Slip and Fall in a Store: Here’s the Evidence That Matters Most [Video]

After you suffer a slip and fall in a store on Long Island, evidence linking a dangerous condition to your injury can fade quite quickly. Employees can clean up spills, and security footage may be overwritten. A successful claim generally requires evidence showing what caused the fall. It must also show that the store created the hazard or knew or should have known about it, failed to use reasonable care, and that injuries and losses resulted.

The attorneys at Matera & Manley are Long Island slip and fall attorneys ready to capture critical evidence and help build a claim that ties your injuries to what happened.

Proving Negligence After a Slip and Fall in a Store

Falling in a store does not, by itself, establish the store’s legal responsibility. In New York, a store slip and fall claim generally requires proof of four elements of negligence:

• Duty of care: The store owed you a duty to use reasonable care to keep its premises reasonably safe.
• Breach of duty: The store failed to use reasonable care concerning the dangerous condition.
• Causation: The dangerous condition and the store’s negligence caused your fall and injuries.
• Damages: You must show that the accident caused actual harm.

For a customer shopping in a store, duty of care typically applies.

To prove a breach of duty in a typical New York slip-and-fall case, you must show that the store or its employees created the hazard or that the store had notice. There are two kinds of notice that can come into play here:

• The store had actual notice—meaning it knew about the specific hazard before your fall.
• The store had constructive notice—meaning the hazard was “visible and apparent” and existed long enough before the accident for employees to discover and remedy it.

The evidence must show that the condition caused your accident, and medical records and documentation of financial losses help demonstrate damages.

Key Evidence After a Slip and Fall in a Store

To establish liability in a slip and fall case, gather evidence showing how the accident occurred and whether the store knew or should have known about the hazard. Here are examples of key evidence an attorney should collect after you slip and fall in a store.

• Evidence the store created or knew about the hazard: Evidence that an employee spilled mop water or that a customer reported the spill before your fall.
• Photos and videos of the scene: Photos of the puddle, nearby warning signs, and the surrounding aisle.
• Surveillance footage from before the fall: Video showing when a spill occurred and employees walking past it.
• Proof of losses: Medical records, bills, receipts, and employment records to document losses.

Collecting and preserving this evidence can help establish negligence and support your claim for compensation. An experienced personal injury attorney, like the ones at Matera & Manley, can guide you through the claims process. We know how to use evidence to show the store is responsible for your injuries when the facts allow.

Why Choose Our Attorneys To Handle Your Slip and Fall Claim?

Why choose the attorneys at Matera & Manley after a slip-and-fall in a Long Island store? Hear it from Michaelangelo Matera himself.

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After a slip and fall in a store, key evidence can connect the hazard, the store’s responsibility, and the resulting injuries and losses. Different records answer different questions, and no single photograph or report necessarily establishes the whole claim.

If you were injured in a Nassau or Suffolk County store, speak with a Long Island personal injury attorney to evaluate your claim and preserve relevant evidence.