To successfully pursue a personal injury claim, you need to demonstrate more than that you suffered some kind of harm. You need to prove that it was the fault of an owner or occupier failing to maintain their duty of care across their premises in NSW.
While all persons who suffer an accident at no fault of their own on someone else’s property are entitled to remediation, the difference between receiving fair compensation and walking away empty-handed is gathering the evidence required to support your slip and fall claim.
Before you can prosecute your trip hazard, slip and fall case, there are a number of elements you need to prove to the satisfaction of the court — the burden of which rests with the injured person.
Personal injury can lead to significant short and long-term costs and consequences for the harmed persons, making it too important to handle your injury yourself or negotiating with the responsible parties.
To support your case, you need to present evidence showing cause, your damages, and injury. It is best to collect this from a number of sources as close to when the injury occurred to ensure the area cannot be interfered with and to avoid your recollection or that of any witnesses being disputed.
While you may be able to gather evidence of your personal injury after a slip and fall, it can be difficult to secure formal documentation, such as surveillance footage or incident reports that are held and owned by someone else yourself. This is where your personal injury lawyer comes in. Their experience navigating the entire process can be invaluable to source the records needed to prosecute your claim.
The types of proof you will need to gather include:
Photographs and videos: Capture detailed photographs or video recordings of the exact condition responsible for your fall, including wet floors, damaged surfaces, poor lighting, or structural defects.
Be sure to record close-up shots and images or video of the entire area as soon as possible to document everything as it happened and before the area can be interfered with.
Surveillance footage: Formally request all security camera footage from the property owner that may have captured your accident or the hazardous condition.
Incident report: Lodge a formal report with the property owner or management immediately following the accident. Ensure you obtain a written copy that records the precise date, time, location, and comprehensive details of what occurred.
Maintenance records: Request all relevant maintenance schedules, cleaning logs, inspection records, and repair histories from the property owner. These documents may reveal whether the responsible party had prior knowledge of the hazard and failed to take the appropriate actions.
Witness accounts: Collect statements and any footage of what occurred from bystanding individuals who saw your accident take place.
Immediate medical attention: Seek immediate medical attention following your accident to create an official record of your injuries, regardless of their initial severity.
Medical records and reports: Retain all hospital records, diagnostic reports, treatment notes, and medical invoices to establish a direct connection between the accident and your injuries.
You may also need your doctor to provide a Certificate of Capacity, if your injuries affect your ability to work and consequently, your income.
Photographs of injuries: Document your injuries through photographs taken immediately after the incident and at regular intervals throughout your recovery to show progression or deterioration.
Proof of lost income: Maintain detailed documentation of your salary, wages, and any absences from work resulting from your injuries. Also include superannuation, bonuses and other forms of compensation you may have also missed out on.
Documentation of expenses: Collect all receipts and invoices for medical treatment, rehabilitation services, prescription medications, transport to appointments, and any other costs incurred to manage your care and recovery.
Firstly, you need to establish who is the owner or occupier of the premises where the accident occurred and whether a duty of care to the injured person is owed.
Secondly, it is necessary to establish what actually occurred. Outside ‘acts of God’ and your own missteps, accidents do not just happen — they are caused.
A forensic analysis of the circumstances of the accident must be undertaken to establish its cause. Sometimes, the cause of the accident is quite obvious — other times, not so much.
Even when all parties recognise an accident happened on premises, the site still needs to be investigated to determine whether there was occupier liability of the slip and fall in NSW. Your lawyer, and the alleged offending party and their insuring agent will need to understand how the accident occured and determine whether it was an issue that was previously known about, but ignored, or a new issue that has arisen.
In many cases where appropriate, it is common for a personal injury lawyer to engage an engineer or someone similarly qualified to undertake a site inspection and any necessary testing to determine the cause. Such testing could include a dynamic coefficient of friction (DCOF) test of a floor to ascertain whether the floor complied with the relevant building code and council ordinances as to the level of slipperiness that is acceptable or otherwise.
Also, particularly with respect to tiles, consideration must be given as to whether the tiles were wet or contaminated with a substance at the time, which would affect the coefficient of friction testing. Additionally, whether the surface was sloping or otherwise is also a relevant consideration.
There are occasions where you have collected evidence of an injury you suffered on someone else’s property, where the premises’ occupier does not need to accept liability.
One way the defence can dispute your case is by claiming the trip hazard was “obvious”. There is legislative and judicial precedent to establish that if a risk is obvious, it may negate the liability of the owner or occupier of the premises. Meaning, the premises’ occupier can argue that the hazard was so obvious, it is assumed that it is generally acceptable for the injured party to have recognised it and taken the steps to avoid it.
Due to the complexity of these types of cases, hiring a personal injury lawyer in NSW can make all the difference in strategising what steps you need to take to successfully prove your case. One possible defence is arguing that if the hazard was obvious to the injured party, it would also be known to the occupier, necessitating its repair.
In the successful prosecution of a slip and fall claim, the injured person is entitled to recover damages for:
Non-economic loss (pain and suffering)
Medical and related expenses for the past and future
The value of commercial and/or gratuitous care and assistance provided and necessitated by reason of the injury (subject to certain statutory restrictions)
Economic loss for the past and future
Vehicle and house modifications
A contribution towards legal costs
Strict time limits apply to prosecute personal injury claims. If you, or someone you know, has suffered injury as a result of a slip and fall, then they should seek expert legal advice at the earliest opportunity.
Brydens Lawyers are experts in the prosecution of all personal injury claims including slip and fall accidents. Our team of specialised lawyers will assist you with every step of the process, providing expert legal advice and representation as they support you through what can be a difficult and challenging period.
To ensure nothing prevents you from defending your rights and securing the compensation you deserve, our expert lawyers work to a No-Win, No-Fee* policy with personal injury claims in NSW. That means, if we cannot successfully argue your case, you do not have to pay. (*Conditions apply).
Do not bear the cost of an injury or accident that was not your fault. Contact Brydens Lawyers online or by calling 1800 848 848 to secure the maximum compensation you are entitled to.
At Brydens Lawyers – #WE DO personal injury claims.
We're here to assist you in claiming the compensation you deserve on a No Win, No Fee* basis. Enquire now to start your claim today. *Conditions apply.