9 Types of Evidence You Need to Prove a Slip and Fall Claim

The burden is on you to prove your slip and fall claim. Learn what kinds of evidence you’ll need to get the injury compensation you deserve.

Slip and fall cases are rooted in premises liability law. This area of the law says that property owners must protect visitors by taking reasonable efforts to avoid potential harm.

It’s your job to prove that the at-fault property owner:

  1. Had a duty of care to avoid causing injuries to you and others
  2. Violated that duty by creating an unsafe condition or failing to to correct one
  3. Directly caused your injuries through this violation

You must also show that you sustained real and measurable damages from your injuries.

If you can’t produce clear and convincing evidence of fault, and proof of your injuries, an insurer may reject your claim.

Use our free downloadable Slip and Fall Evidence Checklist

1. Incident Reports

Incident reports are typically created by stores and other businesses when workers or visitors are injured on the property. An incident report includes specific details of an accident.

If details in previous incident reports are similar to the facts of your case, you can use them to show that an owner was aware of a past condition that caused harm yet didn’t take the proper steps to correct it.

While it’s highly unlikely that a property owner will voluntarily hand over their incident reports, your attorney can get a subpoena (court order) as part of the litigation discovery process. This legally requires the property owner to hand over evidence that can help your case.

In most states, you can only issue a subpoena after filing a personal injury lawsuit. However, you don’t have to file a lawsuit to prevent evidence spoliation by telling the property owner not to destroy the report.

2. Surveillance Videos

Video footage is valuable because it shows the timing of events leading up to an accident. For example, a security camera video can show when someone spilled marbles in the aisle of a toy store, who saw the marbles, and how long it took to remove them.

A long delay in repairing a dangerous condition can help prove that a property owner knew, or should have known, about a risky situation but didn’t take reasonable action to ensure the property was safe for visitors.

3. Photographs

You can’t take too many pictures after a slip and fall accident.

If possible, take pictures at the scene of the slip and fall immediately after it happens. If you’re not physically able, ask someone with you or a witness to help.

Nearly everyone carries mobile phones these days, making it convenient to take pictures anytime and anywhere. An added benefit of smartphone pictures is that they have a date and time stamp, increasing their reliability.

Take pictures and videos of the area surrounding the accident scene. Include anything specific that led to your slip and fall, such as visible liquid on the floor, ice on the sidewalk, or a broken stairway.

Transfer any pictures and videos to a computer, flash drive, or cloud service. Print each picture and write a description on the back.

Photograph anything related to the fall, such as:

  • Weather conditions
  • Your injury
  • Your clothes (including shoes)
  • The scene of the accident

Ensure that your pictures are in focus, and you have adequate lighting to produce the best picture possible. Never edit or filter any of your pictures. Changing even one picture can ruin your credibility.

4. Witness Statements

If there were eyewitnesses present, ask for their names and contact information. You or your lawyer may want to use witness testimony as evidence in your slip and fall accident case.

Witness statements help an insurer understand how the property owner failed to remedy an unsafe situation and how your injury occurred.

Try to avoid befriending any witnesses. If you establish any type of friendly relationship, that witness may come across as biased. If only your friend or family member witnessed your fall, their statement can still be included in support of your injury claim, but it may not carry as much weight.

5. Medical Bills and Records

You won’t get far with an injury claim unless you received medical treatment. Even if you can prove that you fell because of an unsafe condition, you still need to prove you suffered real injuries to succeed with a claim.

Get copies of your records for treatment by paramedics, the emergency room, urgent care providers, or any other treatment or therapy related to your slip and fall injuries.

Include receipts for medications and medical devices.

Don’t overlook any medical bills. Some tests and procedures generate more than one bill. For example, you’ll get one bill from the facility where you had an MRI and another bill from the doctor who interpreted the results.

You are entitled to seek compensation for the full cost of medical treatment, even if Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, or a private health care insurer covered some or all the cost. In fact, your health care insurer has the right to put a lien on your settlement to collect the money they spent on your behalf.

