Personal Injury and Social Security Disability Blog

Tips If You Slip And Fall

Last month, our firm obtained a large settlement in a premise liability case. These cases are commonly referred to as "slip and fall" or "trip and fall" cases.

Fortunately, there are steps injured persons can take to make pursuit of such a claim easier. When a person falls down in public, the normal reaction is one of embarrassment. The fallen person usually gets up as quickly as possible and walks away from the scene, hoping no one saw them fall. This is exactly the wrong reaction. Instead, if you fall, you should take these actions:

● Inspect the area where you fell. What caused your fall? Was there some foreign substance on the floor? What was it? Observe its appearance and size. Can you tell how long it had been on the floor? Get a sample of the substance, and preserve it.

● Get the names, addresses, and phone numbers of everyone in the area -- even if they didn't see the actual fall. Those witnesses can describe the location and give other details, even though they didn't see you fall.

● If the fall happened in a store, report it to the manager, and get the manager's name. Be sure the manager fills out an incident report, and ask for a copy of it.

● Take photographs of the area as soon as possible. Buy a cheap disposable camera if necessary. It could be a good investment.

● Keep the shoes and clothing you were wearing at the time. Make note of any stains or tears caused by the fall.

● Most importantly, seek medical attention immediately if you have been injured.

● Talk with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible, so the lawyer can begin an investigation of the case before changes are made to the scene of the injury.

If you have questions about "slip and fall" injuries, please contact our law firm.

Slip And Fall Cases In Texas

Over the years, our law firm has represented hundreds of clients who were injured in "slip and fall" or "trip and fall" cases, otherwise referred to as premises liability claims. Unfortunately, in recent years, the Republican Texas Legislature and the Republican Supreme Court of Texas have changed the laws to make it much more difficult for an injury victim to pursue a slip and fall case.

Many of the people who contact us about such a case do not realize that the mere existence of a defective condition in a store or public place of business does not make the owner liable for an injury caused by the defective condition. The burden is on the injured party to prove that the owner is liable under the law.

The general rule in a slip and fall case is that to succeed you must prove that there was a dangerous substance, that the owner or operator knew or should have known about the dangerous substance, and that the dangerous substance wasn't obvious and easily avoided.

As an example, if a grocery store customer slipped on a small puddle of clear liquid on the floor, the store probably would not be liable for the injury unless the customer could prove that a store employee actually knew the liquid was on the floor and did nothing about the situation.

The length of time a substance must remain on the floor before the owner should have discovered it will vary with each case, depending on the nature of the business, the size of the store, the number of customers, and the nature of the dangerous condition.

If you have questions about slip and fall injuries, please contact our law firm.