that you were wearing at the time you slipped and fell. Place them inside a plastic garbage bag and tape it shut so that any materials stuck to the shoes will remain.
* Store all of the articles of clothing that you were wearing at the time of the accident in a plastic bag in a safe place where they will not be lost. Do not wash them.
* If possible, do not leave the scene of the accident without obtaining a copy of the accident report that the manager, owner, employee or other person has filled out while in your presence.
* If the item that you slipped on is non-perishable, save a sample in safe place where it will not be lost.
* If the item is perishable, i.e. vegetable, or fruit, try to preserve the item in a liquid chemical preservative or in a freezer.

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