To successfully pursue a personal injury claim, you need to demonstrate more than that you have suffered some kind of harm. You need to prove that it was the fault of the owner or occupier of the premises upon which you were injured in that they failed to observe their duty of care.
All persons who suffer an injury as a result the owner or occupier’s breach of their duty of care, the difference between receiving fair compensation and walking away empty-handed is gathering the evidence necessary to support your slip and fall claim.
Before you can prosecute your claim for the injuries sustained from a trip hazard, slip and fall, there are a number of elements you need to prove, ultimately to the satisfaction of the court — the burden to prove these things rests on the injured person.
Personal injury can lead to significant short and long-term costs and consequences for the harmed person, making it too important to handle your claim yourself or negotiating with the responsible party.
To support your claim, you need to present evidence firstly establishing liability on the part of the owner or occupier of the premises, and also the extent to which you have suffered injury, loss and damage. It is best to collect all of the available evidence from all sources, preferably close to the time that the injury occurred, to ensure that the area where the accident occurred cannot be interfered with and to ensure that the recollection of witnesses remains current.
While you may be able to gather evidence of your personal injury claim after a slip and fall, it can be difficult to secure the formal documentation required, such as surveillance footage or incident reports that are held by someone else yourself. This is where your personal injury lawyer comes in. Their experience navigating the entire process can be invaluable to source the records needed to prosecute your claim.
The type of evidence that you will need to gather will include:
Photographs and videos: Capture detailed photographs or video recordings of the exact condition responsible for your fall, including wet floors, damaged surfaces, poor lighting, or structural defects. Be sure to record close-up shots and images or video of the entire area as soon as possible to document everything as it happened and before the area can be interfered with.
Surveillance footage: Formally request all security camera footage from the property owner that may have captured your accident or the hazardous condition.
Incident report: Lodge a formal report with the property owner or management immediately following the accident. Ensure you obtain a written copy that records the precise date, time, location, and comprehensive details of what occurred.
Maintenance records: Request all relevant maintenance schedules, cleaning logs, inspection records, and repair histories from the property owner. These documents may reveal whether the responsible party had prior knowledge of the hazard and failed to take the appropriate actions.
Witness accounts: Collect statements and any footage of what occurred from bystanding individuals who saw your accident take place.
Immediate medical attention: Seek immediate medical attention following your accident to create an official record of your injuries, regardless of their initial severity.
Medical records and reports: Retain all hospital records, diagnostic reports, treatment notes, and medical invoices to establish a direct connection between the accident and your injuries. You may also need your doctor to provide a Certificate of Capacity, if your injuries affect your ability to work and consequently, your income.
Photographs of injuries: Document your injuries through photographs taken immediately after the incident and at regular intervals throughout your recovery to show progression or deterioration.
Proof of lost income: Maintain detailed documentation of your salary, wages, and any absences from work resulting from your injuries. Also include superannuation, bonuses and other forms of compensation you may have also missed out on.
Documentation of expenses: Collect all receipts and invoices for medical treatment, rehabilitation services, prescription medications, transport to appointments, and any other costs incurred to manage your care and recovery.
Firstly, you need to establish who is the owner or occupier of the premises where the accident occurred and whether a duty of care to the injured person is owed.
Secondly, it is necessary to establish what actually occurred. Outside ‘acts of God’ and your own missteps, accidents do not just happen — they are caused.
A forensic analysis of the circumstances of the accident must be undertaken to establish its cause. Sometimes, the cause of the accident is quite obvious — other times, not so much.
Even when all the parties recognise an accident occurred on third party premises, the site of the accident will still need to be investigated to determine whether the owner or occupier of the premises was liable for the slip and fall in NSW. Your lawyer, and the alleged offending party and often their insurance agent, will need to understand how the accident occurred. For example, it may be necessary to consider whether the cause of the accident was an issue that was previously known to the owner or occupier of the premises and ignored, or alternatively, there was a new and other cause for the accident.
In many cases where appropriate, it is common for personal injury lawyers to engage an engineer or someone similarly qualified to undertake a site inspection and any necessary testing to determine the cause. Such testing could include a dynamic coefficient of friction (DCOF) test of a floor to ascertain whether the floor complied with the relevant building code and council ordinances as to the level of slipperiness that is acceptable or otherwise.
Also, particularly with respect to tiles, consideration must be given as to whether the tiles were wet or contaminated with a substance at the time, which would affect the coefficient of friction testing. Additionally, whether the surface was sloping or otherwise is also a relevant consideration.
There are occasions where you have collected evidence of an injury that you suffered on someone else’s property, and the owner or occupier of the premises does not have any liability to you.
One way the defence can dispute your claim is by alleging that the trip hazard, for example, was “obvious”. There is legislative and judicial precedent to establish that if a risk is obvious, it may negate the liability of the owner or occupier of the premises. This means that the occupier or owner can argue that the hazard was obvious, and therefore it is assumed that the injured party did or should have recognised it and taken steps to avoid the hazard.
Due to the complexity of these types of cases, hiring a personal injury lawyer in NSW can make all the difference in strategising what steps you need to take to successfully prove your case. One possible defence is arguing that if the hazard was obvious to the injured party, it would also be known to the occupier, necessitating its repair.
In the successful prosecution of a slip and fall claim, the injured person is entitled to recover damages for:
Non-economic loss (pain and suffering)
Medical and related expenses for the past and future
The value of commercial and/or gratuitous care and assistance provided and necessitated by reason of the injury (subject to certain statutory restrictions)
Economic loss for the past and future
Vehicle and house modifications
A contribution towards legal costs
Strict time limits apply to prosecute personal injury claims. If you, or someone you know, has suffered injury as a result of a slip and fall, then they should seek expert legal advice at the earliest opportunity.
Brydens Lawyers are experts in the prosecution of all personal injury claims including slip and fall accidents. Our team of specialised lawyers will assist you with every step of the process, providing expert legal advice and representation as they support you through what can be a difficult and challenging period.
To ensure nothing prevents you from prosecuting your rights and securing the compensation you deserve, our expert lawyers work on a No-Win, No-Fee* policy with personal injury claims in NSW. That means, if your claim is not successful, you do not have to pay our costs. (*Conditions apply).
Do not bear the cost of an injury or accident that was not your fault. Contact Brydens Lawyers online or by calling 1800 848 848 to secure the maximum compensation you are entitled to.
At Brydens Lawyers – #WE DO personal injury claims.
We're here to assist you in claiming the compensation you deserve on a No Win, No Fee* basis. Enquire now to start your claim today. *Conditions apply.