Slip and Fall Incident Checklist

Once the shock and embarrassment of falling down is over, leaving the scene as quickly as possible may not serve you very well. If you are fortunate enough not to need ambulance transportation from the scene, many people simply believe that filling out an accident report is enough. Often, however, reliance upon this type of limited information allows crucial evidence to become lost forever. Here are some tips that you can use to ensure that you have maximized your potential for recovery through evidence preservation.

Photographs

• Take pictures of location where you fell, especially the floor surface, as soon as possible to capture the condition at the time of your fall.
• If possible, take photographs of the condition of your clothing and shoes immediately following the accident.
• Take photographs of any mats, rugs, or slip prevention fabrics at the location, if the location of the accident had any of the above. If the location of the accident fails to have any of these fabrics or any other type, take photographs illustrating the potential lack of the safety items.
• Take photographs of any warning signs that might be in the area of the location of the accident.
• If you sustained a visible injury: i.e, bruise, cut, scrape or stitches, take photograph(s) of the injury to preserve the state of the injury at the time of the injury.
• Feel free to take as many photographs of what you think may, no matter how trivial, be important to the accident. Your attorney will decide what is and what is not important.

Statements of Witness(es)

• Take the name, address and telephone number of any potential witness and save this information someplace where it will not be lost.
• Return to the accident scene, visit any nearby homes or business, if applicable, for any potential witness(es) to the accident.
• Revisit the scene of the accident several times at the same time at which the accident took place. Some people may have a habit of stopping or driving by the location of the accident as part of their normal day. You may able to find a witness.
• If you have obtained witness information, do not contact or speak to the witness(es) again or attempt to get any written statements from them. Let your attorney contact any possible witness(es).

Physical Evidence

• Most importantly, save the shoes that you were wearing at the time you slipped and fell. Place them inside a plastic garbage bag and tape it shut so that any materials stuck to the shoes will remain.
• Store all of the articles of clothing that you were wearing at the time of the accident in a plastic bag in a safe place where they will not be lost. Do not wash them.
• If possible, do not leave the scene of the accident without obtaining a copy of the accident report that the manager, owner, employee or other person has filled out while in your presence.
• If the item that you slipped on is non-perishable, save a sample in safe place where it will not be lost.
• If the item is perishable:i.e. vegetable, or fruit, try to preserve the item in a liquid chemical preservative or in a freezer.