Tampa Slip and Fall Lawyers

Slip and fall, or trip and fall injuries, are one of the most common causes of personal injury and often one of the most difficult to prove. If a slip and fall occurs on the job, then it should be covered by workers' compensation insurance, without any need to determine liability. But if you are injured off the job, then documenting the circumstances surrounding your injury is critical, as you must prove the owner or lessor of the premises was negligent in their maintenance of the area. In short, you bear the burden of proving the conditions which caused you to fall were the result of negligence.

In most slip and fall cases, there is a foreign substance on the floor which causes you to fall. In order to recover damages, you must prove that in fact there was a foreign substance on the floor and that it was there long enough that the owner either knew it was there or with reasonable maintenance practices, should have known it was there and nevertheless failed to clean up the substance.

If you can remember to take a few simple steps at the outset of your case, recovery can be made easier. First, you must gather as much information at the scene of the fall.

Photograph the area immediately following the fall, use a camera phone to snap a few pictures;

Report the incident immediately to store or building management;

Fill out and take a copy of the incident report if you are medically able;

Gather names and phone numbers of witnesses to the accident;

Note the general state of cleanliness of the area, photographing any other problem areas.

After the fall;

Seek immediate medical attention;

Save the clothes you were wearing if they are covered in any liquid;

If the fall resulted from uneven pavement, a pothole or sidewalk crack, photograph the area with a time and date stamped camera, preferably a digital camera;

Save the shoes you were wearing. Take them off as soon as possible and preserve them, as insurance carriers will often claim you contributed to your own fall by failing to wear appropriate footwear.

Depending on the circumstances, your injury could be covered by premises insurance, homeowners insurance, workers' compensation or municipal insurance.

Contact Us

If you have been injured, contact an attorney immediately to help preserve your claim. We can have a professional investigator on scene within 24 hours to begin gathering evidence. The insurance companies aren't waiting to begin their investigation and you shouldn't either. Contact the law office of Harris & Riviere in Tampa today by calling for an appointment, send us an email or complete one of our free case evaluation forms.