A fall victim’s carelessness or lack of attention could cancel any grounds that the same victim might have for a slip and fall case. Yet evidence of a hazard at the spot where the victim slipped and fell down could become the basis for a personal injury case.
What sort of hazard could trigger the pursuit of such a case?
• A build-up of snow or ice along a pedestrian path
• A slippery floor
• A damaged sidewalk
• A pothole
• Debris
Any of the dangers on the above list would qualify as a hazard, if it had been caused by a property owner, or had been allowed to persist, after the property owner had become aware of its existence. According to the law, the owner of a property does not have to keep it perfectly safe, but it should be reasonably safe.
One of the difficult things that need to be proved is the Notice. If the accident victim falls on a commercial property, the incident report ill be made later by the company. This report will identify the reason for the accident and give an insight about the business owner’s awareness about the hazards on the property or whether he/she was negligent to take action.
Usually, there are CCTV cameras covering most of the commercial property and the surveillance footage will show the time lapse after the incident took place. Thus, both the CCTV footage and the Incident reports are crucial pieces of evidence that are needed to prove the liability in a slip and fall case. Trying to get the required evidence and documentation is time consuming and difficult, which is precisely why you need to hire the services of an injury lawyer in Cambridge.
Questions that victim of fall should ask, during a search for useful evidence
• Had the property owner received an earlier notice, regarding the object or situation that was a threat to the safety of others?
• Had the same owner filed an incident report?
• Was there any video clip that showed what took place in the moments leading up to the fall, and at the time of the falling incident?
• Had the property owner put any type of warning in place, in an effort to keep people away from the hazard? That would be an appropriate question, if the dangerous condition had not been open and obvious. Conditions that are open and obvious do not require some type of warning signal.
A “yes” answer for each of the above questions does not prove that the slip and fall incident could serve as basis for a slip and fall case. The victim’s injury would have to be severe such that it would need to interrupt his or her life.
