A slip and fall accident, whether it occurs on a snowy sidewalk, in an icy parking lot, or on a wet grocery store floor, can leave you with extensive damages. Your injuries may require a significant amount of medical attention, you may be knocked out of work while you recover from the harm that’s befallen you and the pain that you’re forced to cope with can be overwhelming.
Fortunately, you may be able to recover compensation for the damages that you’ve suffered by pursuing a premises liability lawsuit. However, before you can succeed with one of these claims, you’ll have to prove certain legal elements. Among them is negligence.
How do you prove negligence in a slip and fall case?
There are a lot of ways to approach your premises liability case. When it comes to proving negligence, you may want to focus on showing one of the following:
- That the property owner knew of the hazardous condition but didn’t take adequate steps to remedy it or warn others of the dangerous condition.
- That the property owner should’ve known about the hazard had they exercised a reasonable amount of diligence but that it failed to do so.
- That the property owner created the hazardous situation.
Gathering evidence of this negligence can be challenging, though. To support your claim, you may want to look at the following:
- Witness statements: There’s a good chance that there were other individuals who saw or even experienced the dangerous property condition before you were injured by it. Others may have even seen the incident that left you hurt. Witness statements pertaining to these facts can be key to your case as they can help provide a timeline of how long the hazardous condition existed before your accident.
- Employee accounts: Most businesses require a routine inspection of the premises to ensure that any hazardous conditions are quickly identified and either remedied or highlighted for customers to notice and avoid. If you’re able to talk to employees, you may learn that they failed to be proactive in routinely inspecting the property and acting to fix identified issues.
- Security footage: Many establishments have cameras that record various areas of the premises. If you can get your hands on this footage, you may be able to see when the hazardous condition was created, who created it and how long the dangerous situation existed before you were hurt by it.
- Photographs: If possible after your accident, you or someone you trust should take pictures of the accident scene and the dangerous condition that led to your accident. This can help demonstrate how the condition was dangerous and how it should’ve been identified by the property owner and quickly remedied.
Other evidence you may need
You may need other evidence to support your claim, including that which speaks to your damages. So, don’t overlook the importance of following your doctor’s recommendations and retaining your medical and employment records. You may even need an expert or two on your side who can help you show the long-term impact of your injuries. The key is to be as thorough as possible here so that you claim is as strong as possible.
Advocating for the outcome that you deserve
The outcome of your premises liability case can make all the difference in your financial standing in the years to come. With so much on the line, you owe it to yourself to put forth the best legal arguments that you can create under the circumstances.
If you think that you could use some help in analyzing your situation and building your case, you might want to think about discussing your case with an attorney who you feel will give you the advocacy that you need and deserve. By doing so, you may be able to turn the chapter on this dark period of your life and secure the financial stability that you need to focus on recovering your normal life.