In order to win your case in court, it will be necessary for you to prove that the people being sued were legally at fault and that your injuries were caused or aggravated by the accident. The more good evidence you have, the easier it will be to win your case. Here are some of the things you can do on your own, if you have not yet retained an attorney to represent you.

Photographs

(a) Take photographs as soon as possible after the accident of the condition or instrumentality that caused you to fall. For example, if you slipped on a puddle of liquid, take a photo of that; if you slipped on a piece of ice, take a photo of the ice; if you tripped over construction debris, take a photo of the construction debris. You may want to take some close up shots of the condition that caused you to fall and some shots from a little bit farther away which depict a wider view of the scene of the accident.

(b) Take photos of the condition of your clothing and shoes immediately after the accident. For example, if your clothing was torn or soiled, take a photo of that. If your shoes had a liquid or other substance on them which caused you to fall, take a picture of that.

(c) Take photos of your injuries. For example, if you were swollen, black and blue, or bleeding, take some photographs.

In slip, trip and fall situations, critical evidence may disappear shortly after the accident. This could be due to the intentional removal of evidence from the scene of the accident, changes made by people to the scene of the accident in the normal course of daily activities, or though the natural course of events, such as when ice or snow melts and disappears. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Keep the Physical Evidence

(a) If any item of clothing you were wearing at the time of the accident was torn, damaged or soiled, do not wash it, dry clean it or repair it and instead store it in a sealed plastic bag.

(b) Keep the shoes you were wearing when you fell and store them in a sealed plastic bag. If there is a residue of a liquid or other substance that caused you to fall on your shoes, do not clean your shoes. The residue may be identifiable.

(c) If you can retrieve the substance that caused you to fall, do so. For example, if you slipped on a gravel type substance in the street, take it and store it in a sealed plastic bag.

Write Down the Names and Addresses of the Persons or Companies That Caused You to Be Injured

If you can ascertain the names and addresses of the persons or companies that caused or created the condition that resulted in your accident, write that information down and keep it. If you slipped, tripped or fell at a construction site, try to get the names and addresses of the contractor(s) on the job, the names and addresses of the owner(s) of any object(s) which caused you to fall, and the names and addresses of the persons or companies that caused or created any condition that resulted in your fall.

Here are some other points you should consider

If you have been injured in a slip, trip or fall accident in New York, there are strict time limitations for filing your claim or lawsuit. Some of these time limits are very short. It is very important that you retain a lawyer as soon as possible after you have been involved in a slip, trip or fall accident, so that your claim or lawsuit is filed on time. Additionally, the sooner you hire an attorney, the sooner your attorney will be able to begin a professional investigation of your accident.

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Copyright © 2004 Richard Stelnik, Attorney at Law - Serving Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island and Nassau and Westchester counties.