What Should You Do After a Slip and Fall Injury?

This video features Kathleen M. Reilly, a Personal Injury attorney based in New Jersey.

Attorney Kathleen M. Reilly | 888-981-0027 | FREE Consult

If you’ve been hurt in a slip and fall injury outside of a commercial property like a restaurant or supermarket, you need to contact a lawyer immediately. The longer you wait, the harder it is to prove who was responsible for your injuries, losses, and extra costs.

Kathleen Reilly is an injury attorney with Brady Brady & Reilly, LLC based in Kearny, New Jersey. In this video, she explains everything you should do after slipping and falling on commercial property.

She can be reached by calling 888-981-0027 or by submitting a contact form on this page.

When is a property owner liable for injuries?

This depends on both who the property owner is and who became injured. There is a big distinction between being injured on a home property versus a commercial property. A commercial property owner has more obligations to keep people safe compared to a homeowner.

What do commercial property owners need to do to keep people safe on the property?

All types of property owners must use reasonable care to prevent injury to guests. The threshold is stricter for commercial property owners, especially if they’re open for long hours. Since they are actively inviting people to visit, they have more responsibility to keep people safe. This includes salting sidewalks and shoveling snow.

Homeowners are more likely to be liable if they create a condition that makes things more dangerous for pedestrians. This might include gutters that direct rainwater to the sidewalks, thus resulting in a trip and fall hazard.

If someone falls in icy or snowy conditions on commercial property, how can they prove that the property owner is responsible?

The first step involves documenting the weather conditions. When did the snow start, and how long was the ice on the ground? Had snow landed on ice that was never cleared up?

From there, the attorney will investigate maintenance records to determine if anyone had plowed the parking lot or salted the walkways. They will obtain video and photographic evidence to see what the area looked like at the time of the injury. This all helps determine if the property owner performed their due diligence to prevent slip and fall injuries.

What is the most difficult factor in proving liability in slip and fall injury cases?

It can be difficult to prove what the exact conditions were when the injury occurred. This is especially true if people wait too long to report the accident or fail to document it. The attorney will do their best to obtain video evidence and weather records to reconstruct the scene. This is why it’s essential to contact an attorney as soon as possible so they can obtain video evidence before it’s deleted.

Should you take photos after a slip and fall injury?

Absolutely. The property owner will attempt to claim that the conditions were clear, and photographic evidence can display exactly what happened. This could be a game-changer for a premises liability case.

At what point should you seek medical attention after becoming hurt in a slip and fall?

Seek medical treatment as soon as possible, especially if it is a severe injury. Your health and well-being is the most important thing to consider. In addition to receiving necessary medical treatment, this will help create a paper trail and nail down both the timeline of events and the severity of the injury. If the injury is undocumented, or if there is a gap between the dates of the accident and seeking medical help, it could harm your case.

If you fall and get injured at a supermarket or restaurant, will their insurance company call you? What should you say?

If you report the injury to the property owners when the injury takes place, they will likely take down your contact information, and then they will contact you.

When they call you, DO NOT PROVIDE A STATEMENT. Speak to a lawyer first, and ask them what to do. If the property owner calls you, find a way to end the call and then speak to an attorney. This is especially true if they contact you immediately after the injury and you haven’t had time to recover and compose yourself.

How much does it cost to meet with and hire a personal injury attorney?

It’s a free consultation, so you have nothing to lose by asking a lawyer if you have a case. Even if you suspect that you just have a minor injury, it could turn out to be a far more serious situation. The injury may not fade. It may worsen and become permanent. It’s important to be evaluated and learn all the facts. An attorney can provide advice as to whether or not legal action is your best chance

If you do end up pursuing a case, the lawyer will charge no fees. Rather, they will receive a percentage of your verdict or settlement if your case ends in your favor. If your case is not successful, you owe no attorney fees at all.

When should you call a lawyer?

As soon as possible. If you wait, it could be too late. A lawyer can make sure that all video evidence is preserved, but only if they act fast. If video evidence disappears, it becomes a “he said, she said” case, which is difficult to prove.

Kathleen M. Reilly can be reached by calling 888-981-0027 or by submitting a contact form on this page.

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