Imagine you’re walking through a store, browsing the aisles, and all of a sudden you find yourself on your back. You have slipped on a wet floor, clearly a result from an employee mopping up, but there is no “wet floor” sign in sight. If you’ve found yourself in this or a similar situation, you may be entitled to financial compensation.
Determining Negligence
The first aspect that must be considered is whether or not negligence exists for your particular situation. For a business to be held liable for your injury, you must prove they acted negligently and that is what caused your injury. Using the above example, the individual would need to ask a few important questions.
- Why was the floor slippery in the first place?
- Was there a warning sign about the slippery surface?
- Did they knew the floor was slippery before the fall occurred?
Determining Liability
Ensure that you’re aware of exactly why the accident happened. For example, find out why the floor was slippery. Knowing the exact cause of your fall is going to be extremely important when it comes to winning your case later on. It’s also important to determine who is liable for your injury.
- The store owner would be at fault if it’s negligence on their part, such as the lack of a wet floor sign while mopping occurs.
- If the water on the floor is a result of a leaky ceiling, this may be the fault of a negligent landlord.
Steps to Take
- The first thing you should do after your accident is to inform the store owner or landlord, whichever is applicable, that the incident occurred. Document what they tell you, and if they are willing, have them sign it and agree in writing that the account is accurate.
- Visit a medical professional. Obtain the results of your injury exam. This will become the justification for the amount demanded in a claim or courtroom. The need to formally document the injuries sustained by the fall cannot be overemphasized.
- Gather pertinent evidence. This will consist of contacting any witnesses that were present at the scene of the fall, and getting their account of what happened. Take photos of the location where it occurred and the hazard that caused your slip and fall accident. Gather as much evidence as possible, because this will make your case stronger.
Get a Lawyer
It may be in your best interest to contact a lawyer like a Personal Injury lawyer Las Vegas, NV trusts. Once you have all of the above steps taken care of, a legal professional is probably going to be your best bet. A slip, fall, or trip case can be difficult to prove, particularly if there is not a significant amount of evidence on your side and if you plan on suing the defending party for a significant amount of monetary damages.
However, a quality attorney can often be the difference between a successful case and a waste of your time and resources. As such, this can be considered the most important step in the process of successfully suing a store for a slip and fall accident. Contact a slip and fall lawyer for guidance on moving forward with your case.
Thanks to our friends and contributors from Nadia Von Magdenko for their insight into Personal Injury.