Taylor King Blog
Everything You Need to Know About Slip and Fall Cases
Incident Report
In most major retail stores, the management or security department will be making a summary of events taking place in the store, which is called an incident report. If you have slipped and fallen in a store during business hours, then check to see if the incident report has been recorded. The summary should describe the events that took place along with the time. Your accident will be noted in such a report, unless the person writing the report is dishonest.
Putting Together Your Case
In smaller retail outlets that do not maintain or construct incident reports, you will have to contact the owner of the shop and ask for the contact details of their insurance provider. If your injuries are serious and you are rushed to the hospital, you may not have a chance to collect these details. In such a case, ask someone to get this information for you from the storeowner. If not, you may have to return to the store in the next couple of days, if you are able to, and take care of this yourself.
A Scenario You could Encounter
Small retail outlets will be unwilling to report injuries to their insurance provider, since there are chances of their policy being cancelled or an increase in the rate of premium. If the storeowner refuses to part with the contact information of the insurance company, then you can send an official letter by certified mail, demanding this information. In the letter, clearly ask for the information or claim your damages that the storeowner is prepared to settle out of his pocket.
If the storeowner is not carrying liability insurance, and is refusing to provide compensation for your injuries, then you can sue him in court having the appropriate jurisdiction, depending on the amount you are claiming. Usually for small claims court the limit is $5,000, and if you are claiming a higher amount, you will need an experienced lawyer to file a lawsuit in higher court.
If the business owner is holding out that should just raise even more suspicion. Terrible and unscrupulous businesses should suffer and perhaps new ownership needs to be brought in. You could spearhead this change and do the community some good in the process. They may not be as bad as the IRS which effects everyone but they are nothing to write home about either. Perhaps this business owner is just tired of endless EPA regulations that are keeping it from expanding or hiring other people but that is not any reason to ignore your professional duties.
Enlisting a Friend/Family Member and Initiating Your Legal Case
If you cannot or do not want to return to this place of business, perhaps you can send a friend or a family member to ask for this information. You may also have to get your new attorney involved in this to make this sound more official if the business owner does not respect your needs or your necessary and kind request.
