There is a mistake that you can make at the outset of your trip and fall or slip and fall case that can potentially ruin any chance that you might have at recovering money damages for your injuries. Unfortunately, it is a mistake that is made quite often. Typically when asking a new potential client about their slip or trip and fall accident, it quickly becomes apparent that they have already made this dire mistake. Earlier this week, in fact, a woman who was seriously injured after falling in a parking lot called our office and because she was not informed on slip and fall accident procedure, she too had made this mistake.

You see, the woman that contacted our firm indicated that she slipped and fell on ice that was located in an area near where she parked her car. I asked her- as I always do in such a situation- if she had taken a picture of what caused her to slip and fall. She indicated that when the accident happened approximately five months ago, she hadn't thought to take a photo. She is now investigating whether she can file a claim against the responsible parties for the injuries which she sustained in this slip and fall accident.

The first issue that will be present in such a case is: what caused the injured party to fall?

The answer to this question becomes significantly more difficult to answer by virtue of the fact that, in this case, the icy condition of the parking lot no longer exists. Where exactly was the ice? How big of an area did it cover? Was sand or salt on the ice? What type of lighting was present when she fell? What other conditions could have caused her to fall? The answer to all of these questions is that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to answer other than through the testimony of a person who has very limited recollection as to exactly what happened.

Over 800,000 patients a year are hospitalized because of a fall injury, according to the Center of Disease Control. The CDC also states that these types of accidents are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries. If you are ever involved in any type of trip and fall or slip and fall case, you should take pictures as close to the time of your fall as possible of what caused you to fall. If it was a defect, such as a hole, take as many pictures as possible to show where it is located, how wide it is, how deep it is, and whether or not it is in an area that is illuminated assuming the fall occurred at night. If you are not able to take these pictures because of the injuries that you sustained, you should tell a family member or friend about what happened and exactly where it happened and have that person go out as soon as possible and take these pictures.

We would also want to hire a premises liability expert to go to the site of the accident and prepare a report after taking photographs and measurements to describe why the responsible party was negligent, what should have been done but was not done, and why the responsible party is liable for our client's injuries and damages. Photographic evidence is always extremely important in virtually any type of accident case. We have settled slip and fall cases for over $100,000 just on visual evidence alone!

Remember, you should make sure that you take pictures of anything and everything that could possibly be relevant to how you were injured, who injured you, where you were injured, what injuries you sustained, and any and all other information that can help in bolstering any aspect of your accident or injury case. This could be the key to your case!

It is also very important that you contact an experienced Connecticut personal injury lawyer at the earliest possible moment. There may be things that need to be investigated at or near the time of the accident. There may be witnesses that will need to be interviewed as close to the time of the accident as possible so that their memories are fresh and they are able to give detailed information as to what they saw. There are various other reasons as to why it is important to contact a Connecticut accident attorney immediately after the accident.

Click here to contact us or call our Ridgefield personal injury law office at 888-244-5480 for a free remote case evaluation. Do not delay, get your questions answered today, and do not prejudice your case any further!