After a slip and fall injury in New York City, it can be difficult to decide how to proceed. Do I have a case? Who will pay for my injuries? Will I keep my job?
As an experienced Brooklyn slip and fall injury attorney, I recently found a helpful site giving a quick overview of slip and fall cases.
WikiHow offers the following steps that you should take after suffering a slip and fall injury.
- Document the slip and fall injury and accident scene. This is the first and possibly most important step to improve your chances of success. You must provide evidence of actual injury, and documentation is a major source of proof. Any additional details you can gather (photos of the scene, witness accounts, etc.) could mean the difference between winning and losing your case.
- Hire an experienced slip and fall injury attorney. Without such a personal injury lawyer on your side, you may miss out on the compensation you deserve. It is also important to find an attorney that has slip and fall claim experience not just personal injury as a whole (for example, he or she may have only dealt with car accidents but never a slip and fall case).
- Prove a “link of causation” between your slip and fall accident and the injury that occurred because of it.
- Establish a legal responsibility for the defendant. In many slip and fall cases I’ve seen, the plaintiff has to show that the defendant has a clear responsibility for safety. This is often referred to as “duty of care.”
- Prove “control of premises” in the case. To win your case, it is often necessary to clarify whether the factors that led to the accident were within the control of the defendant.
- Use expert witnesses and building plans (or other documents). Using expert witnesses can help you prove that a common situation often results in a common type of injury, according to the physics involved.
- Cite legal precedents. Along with any special legal language related to your case, it may be helpful to cite broader laws that could apply.
As you can see, preparing for a New York slip and fall case can be complicated. If you have been injured in an accident, contact an experienced Brooklyn slip and fall injury attorney right away.
Photo Credit: Jeffrey Beall