Slip and fall claims can be particularly complex. If you have been injured in a slip and fall, however, a slip and fall claim can allow you to recover critical compensation. This compensation can cover things such as medical bills incurred due to receiving treatment and follow-up care for your slip and fall injuries. Medical bills can pile up all too quickly as you receive the care you need. This can be particularly stressful if you have needed to take time off of work to recover from your injuries or even needed to leave your job if your injuries have rendered you unable to comply with your job duties. So, while skip and fall claims can be complex, they are needed in order to get the monetary compensation you deserve. Evidence demonstrating that a third party was at fault for causing your slip and fall, and that you were injured as a result of said slip and fall, will be critical if you want to have any success in bringing a claim.
Relevant Proof in Slip and Fall Claim
You will need to prove several important things in order to bring a successful slip and fall claim. Slip and fall claims almost always arise under a legal theory of negligence. The negligence action or inaction of another led to a person’s injuries and, therefore, the negligent party should be held accountable for paying the victim’s injury-related expenses. In a slip and fall claim, in order to prove a party was negligent, there are several things you will need to provide proof of.
You must be able to prove that there was a hazardous condition on the property. The hazardous condition is the first step in showing that a property owner or manager breached his or her or its duty to maintain a reasonably safe property that was relatively free from hazards. The hazardous condition could have been poor lighting, a staircase or handrails in disrepair, obstacles in a walkway or an uneven or slippery surface. Proof that the hazard existed may include security camera footage of the area or pictures of the hazard. Witnesses may also be able to attest to the dangerous property condition.
In a slip and fall claim, it is not enough, however, to simply prove that there was a hazardous property condition. In order to show that a property owner or manager breached a duty of care in maintaining a relatively safe property, you must be able to show that the owner or manager knew or should have known that the dangerous condition existed. This can be particularly challenging to demonstrate. Proof of knowledge or proving that knowledge of that hazard should have been present, can involve something like evaluating the maintenance and inspections of a property. For instance, if a property has a regular schedule for someone to clean the area, inspect the area, and check the status of property conditions, this could point to the fact that the hazard should have been by such inspection.
You will, of course, also need proof of your injuries and other damages you sustained due to the slip and fall. This is why receiving immediate medical treatment and consistent follow-up medical care is so crucial to a slip and fall claim or really any personal injury claim. Not only is consistent medical treatment important for your injuries to properly heal, but your medical records will be of central importance in showing the nature and extent of the injures you sustained in the slip and fall.
Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorneys
Slip and fall claims may be difficult, but they are far from impossible to successfully bring. You can count on the team at Cooper Schall & Levy to fight for you. We are here to do everything we can and will tirelessly pursue your right to monetary compensation for your slip and fall injuries. Contact us today.
