When you are in the beginning phases of a slip and fall case, please don’t hesitate to call our office to learn more in a free consultation.
First Steps After Your Injury
First, be sure to gather any evidence you can, and do it sooner rather than later. Witnesses forget. Evidence is lost. The contributing condition may be repaired or replaced. Taking pictures, making sure that you get witness statements, and collecting evidence are all very important. Reach out to counsel sooner rather than later too, so that they can immediately begin their efforts toward gathering that all-important evidence for you. Especially in a slip and fall case, that evidence gathering can make or break your case.
Making an Accident Report
Although the answer to that question is yes, I would caution you to remember that, in many situations, it’s best not to notify the property owner right away. It’s more important to reach out to an attorney first so that they can hire an investigator, perhaps send someone out to the property to take pictures, get statements, and speak to other people who may have been injured by that same dangerous condition. If you notify the property owner before taking those steps, they may get rid of some evidence or repair the condition that caused you to fall, and you can’t recreate that condition. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. It’s important to reach out to counsel first and have them take the appropriate steps, including notifying the property owner.
The Length of My Case
Slip and Fall cases can take anywhere from six months to six years to resolve. Sometimes they take longer because of how much the other side fights. Sometimes we may have three or four people that we’re trying to hold responsible for a slip and fall accident, and then you have these other defendants filing motions, either against you or each other, to try to get out of a case. When that happens, you get the courts involved. When the court is involved, they have to make decisions, and those decision can be appealed. If they’re appealed, it could take a year to a year and a half for a case to be appealed. That’s why you see sometimes that these cases take multiple years.
At the beginning phases of a slip and fall case, you likely have a long list of questions we can answer for you when you set up a free consultation with us.