Premises Liability
Atlanta, Georgia Personal Injury Lawyer


If a person slips, trips or falls as a result of a dangerous condition on another person's property, the land owner or business owner maybe responsible for your injuries. Slip and falls may occur as a result of a slippery substance such as water, grease, or food as well as sudden changes in flooring, poor lighting, or a hidden hazard.

If you should find yourself injured as a result of a slip and fall, you should immediately inspect the area where you fell. The first question that must be answered is what caused you to fall. Further, did anyone see you fall? You must write down the names, addresses and phone numbers of anyone who is nearby the scene. Even if a person did not see you fall, you may still need them as witnesses if they can describe your pain and/or the conditions of the floor, lighting, etc. immediately after you fell.

If the incident occurs in a place of business, insist on speaking to the manager or supervisor on duty. Have them make a record of the incident and get a copy the incident report before you leave. If anyone, especially and employee, makes a comment suggesting that this has occurred before, or that they were aware of the condition before your fall, try to get the name of that person. As soon as possible, write down the employee's name and exactly what the person said. Also make a note of who else may have heard that comment.

You'll want to take photographs of the area as soon as possible so that a record is made. If you don't have a good camera, it is well worth the ten dollars to purchase a disposable camera. Otherwise, your evidence of the dangerous condition will soon disappear.

Like other personal injury situations, you should see your primary physician as soon as possible after the incident. Your injuries may be more severe than you think. Any delay in seeking medical care will be used by the defendant's lawyers to suggest that you were not hurt by this incident or that your injuries were not severe.

Slip and fall cases can be very difficult to win. The defendants will probably argue that you fell because you did not pay attention to where you were going. They may also claim that the condition that caused you to fall (like a water spill) was a condition that had just occurred shortly before the incident so they had no notice to prevent it from occurring.

In order to give yourself the best chance of recovering, you should be very careful to preserve the evidence by taking pictures of the scene, writing down the names, phone numbers and addresses of witnesses to the incident or the dangerous condition, getting a copy of the "incident report," and seeking prompt medical attention. Further, be very careful about signing any statement regarding the incident. You are not required to sign anything. Thus, I would suggest having the statement reviewed by an attorney. Also, be very careful about what you say. Making a statement like "I'm such a klutz." may make you feel better, but will hurt your case significantly.

Especially beware of phone calls from claims adjusters. They will attempt to get you to admit fault or partial responsibility for the incident, or encourage you to lessen the extent of your pain or injuries. They may ask you leading questions like "It really doesn't hurt that much anymore, does it?" If you tell the adjuster you are represented by an attorney, they should not continue to seek a comment from you .

As a result of the above issues, we strongly recommend that you contact us in the event that you suffer a substantial injury as a result of a slip and fall on someone else's property.