Slip & Fall Incident

Slip and fall accidents can involve severe injuries as the whole unprotected body weight crashes down. The cause, which is usually negligent, can be uneven floors, defective lighting, uneven sidewalks, no railing, snow, ice, a foreign or dangerous substance, or many other causes.
The investigation on the part of the injured victim must be commenced immediately as very valuable evidence can disappear and accident scenes can and will be altered. For example, if you slip on a banana peel in the supermarket, they can clean it up right away. You must make sure that there are witnesses who have seen the banana peel, before the supermarket cleans it up.

Important Note:  The conditions that caused a slip and fall injury can be quickly cleaned up or fixed.  If you have been injured in a slip and fall incident, you must do your best to preserve the evidence to show a jury that the slip and fall was not your fault:
Take Pictures of the following:  
* Location where you fell, to capture the condition at the time of your fall.
* Your clothing and shoes, immediately following the accident.
* Concrete floor sidewalks, rugs, marble floors, mats, carpets,
* Warning signs that might be in the area of the location of the accident.
* Injury you have sustained at the time of the injury. Most of the time Doctors and Hospitals do not take pictures of your injuries. Have a friend or family member take the pictures.
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 give this information to your attorney.
* 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