Tips for Settling a Slip and Fall Claim

Offering You Over 20 Years of Experience

If you were injured in a slip and fall accident, you should engage a Seattle personal injury attorney as soon as possible. At the Law Office of J.D. Smith, PLLC, we bring more than 20 years of experience to the table, and we encourage you to continue reading our tips for settling a slip and fall claim.

With Attorney Smith serving as the former president of the Washington State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, you can be confident that your case is in very good hands.

What You Need to Know

The majority of personal injury claims settle and avoid trial since they are costly and the outcome is unpredictable; slip and fall accidents are no different. While the amount of a settlement relies on a number of factors, there are steps that you can take to strengthen your case.

Calling on the experts: You want your healthcare provider to establish a link between the fall and your injuries. Since doctors don't usually like to be removed from their duties for a deposition, a better approach is to schedule a visit with your doctor, explain that you are filing a claim, and ask your doctor to provide a letter that describes what injuries are attributed to the fall.

Proving the defendant had knowledge of the dangerous condition: You can easily prove that a hazardous condition existed with pictures; however, it's more difficult to prove that the property owner had knowledge of the hazardous condition. Ways to prove that a property owner had knowledge of a hazardous condition, include:

• Sworn testimony from another person stating how long the hazardous condition existed.
• Video surveillance that can show how long the hazardous condition existed. If you fell somewhere where there was video surveillance, request it immediately since some cameras record on a loop, which means that if you don't request the footage in time, it may be recorded over in the next loop.
• Incident reports are internal reports will often describe what happened, how it occurred, and who witnessed it. An incident report may contain a valuable statement such as, "Customer slipped on slippery and wet entrance (from rain), employee x reported the incident, but nobody cleaned up the water as directed by manager."

What You Can Do to Help

You can keep a journal to record all of the experiences you have had related to your injuries; for example, you may write something like, "I couldn't go grocery shopping because of my broken hip so I had to pay to have groceries delivered."

Be sure to keep track of every expense that you incurred as a result of your injuries from the fall. You cannot expect to receive compensation for an undocumented expense.

At the Law Office of J.D. Smith, PLLC, we understand the subtle nuances of slip and fall cases and know how to navigate them accordingly. We offer free case evaluations and take cases on a contingency fee basis – call (206) 537-0106 today for quality legal representation!