6. Verification of Lost Wages

Request a statement of lost wages from your employer. Be sure the wage verification statement includes:

  • Vacation or sick days used because of your injuries
  • Lost opportunities for overtime
  • Perks that were lost, like a gas allowance

Self-employed workers may be able to use:

  • Profit and Loss statements
  • Prior year tax records
  • Job contracts that were affected
  • Correspondence from clients

7. Receipts for Replacement Services

When your slip and fall injuries prevent you from performing activities of daily living, you may have to hire help. Replacement services are household activities you would have taken care of yourself if you hadn’t been limited by your injuries. Include the cost of these replacement services in your injury claim.

Compensation for replacement services can include:

  • Taxis or rideshare vehicles (if your injuries prevented you from driving)
  • Childcare
  • Pet care
  • Lawn maintenance services
  • Snow removal
  • House cleaning services
  • Meal preparation

8. Cost of Personal Property Damage

You have the right to seek payment for damaged personal items you were wearing or carrying at the time of your slip and fall accident. It helps to provide photographs of the damaged items, along with receipts or estimates for repair or replacement.

Damaged personal property may include:

  • Bloody or ripped clothing
  • Broken or damaged footwear
  • Damaged jewelry or eyeglasses
  • Damages laptops, cell phones and smartwatches
  • Ruined books or electronic readers
  • Spoiled groceries or other merchandise

By preserving the shoes and clothing worn when you fell, you can refute assertions that these items caused your fall.

9. Your Injury Diary

Taking your own notes about your slip and fall can dramatically help your claim. Write a detailed description of what happened before the fall, how you fell, and what happened afterward. Write this down as soon as possible after your accident, when events are still fresh in your mind.

Most slip and fall cases also involve non-economic damages. These damages can be challenging to prove as their value isn’t easily measurable.

Examples of common non-economic damages are:

Showing how your injuries impact your life can boost your compensation for these losses.

An injury journal is a great way to show impact. Throughout your recovery, write down how you’re feeling physically and emotionally, your physical limitations, and any activities or events you missed out on due to your injuries.

The Burden of Proof is on You

As the victim in a slip and fall incident, the burden of proof is on you. To win your case, you need to show that someone else was responsible for the conditions that caused your slip and fall.

Common unsafe conditions include:

  • Broken decks, stairways, or handrails
  • Damaged, unlighted, or icy sidewalks and parking lots
  • Cluttered common areas
  • Fire alarms that are either broken or without batteries
  • Wet floors

The evidence needed will vary depending on the facts of each case. Also, the weight of each piece of evidence won’t be the same in each case. But, it’s essential that you provide strong evidence for every element of your claim.

After you gather all the relevant evidence, you must carefully organize and preserve it.

Tips to preserve your slip and fall evidence:

  • Place tangible evidentiary items, such as bloody clothing, in a zip-top plastic bag. Label the bag with the injury date and its contents using a permanent marker.
  • Consider scanning documents and paperwork to make it easier to email an insurer or your attorney. Once scanned, store the images in the same digital space you store your photographic evidence.
  • Put all paper documents and other tangible items in a safe place in your home. Many injured victims choose to start a claim file to help keep their evidence safe and organized.

Never give original documents, photos, or other evidence to the insurance company. Make copies of documents and take pictures of items (like bloody clothing) to include in your demand package.

How a Personal Injury Attorney Can Help

Many injured victims are concerned that they don’t have enough evidence to support their slip and fall claim. This is natural. If you’re worried about the strength of your personal injury case, speaking with an experienced attorney can provide valuable direction.

The process of gathering and preserving evidence can be time-consuming and stressful. Having a skilled attorney to obtain and keep evidence on your behalf can increase the chances of a successful claim, and take the pressure off you.

Many slip and fall victims choose not to pursue their claim because they don’t think they can afford legal representation. But when an attorney agrees to represent a client on a contingency fee basis, no money is required upfront from the client. If the case doesn’t settle or receive a court award, the attorney doesn’t get paid.

Most personal injury law firms offer a free consultation to injury victims. If a slip and fall incident injured you or a loved one, leave your money at home and meet with a personal injury lawyer to find out how they can protect your interests.